Do you care to elaborate?

Poker is not drastically different than other activities or professions dominated by men.
While it's more extreme in poker than in, say, software engineering, anytime you have an enormous gender disparity there will be serious challenges in changing the culture to include more women.

My wife has worked for years in trying to get more women to work in technology as part of an outreach program her company has. The reasons why young women shy away from those careers (preconceived gender stereotypes, negative perception of careers, intimidation being in mostly-male environments) are actually somewhat similar to poker.

I'm not sure how we change that overnight, but I think that closing that gap is probably a combination of having:

1. successful female poker players as role models
2. a dedicated effort to reach out to young female players who become the "next generation"
3. a culture at the tables that is civil and inclusive where harassment and even casual sexism isn't tolerated

While I think there are female poker players who can be role models and there have been sporadic attempts to attract women into the game, it really is #3 that is the limiting factor.

And I'm not sure that there's going to be some great upswing of civility at the poker table that's going to suddenly eliminate blowups over bad beats, leering at waitresses, making sexist comments, telling dirty jokes or occasionally making advances on women. I would like to see better behavior at the tables - not just because it's better for the game, but quite frankly it's the right thing to do as a human. But I'm also not naive enough to think that's gong to happen overnight or even anytime soon.

I feel sorry for all those 90+ year old's having to put up with the constant, "wow, you sure look good for your age", "I hope I'm playing poker at your age", etc. They just want to be treated like everybody else.

Is there even such a thing as a "successful" poker player? Most of the time I see "successful" poker players it just makes me sad cause I figure they could have done so much more with their lives if they had chosen pretty much anything else.

Most of the people in the poker world I would view as "successful" or a "role model" are because of accomplishments on the business side. The vast majority of actual poker players I would characterize more as cautionary tales than success stories or role models.

Wonder what Doug Polk thinks about this issue. He used to play the ladies event when it was still a 1k.

For 99% of players, poker isn't about "success", its about having fun. So women don't need role models who are successful at poker. They just need to feel it is a fun activity for women (and everyone) to participate in, like slot machines, or Scrabble, or Facebook games (all of which have similarities to poker in various dimensions but are played more by women than by men). Basically, they just need to see other women having fun at the poker table rather than being surrounded by men staring silently at them every time they play.

Clone Patrick Antonius and ban overweight introvert neckbeards. Treat women like human beings not objects. Stop stareing. Make an environment where women can also interact at forums. Less Mike Dentale and more Cate Hall!

+1

I don't think anyone claimed that encouraging more women to play poker makes you a more valuable member of society, but if you are in fact a poker player, then I'm kind of surprised that you can't see the benefits of encouraging more people to play the game.

to take from the joe m. thread. us women do not want to sit with 8 stinkin non showering butt smelling non social perverts most of whom could not buy a date in a whorehouse. then there is the problem with the bad breath when they gawk at you and try to read your hand for you. i am sure if 4 pms'ing babes sat at a table with 5 of these substandard humans they would destroy them. that is all

Schedule more team events, maybe market to couples. Groups or friends can play together which is more attractive to chick cliques.

Outstanding

Poker is seen as a macho pursuit and that's what attracts men in the first instance.

Men have seen cowboy movies and James Bond movies and they want to pit themselves against other men, outwit them and take their money. That's the seduction of the game for men. Because men are basically very competitive with each other and a lot of male self-esteem can come from knocking down other men.

When women get into poker and then you read something about them, it's always couched in terms of "breaking into the boy's club" or "beating men at their own game". The seduction for women can therefore be breaking into that male-dominated world, but I just don't think that's all that seductive. There are lots of male-dominated pursuits and women in general do not care about breaking into the majority of them enough to actually act on it.

In my opinion, if you want to get lots of women into poker, you're probably best getting rid of the things that make it so appealing to men i.e. you get rid of the macho image and the ultra competitive nature of the game.

And then what's the point? Those are the things that make the game exciting to us and the reason we care about getting women into the game in the first place.

Until there's a massive shift in society's attitudes or somehow poker is reimagined for women, it's just not going to happen.

According to people who played back then, the percentage of a live poker room's clientele that were woman was higher 20-30 years ago than it was now. If true, what changed? Is poker more macho than it used to be? It seems nerdier than it used to be, so wouldn't that make it less macho?

Poker can be played online with total anonymity re:gender, age, race & sex.

Stop making excuses for why x group are not participating and succeeding in x activity.

We already have safe places, gender neutral toilets and women's tournaments. Gentlemen, there is no need to remove your balls so that the world a little less 'macho' for the cupcakes.

I don't see this being any different from how women (or even people in general) interact with each other.

I think it's fair to say this is a gross misconception. I'm sure there's a small subset of women in poker who feel this way, but to generalize that all (or even most) women in poker do just wouldn't be correct. I doubt very many women at all have an interest in breaking into a male-dominated field just for the sake of doing so. It's much more likely that women choose to get into something that's male-dominated because it's something that they enjoy (and "beating men at their own game" is just a side bonus ).

Women (like many men) who play poker generally do so because they have a desire for competition, even if it's not very serious. As far as the game of poker having a "macho" image, I think that's pretty subjective.

It's not an excuse when you point out that half of gamers are women but certain areas of gaming seem to be disproportionately male and we have sexist dickbag behavior like Gamergate. So, it shouldn't be an excuse in looking at gender disparity in poker.

If we see a women win the WSOP main event, we'll probably get an influx of women into poker and a sexist backlash from men who feel threatened by vaginas invading their space. We should be prepared to counter this backlash.

If online poker was legalized at a federal level in the US, one thing that I would want to see that I think would get more women to play poker would be an online poker site that is either only mobile-only or has a segregated player pool composed of users of an app that can only be used on mobile devices and not on desktops/laptops.

You seem awfully butt hurt for a guy calling others cupcakes. The irony.

It was probably only a matter of time before someone said something overtly misogynistic.

The relative decline of limit poker may have something to do with this.

Very surprised by this thread and the poster saying number of women was down at WSOP. I was in Vegas for 3 weeks and was amazed at the number of women at my tables . Two times there were more women than men at my table, once at a cash game at Rio and once at a tournament at the Wynn (same days as the Aria ladies event!!!) . I played on more tables that had at least 1 woman than at tables that had none. From my experience I would say more woman are playing poker than ever . I think it's a different story in LA because the players here are degenerate scum and I personally don't like them one bit so I don't blame ladies for staying away. In Vegas I didn't observe any sexism, staring or ungentlemanly behavior. Just my two cents.

Good lord, all you whiny easily offended butthurt white knights, look at this footage from long ago and far away from the ancient year of 19 and 83.

Go to the 15.35 mark and all through the next few minutes is a highlight on good chick players and interviews with players and even Jack Binion are highly respectful.

EDIT: Goto 17.03, she STARES THAT DUDE DOWN! HARDCORE!! She ain't afraid of nuthing man, hell yea! And when he folds, she shoes those cards in his FACE!! WHATCHU THINK ABOUT THEM TWO CARDS!! THEY BEAT YOU!!!!! WOOOO !!! Let's do some shots!
Get off yer high horses and play some cards, sheesh!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4zx...l=Darren%20Kis

men might have more iqs of 50 and 150 but the same avg of 100.

I don't play online because I don't feel like it is the same game. I like to be able to read my opponents tells, facial expressions, inflections, movements....it's more exciting.

I agree that women are treated as dumb and helpless at the table. Even knowing I can take advantage of this, it still gets under my skin and I want to be treated just like any other player. Men really really need to stop talking down to women and stop trying to "teach" them at the table.

For me, there is always a creepy/preditory​ vibe at the tables and this can be very off putting for a lot of women.

The grossness of most of the men is so repulsive as well(this is probably the biggest turn off for women playing). And most male poker players are not attractive or friendly. I get a lot more excited to sit down at a table with some cute guys making jokes than I get when the guys look like they haven't bathed for days, look like rapist, or a bunch of olds.

Maybe if casinos had sanitation rules or dress codes.....so you don't accidentally get a glimpse of gross balls because a guy is wearing gym shorts with no boxers spreading his legs and pulling his shorts up to make adjustments.
Or, men aren't allowed to put their hands in their pants.

Having the massage girls in the poker room is weird as well and off putting to women.

+1000 to the free roll idea lol

How do men get started with poker? Online advertising? I started because they had tournaments in college and I always wanted to play, and then I met a friend that introduced me to poker and 2+2, then I met a guy who became my boyfriend and played.
I would have never been introduced to poker had it not been for all of those things.

Maybe casinos could offer promotional free rooms and poker lessons at different women's venues like salons or something.
Then start having women free rolls......after sanitation and dress rules for the men are in place and established though.

Purse holder hooks on the tables would be great too.

lolz, you guys sound like two volunteers for castration so that the women feel more comfortable at the table.

Face it, 99% of people want more women in the game not for equality, not to be white knight/SJW but to take their easy money. Fellas, if you really want to be a white knight you should be encouraging them to stay away from the table.

The argument that women are just as good as men in poker is garbage and everyone knows it. If you don't agree, please do a survey with the question, "would you rather sit at a table with 8 women or 8 men?"



If 10%+ people vote that they would rather sit with 8 men, I will EAD and ban myself for being a misogynist.