Why So Few Women Poker Players?

[Bodhi]

Berkeley is the envy of the inarticulate.

[MLerra]

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(Even though people will swear up and down that culture and society mold us from head to toe and there's nothing we can do about it, I've never felt any resistance as a male in endeavoring to learn how to cook or clean house or any thing that isn't in line with my "gender role". Funny, that.)

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Actually, what's truly funny is that your feelings on this are probably in large part due to the culture you were raised in and/or currently reside in. Ironic, that.

[AnyTwoCanLose]

I'm up for a cock measuring contest.

Should I whip it all out... or just enough to win?

[fimbulwinter]

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Berkeley is the laughing stock of academia

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fixed

fim

[Jordan Olsommer]

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Actually, what's truly funny is that your feelings on this are probably in large part due to the culture you were raised in and/or currently reside in. Ironic, that.

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Oh yes, which is of course why if you take two identical twins and they are separated at birth and raised in different cultures or environments, they will turn out completely different.

Oh wait, no. I'm sorry. The truth is the exact opposite.

(or if you're too lazy to click on the link, here's a quote from one of the pages I linked to in the earlier post:
"...many of the major sex differences — certainly some of them, maybe all of them, are universal. The idea that there are cultures out there somewhere in which everything is the reverse of here turns out to be an academic legend." -Stephen Pinker)

Wrong, you. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[peachy]

im a girl and i play...i do decently well and im not GREAT at math...i never played before b/c i was more of an outdoorsy type girl and was always with guys that were very into sports...one of mah best friends started playin and swayed me to learn it and unlucky for him he got to teach me

[malo]

I'm a woman also and will throw in my two cents.

If you had told me a few years ago I would be playing poker I would have been ROTFLMAO. Never been much of a gambler....the river boats three hours away were open for years before I ever went. (Nothing against gambling obviously, just could always find better ways to spend my money.)

Then I got bit by the poker bug, and here I am. The intellectual demands of the game appeal to me, along with the opportunity to make some money in my spare time. Alas...baking does not pay very well. Was concerned at first about the mathmatical demands of the game, not being a math whiz myself, but most of the math is really very simple arithmetic, well within my abilities. Tho it's safe to say I won't be doing any complex number-crunching exercises involving Pokertracker stats.

Certainly the number of women players have increased significantly over the last couple of years. Seeing folks like the aforementioned Harmen, Annie Duke, Cyndy Violette, etc. is bound to provide encouragment. I think the WPT's away from the table profiles of women in the Ladies' Championship was a very good move, as it shows women players having very "normal" lives with significant others, kids, etc. Of course, at least one of those players is going thu a divorce I believe, but with the divorce rate in the US, that's really not much of a negative.

Younger women are more likely to take up the game....I guess I'm also odd in that I didn't start playing til I was fifty. Yup....I'm an old f**t to some of you young pups around here! [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] At the very least, it may become a very nice way to supplement retirement income eventually.....and no, I won't be an old rock either!

Guess I haven't really offered any insight into why more women don't play. My guess is some older women have spent their whole lives believing it's a "men's" game and can't get past that. Having been raised by a very feminist mother, I simply didn't have that mindset. Younger women are less likely to have that ingrained mindset, and hey it is a great way to meet guys....important when you are young.

[jenium]

I just started playing poker seriously this January as a new year's resolution but i've been playing competitive chess since i was a kid, so i'm used to male-dominated arenas. I did see how women could be intimidated in my first outing in a casino atmosphere (in AC). Some men flirt with women players, other bend over backwards to assure women that they will not be swayed in the least by their charms and therefore act a little mean. In my case, i got more than a fair share of teasing over my novice like handling of the chips as well as certain plays. It didnt bother me too much, but i also have many friends and a brother who are pro-players so i already feel like part of the community.It's like this in chess- there are some women who enjoy the extra attention and play partly because of it but there are a lot of others who quit because it makes them uncomfortable.
As for cultural and/or biological reasons that women might be poorer poker players, i don't really get it... arent we talking about why women don't play poker? Is there some sort of proof or idea that those who play, play worse on average? If anything, as far as i've seen it seems like there are fewer women who will just give away their money cause they seem less embaressed to play tight! After all, it's not very manly to fold so much...

[Wozza]

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I do know that women and men are biologically different.

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Hell, poker is competitive. Mano a mano. It's you against the table. The hero versus the villains. You're Steve freakin' McQueen going down gloriously. You're Paul Newman cooly stealing the pot. You're John Wayne calling the bad guy down. You the MAN!

When you're butting horns heads up against the table maniac and you flop the nuts, doesn't EVERYONE get a hard on?

I simply can't think of any other non-physical game that has such a macho image and it's all culture driven. The female of the species plays a mean game of bridge - but that's hardly a man's game, now. Is it...

[Techsteppa]

Is poker significantly different than any other game (of any kind, not just gambling) in its gender distribution? I doubt it.

Men like games a lot more than women. Be it sports, video games, "nerd games" like AD&D and the $100+ board games (no offense, I consider myself a major nerd), or gambling (excluding slots), they are targeted toward men. Part of this is certainly due to male instinct, which innately carries a lot of competitiveness. Men also are generally more interested in making money.

Also, if you look at the way men and women socialize...men generally socialize around a specific activity. E.g., watching the game, going fishing, or playing poker. Women socialize for the sake of socialization. In general, they talk a lot more than men, and can get together and just run their mouths. Five guys get together and it immediately becomes "hey what should we do guys?" My home game is generally the same group of close friends, and poker night is pretty much the only time we all see each other; it's our staple social activity.

I realize I make a few stereotypes about men and women, but my point is still valid.