Are Ladies Poker Events Really Such a Big Deal?

November 18, 2013 Posted in Poker by No Comments

I know this is kind of a random subject, but it just hit my mind today and thought I’d write a little opinion piece on it. The World Series of Poker and other poker events occasionally host ladies events that are geared towards female poker players. Some tournaments do not allow men to enter, others are open to men but still attract majority-female fields.

When the first ladies events made the news, a lot of male poker players got up in arms because these events weren’t “fair.” Some poker players even took it so seriously that they cross dressed and played in these ladies-only events anyways. Their main argument was something along the lines of:

“If there was a men’s only event, women would be flipping out and calling it sexist! We’re not going to let them get away with a ladies-only event!”

Now look…. I don’t automatically put all women on a pedestal, but this is a pretty lame thing to get upset about. Who cares if a bunch of women want to organize a women’s only event? Ladies poker events are a great way to bring poker to a major untapped part of the population. Poker is pretty much a male dominated hobby, so why not bring more players to the table?

This isn’t about reverse discrimination or affirmative action, by the way. Any group can organize any event it wants and it can pick and choose who is invited and who isn’t. We’re not talking about giving women preferential treatment in the job market. It’s a stupid poker tournament that is geared towards women. Let them have their tournament!

People who freak out over this are making a big deal out of nothing. There is no discrimination in poker either way. Women are free to play poker just like everyone else. These ladies-only events aren’t an attempt to make things “fair.” They are simply an attempt to tap into new markets. Out of all the things wrong in the world, are you really going to get upset about women’s poker tournaments?

Quit yer crying and go play some poker.