Bluffing, excitement and sexism: Girls-players show poker face
In 2009, poker was included in the register of gambling and is prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation. At the same time, he went to the masses (which generally illustrates the mechanics of any prohibitions): they began to play poker in kitchens and living rooms during home parties. Meanwhile, in parallel, there is a serious poker community, which is considered to be a specific subculture with its own incomprehensible laws - either geeks or adventurers.
Poker is also romanticized with pop culture: in the movies, expensive watches glitter in the clouds of cigar smoke, and the woman is predominantly prepared for the role of decor. Situations do not help, and articles on specialized sites like "10 most beautiful girls of poker." At the same time, there are more and more girls in the world of professional poker, and beauty is far from their only and not the main feature. The organizers of fashionable poker parties Jameson Sips & Chips are trying to make poker more human and change its masculine image, inviting more women to the table. We talked to the girls playing poker seriously, about how they took up the cards, about the love of the game and about the morals that prevail in the world of poker. And most importantly, they were asked to show how to make the famous poker face - that, contrary to a common misconception, not only "stone facial expression", but also mimic tricks to confuse the enemy.
Catherine Rimskaya-Korsakova
Although men dominate poker, there are many bad players among them.
I started playing poker completely by accident. It was one hundred thousand million years ago — probably in the year 2002. I then got into a series of free tournaments, met a man who offered to teach me to play together later. I have always been prone to adventures, so I could not refuse such an offer. Now I play less, after all a lot of time has passed. Then it seemed to me such freedom - the lack of a schedule and a boss, while an interesting, unusual activity. In the process of the game itself, the most interesting thing is to quickly make decisions, process a lot of diverse information. At the same time, you need to think about the numbers, and watch the people. It has always been interesting to me in life, but in poker it is very concentrated.
I played a little online, but the more I, of course, like offline. I started when the Internet, in fact, did not exist yet, and for me interaction with living people is usual. I have never had the mechanization that online poker needs. There, of course, there is also a certain space for creativity, but it was the communication at the table that always meant a lot to me.
The opinion that poker is a purely masculine game, in my opinion, is unfounded. Although there are fewer women in poker, it’s a fact, it’s probably a consequence of this stereotype. However, although men dominate here, there are many bad players among them. There are fewer women, because there are fewer of them, and if you take the percentage of good players of both sexes, the situation is different.
If we consider the average player, that is, not outstanding, then women on average play a little differently. Women more often choose passive strategies - although it happens that men play like this. That is, there are no constants and patterns here. It seems to me that this is quite natural, women are less aggressive, and they choose strategies that are less aggressive. And professional players play in this sense in the same way, because there is a certain balanced aggressive strategy that most often leads to victories - both of them adhere to it.
Women in poker are treated with respect. It is clear that if you read the discussions of women who have succeeded in any career, there will be many disgruntled commentators. But personally, I have this: people stop doubting that I am a good player, half an hour after they sit down with me at the table. Just because everything becomes clear. Behind the back, perhaps, they say. Initially, when I first came to poker, I was 21, a young beautiful girl - they were probably discussing something. But from the professionals I have never met any discrimination. Ordinary players are different - there are louts, there are good people. Just like everywhere else.
Marina Shamova
Poker is like life: you never have full information, but you have to make decisions quickly
It all started about seven years ago at a house party, when a friend of mine, who had been playing poker for a long time, brought his briefcase. We printed poker combinations on A4 sheets, and it was a lot of fun. But I immediately realized that poker is not just a game - it is a different world. Then went on increasing: the books of Harrington, cash games in completely different companies, useful acquaintances, tournaments, then not yet banned in Russia, trips to various locations of the CIS. In 2009-2010, the boom of online poker began, I had to learn anew, evolve, change the tactics of the game.
Poker attracts the most with what looks like life. Each distribution is like a certain situation: you never have full information, but you need to compare all the facts with the expected ones, think over your actions a few steps ahead and make a decision quickly enough, while the situations never repeat one-on-one.
I always liked to play offline more when I see an opponent in the eye, because poker is far from just mathematics. In this game, a lot can be turned over psychologically, and much more information about the situation is available to you. Online poker lubricates the emotions, each distribution is much faster, but to think, of course, has to be more intense. Do women play differently than men? Rather, when a beautiful woman is at the poker table, men start to play a little differently.
But seriously, in a big sport there is always a division into women's teams and men’s, and in poker this is rare. But if you want to achieve results, then you need to develop a rational type of thinking, which is considered "masculine", to move emotions into the background. Calculate more, do not fall into the romanticization of the situation, "but now I’ll be exactly lucky," control myself. Poker requires the ability to make decisions on their own, not everyone loves it, but every decision made is an adrenaline rush, a bet on your luck and your mind. Honestly, poker is quite a chauvinist game, but from this you can benefit. That is, I’m not talking about situations when a girl distracts players at the table with her cleavage - on the amateur level this can still work, in professional poker the stakes are too high.
Nazi
It amuses me that people do not expect anything serious from me, but in the end they get
I knew the rules of poker since childhood, and at 16 I entered the university, and there was a casino nearby. My student friends — not with a passport, illegally — played poker. After steam, sometimes instead of steam. I am Asian, Asians are very gambling: I think that the cards are in the blood. And I love statistics and mathematics, and this is most of poker, the calculation of the pot odds, that's all, this is very interesting.
Of course, sometimes you get dirty, you start to play not by chances and stop counting, but the most interesting thing is when you count and the chances are justified. For example, you consider the deck odds, pot odds. They put a half-bank on you, and according to the bank's chances, if you go to some combination, then most likely you don’t have to fight for that half-pot, whatever the numbers are, $ 100 or 100 thousand. If a card reaches you with a 17% chance, and 25% from the bank are put against you, then this is pure mathematics - you shouldn’t go there. And it’s very cool that math can be a little superior to your brain, and that’s what attracts you.
I do not play online poker at all. This is another game. I love the atmosphere, I love people, and I like to play against a person, against his card, and not against himself. And you don't know who you play with online. It's like on a dating site - I can't, without visualizing a person, not hearing his voice, intonation, not seeing his gestures. And I don’t know how to recognize a bluff by gesture or mimicry, it’s just easier for me to play with a person. Online atmosphere is lost, it seems that you play with the machines.
I believe that there is a feminine style of the game and that I am lucky because I am a girl. I don't really have a poker face, I have a distract. I am such an Asian girl, pretty and small, who comes and for some reason wins. Someone has the feeling that the girl does not know how to play, and it amuses me that people do not expect anything serious from me, but in the end receive it. I put stereotypes in my favor. In this regard, I am not a feminist - I like to use what I am a girl and no one expects from me to stand.
It is, of course, true that poker is traditionally a male game. This is exactly what I like, the amount of testosterone in the blood, alcohol, cigarettes, these cheap sandwiches, which are distributed free of charge. And I am pleased to be the only girl at the table, such a foreign element.
Lia Novikova
There is only one difference - worse a person plays or better, and this has nothing to do with sex
I used to play Warcraft III professionally, also funded. My good friend started playing poker at the time. I once saw it and wanted to try it too. He explained the basics to me and I started playing online poker. I don't play Warcraft anymore. First of all, I was attracted by the fact that you can earn money at poker, well, I have been fond of card games since childhood, dad taught me in childhood - from the “fool” to the bridge. I like the fact that in poker there is a logical approach, and skill plays a huge role, including mathematics. In the game, the truth must be considered many mathematical formulas, of course, without a calculator.
I mostly play online poker, but I also sometimes participate in offline tournaments - for example, I go to a poker series in a few days. In poker, it is important to make decisions quickly, and if at the initial level it is possible to distinguish the style of the game, which is more often followed by women, then if a girl has experience, the style of play is no longer divided into male and female. Only one difference appears - a person plays worse or better, and this has nothing to do with sex.
They are generally positive about girls, because there are not so many girls, and it is always nice when they dilute a purely male company. Yes, in poker there are more men, of course, and for this reason it can be called a "masculine" game. Why? Well, first of all, offline poker in Russia is often some kind of basement room, and it’s just scary for a girl to go at night. And with online poker this situation - at the computer in general, I think, men spend more time. But if the fans of computer games, it happens, they do not believe the girls with the same hobby, and this begins: "Prove that you really love games!" - then with online poker is much easier: when you register in the system, you specify the floor and passport data. So there is nothing to prove - yes, I am a girl, yes, I play poker.