Part Iv: the Future of Women and Poker

Fifteen years ago high-stakes female poker players were almost unheard of. Sure sometimes Mafia leaders would occasionally bring their mistresses to the high-rolling tables and allow them to try their luck with the big boys by throwing a measly couple grand at them, but there were very few serious women poker players that were engaging in such intense games. Thanks to pioneering professional female poker players like Linda Johnson, the "First Lady of Poker", countless women have begun to take the poker world by storm.



As part III of "Women and Poker" showed, there is still a depressing image of women in the gambling world, as for the most part women are still used as sex symbols to help business owners promote their various endeavors whether it be online or live. Yet this clearly does not mean that progress has not been made: lately there has been a flurry of tournaments, clubs, magazines and websites that are all dedicating toward promoting women in the poker world.



One of the hottest up and coming women-only movements going on in poker right now is the High Heels Poker Tour. Created by Lauren Failla, the HHPT has been growing fast in the short years that it has been running. The tour has expanded to all over the Southeastern United States and is quickly spreading every year. The company's mission statement says it all:



"Our Mission at the HHPT is to empower women who want to become champions in the growing world of poker. The HHPT wants to provide the best competitive environment where women can explore, develop, and continue growing and learning top strategies and their "A" game. Opportunities and Recognition are what the HHPT is all about."



The HHPT is not alone in galvanizing the female poker player movement. There are dozens of other organizations that are pushing for the same ideals from local tournaments to international magazines. All over the internet poker clubs, blogs and websites dedicated solely to women seem to pop up every month. It is movements such as these that will finally give women the respect that they deserve.



Nowadays women are constantly making it to the final tables of the biggest poker tournaments in the world. More women than men are signing up to play online poker and nowadays one of the most fearsome online competitors in the world is an incredible 19 year old Norwegian girl by the name of Annette Obrestad. Do not be surprised if players like Annette soon become known not only as the best women players in the world, but as the best poker players in the world regardless of sex.



Men should beware because once there is an equal number of women players as of men, they will surely dominate. Already women poker players have learned to use their sex appeal to muddle men's minds when playing poker. Whatever lay in the future, there is certainly great hope for poker's women.