It seems like only yesterday when Al Burke, Ian Guy, and John Oliver took the honours in their respective regional finals for the first Poker in the Pub league, but already the end of the second league is looming large on the horizon. We learnt a huge amount from the first league, but with five regional finals planned for the second league, things are not going to get any easier.
Scotland is one of the new regions with a final this time around, and pub poker certainly seems to be taking off in some of the Scottish venues. The Primary in Glasgow had 19 runners on its first night, but as the word spread, the numbers have been steadily rising, with Matt Pianti topping a field of 30 for the week No. 7 tournament. The only question is, where are all the women?
One of the problems Poker in the Pub encounters is that the majority of our players are male. This is mirrored throughout the poker community. One of the advantages that our pub nights have over cardrooms and online poker sites is that quite often, women will be in the pub while the games are running. However, they often seem reluctant to sit down and play, even though it is the ideal location to learn the basics of the game. I was recently contacted by a lady in Scotland who wanted to play in our leagues and was asking if there were any venues that had a reasonable number of female players. I was shocked to discover that less than 5 percent of our players in Scotland are female. Of course, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics, which meant that when I re-examined the figures, I found that the original results were slightly misleading. When I removed the one pub with a reasonable number of female players from the results, I found that only 0.87 percent of our players in Scotland are of the fairer sex.
I have been at Poker in the Pub nights where ladies have been watching the game and appear to be interested in playing, but when they are invited to join, they quickly make their excuses. It appears that many woman view poker as a man's game, and that it would not be very ladylike of them to take part. This is a real shame, as the vast majority who actually sit down and give it a go really enjoy themselves. Also, the presence of women adds to the dynamics of the tables and helps to create a more enjoyable atmosphere.
On the plus side, as the popularity of poker grows, more females are taking up the game and racking up some impressive results. Victoria Coren became the first woman to win a European Poker Tour event, when she triumphed in London last September. At the other end of the spectrum, there are five women players in the top 20 of the Poker in the Pub National League table. Della "Playgirl" Plumtree (second), Donna "Space Cadet" Winters (12th), Dawn "Dotty" Andrews (15th), Tina "Tinan" Newbury (17th), and Mel "Des" White (20th) all have had consistent results. When we went to press, Tina Newbury was actually on top of the National League Average Table.
With the surge in popularity of the game, the number of women in the game is rising all the time, and I expect that we shall see a female winner of the main event at the World Series of Poker in the near future. Perhaps this will persuade a few more of the ladies standing at the edge of the tables in their local pubs to give the game a chance. With this in mind, perhaps a good goal for everyone is to try to introduce at least one female to the game of poker in the coming year. If you are in Scotland, you had better make it two!
For all of you avid poker players who think your local pub would be a great venue for Poker in the Pub nights, we have a fantastic incentive scheme for people who sign up new pubs. If anyone wants additional information, contact us through our website, www.pokerinthepub.com.
The Poker in the Pub League, sponsored by The Rivercard, has been created to give poker players a chance to enjoy a game of cards in pleasant and familiar surroundings with friends and colleagues.
