Feeling Invisible at the Table

I love poker! I have been playing poker in legal cardrooms for 43 years. I’ve participated in the World Series of Poker for 38 consecutive years and this year I experienced something I’ve never felt before…the feeling of being invisible at the table.

I played cash games at the Rio almost every day during the 2018 WSOP in a fabulous environment, the King’s Cash Game Lounge. This was a high-limit area with lots of special perks for the players such as special poker tables and extra cushy, padded, comfortable chairs, automatic shufflers, specially chosen experienced dealers, a lounge with big-screen TVs, and private USB chargers for each player at the table.

They also had a snack area complete with two top of the line coffee machines, as well as a private dining area, exclusively for King’s Lounge players. Food was brought in every three to four hours and was of a very high quality. Did we have to pay extra for such luxury? Yes, the rake was $12 per player every half hour but factoring in all the perks, I think it was well worth it and I have no quarrel with the Rio for charging extra for the royal treatment they gave the King’s Lounge players. Getting to experience such a luxurious playing area was definitely a highlight of my poker career!!

Now for the bad experience: In addition to running very badly and having a losing WSOP, I didn’t enjoy the atmosphere at the table for the most part. I’ll do my best here to explain what I am talking about since I think it is a big problem and will hinder poker’s development going forward.

As I mentioned earlier in this column, I’ve been playing for many years. During the first 25 years, the poker playing population was relatively small and the players pretty much all knew each other. Over the past 15 years or so, many new players have entered the poker world. Up until this year, I still usually knew at least half of the players when I entered the game and they knew me. This led to a lot of friendly interaction at the table despite the fact that big money was constantly changing hands.

The atmosphere was completely different in the 2018 WSOP cash games. The first day I walked into the King’s Lounge and sat down at the poker table, I looked around and didn’t know anyone at the table. I was the only female in the game, so I said, “Hello gentlemen,” and other than two players who barely managed a nod my way, no one said anything or acknowledged me. My opponents were mostly in their 20s and 30s and were very preoccupied with their phones and with their private conversations. One player was even playing online poker while in the live game.

Throughout that first session and almost every other session during the Series, the scene was the same. I was rarely included in any of the conversation. It was as if I was invisible. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect special treatment at the table but it would have been nice to occasionally be included in the conversation or made to feel welcome at the table. The other players weren’t rude; if I asked a question, they would always answer me, but then they would go back to their own private conversations. I was fascinated by this lack of interest…I mean if I was a 25-year old man in a high-limit game and a female senior citizen sat down at the table, I think I would be curious at least and want to know who she was and why she was playing.

Throughout the Series, very, very few women played in the King’s Lounge. My best friend Jan Fisher spent most of her time in there in the $75-$150 Omaha eight-or-better game and we compared experiences. She related that she was “totally dismissed” at the table and treated as if she wasn’t there. She too felt “invisible” and experienced players seated on both sides of her were actually leaning forward and talking over her on several occasions.

What is the point of this column? I promise you it isn’t sour grapes…it is concern that if this is the way most women are treated at the table, I can certainly understand why there are so few who play. It’s a fact that most people – men and women – lose at poker. If they are losing and aren’t having fun, why should they continue to play? I encourage everyone reading this column to be part of the solution going forward. Be engaging at the table. Chat with everyone and make them feel welcome. Don’t continually be on your phones. Make everyone feel welcome.

I have three goals every time I play: Obviously I want to make money. Secondly, I want to have fun. My third goal is to try to make sure my opponents have fun. I certainly can’t always succeed with the first goal, but the other two usually are very doable. Perhaps you can adopt these goals too?

In closing, I wish to congratulate our 2018 main event champion John Cynn; what a long, hard battle Tony Miles and he fought. Kudos to the poker media for such great coverage of the Series. Special thanks to Jack Effel and his awesome tournament staff and the dealers who worked so hard to produce such an awesome WSOP year after year. Congratulations also to John Hennigan and Mori Eskandani on their inductions into the Poker Hall of Fame.

Now, let’s play poker! ♠

Linda is a partner in Card Player Cruises and invites you to cruise with her and a great group of employees and customers. You can check out her website at www.cardplayercruises.com. She also welcomes your feedback at [email protected].