Woman to Woman
By Debbie Burkhead

In my last article I explained the importance of ladies' tournaments. Now I'd like to offer some advice on the advantages to women playing poker in a male dominated field. Hopefully most men won't read this and we will continue to profit from the ones who don't think we know how to play poker as well as they do.

Poker is a competitive sport in which anyone over the age of twenty-one may participate in legal cardrooms. What makes a good poker player has nothing to do with a player's physical makeup. The outcome is not based on strength, height, weight or speed. What is important is, knowledge of the game, concentration, patience, timing, money management, attitude and discipline, all of which have to do with the brain, not the body.

In most sports, practice is of utmost importance and I feel the same about poker. Practice is imperative. By that, I mean study the game, know your opponents, attend seminars, read, watch, listen, talk strategy with your friends, and most of all be patient. Learn to play to win.

Now that we agree poker is not a game of physical strength but a game of intelligence, let's not be so intimidated when we sit down at a poker table with mostly men. It doesn't matter. When you give the impression of being easily intimidated your opponents will try to take advantage of you. Knowledge brings confidence. Being confident and sometimes being a little (or a lot) aggressive changes how other players perceive you. Once you prove you cannot be intimidated or bullied, they will back off and give you respect. To get this kind of reaction you sometimes must demand it. I can think of no better way to gain respect in a poker game than by playing the best game possible. You might not win every hand but if you play well your opponents will come to respect your play. That's one of the most important aspects of poker. Confidence and respect go hand in hand, respect builds confidence and confidence brings respect.

On the other hand, being a woman can be advantageous if you happen to run into players who think because you are a woman you couldn't possibly know how to play winning poker. This puts you in a perfect situation to take advantage of this kind of ignorance. If players underestimate your ability it will give you an open invitation to set a trap and snare your opponent. To accomplish this you must play well, stay confident, be patient and outsmart him.

You will have to learn to be aggressive and confident to survive the game of poker. If you fold every time someone raises they will continue to raise regardless of what they have. As long as it seems that you can be intimidated, you are at a disadvantage. If you think you have the best hand or think someone is putting a move on you, raise back. This will do one of two things: it will either make him reconsider his hand and fold or he will re-raise you. In either case he will now know you will not be bullied into folding.

A friend of mine once told me that she liked it when other players thought she didn't know how to play. She would intentionally encourage that impression. It gave her more confidence and would induce other players to try an put moves on her. She could then take advantage of them when she had a good hand. She was smarter than she looked!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting all women should act dumb like my friend, it just happens to work for her. What works for you might be all together different. I find what works for me is to play a good solid game of poker, showing my opponents that I have the knowledge and the skill required to play. I am also confident in my play and am somewhat aggressive. I find this type of play gets me the respect I want. I have to be honest, if I am given the opportunity to make a move on a weaker player I will make that move. It's a game of skill and the object is to win. No guts, no glory.

Ladies, even though we don't come equipped with a pair of what men believe are essential to aggressive, confident and winning behavior, it helps to act like you have them.

I will be in Tunica for Jack Binion's World Poker Open ladies event this month and if all goes well I'll be writing my next article on my first place (second, third, or fourth wouldn't be bad either) win. Regardless of what happens I will tell you all about it. If you are planning to go and you see me, please introduce yourself.

Now go out there and show 'em you can play poker.