As with many industries in the world over, women are finally taking their worthy place in the online gambling industry. It has been long thought that the online casino and gambling industry was dominated by men and that only testosterone flowed around online casino sites.
While this may have been the case several years ago, the gambling industry is changing and women are the reason for it.
The “trend”
Poker is a classic example of these changing trends. Poker is undoubtedly the most popular game in the online casino world and is representative of trends in the industry as a whole. Poker was previously considered a men’s only game played in smoky bars and dingy basements.
However, since the explosion of the online casino industry, poker has introduced to millions who were never exposed to the game, and along with this came a heightened interest by women in the game.
In a recent study be eCOGRA, a watchdog organization in the online gaming industry, it was found that more women are playing poker than ever before. The participants in the survey were indicative of the greater player population and nearly 30% of them were women. The number of women participating in the survey rose by 15% since it was last conducted in 2004.
An analyst in the industry commented that the findings of eCOGRA’s survey are very understandable. When it comes to playing poker, women tend to prefer the anonymity of the remote environment in order to build up their playing confidence and experience without being subjected to sexist comments from other players.
Places for women only
A simple search on the internet will show that more and more women-related gambling organizations are popping up. There are women’s forums about online casinos and poker playing, women’s support groups for addictive gambling and chat-groups for women wishing to become better players. These forums are being set up because women realize that in order to advance in any industry they need to rely on themselves.
Another recent trend in the poker world is the creation of women’s only poker tournaments. These tournaments are a great way for women to be exposed to the nuances, scenarios and culture of tournament poker without feeling threatened by a dominant male presence.
About tournaments
Tens of thousands of women have participated in women-only tournaments in recent years and some superb women players have emerged from their midst. Once the women have gained the confidence and experience from these tournaments, they are ready to face off other (mostly male) players in the regular tournaments.
One thing that women can and should be using to their advantage, however, is the prejudice that exists in a poker tournament setting.
If a killer-player in the form of a woman sits down at a table in the finals, the other (male) players at the table will mostly likely consider her the least threat. If the woman knows that she is the strongest player at the table, she can simply play modestly until she traps the unsuspecting opponents with a killer-hand.
Who said that life was always fair?