I’m a female PokerStars pro, here’s my top 3 tips to get started ahead of Women’s Winter Festival in London
THE ladies are taking over the Hippodrome later this month when PokerStars bring their Women’s Winter Festival to the capital.
The inaugural four-day event – held at the iconic venue from November 21-24 – is aiming to create a comforting atmosphere for female beginners and also provide a platform for those experienced players too.
The poker giants have made it a key ambition of theirs to raise the number of female participants at events, with just 3% of those currently involved being women.
They’ve ran successful bootcamps for novices, including one in Cyprus last year with several of the players retained in the game and attending the Festival later in the month.
And the numbers are only growing. This year’s NAPT women’s event in Las Vegas brought in 182 players – up from just 94 the year before.
The list of incentives at the Women’s Winter Festival, both personally and financially – with a stunning £100,000 guarantee in the man event, are endless with everyone and anyone catered for. From freeroll events – where you don’t pay to buy-in – with huge prizes to high roller events, there’s something for everyone.
Kerryjane Craigie is the Director of Poker at the Hippodrome and was announced in the summer as a new PokerStars Ambassador for Women in Poker.
Kerryjane has run Ladies’ clubs for almost a decade now and has made it a target of hers to promote diversity across poker and has pushed hard to break down potential barriers for new and existing female players.
On hosting the Women’s Winter Festival, she said: “The support from PokerStars for women in poker which I’m here to advocate has been immense and they have a real true effort and ambition to make a difference.
“The only agenda is to celebrate, elevate and get more women playing the game – that’s it! And that doesn’t mean just pushing them to the PokerStars brand either.
“I’ve been an advocate through the Hippodrome for a number of years and it’s great to have someone throwing a bit of weight behind what I’m doing.
“The bootcamp last year was innovative and now the Women’s Winter Festival this month is just unheard of with £100,000 guarantee and all about the women.
“We’ve got players coming from Canada, Brazil, USA and European qualifiers – and of course the UK!
“Every ability is catered for too which is vitally important.
“It’s also about the percentages – we have to raise the 3% figure, the comfortability and getting more women involved and retained in the game which is never a bad thing.
“We’re aiming for Europe’s largest women’s event, which is 273 players. So we’re aiming for over 300 entries, with many coming through our satellites and qualifiers on PokerStars that have been running a while now.
“There’s 10 opportunities every day to get involved through a qualifier, which again is new for PokerStars to put that much force behind something like this.
“I hope it’ll be something we can do again, again and again and take it on the road too!”
Fellow ambassador Jen Shahade has had huge involvement in driving the increased numbers of females taking part.
She was the face and hard work behind much of the Cyprus bootcamp and she’s thrilled that so many have been retained in the game.
Now, she’s hoping those visiting the Hippodrome will take plenty from the experience.
She added: “We’ve got several of our previous bootcamp attendees coming along to the Winter Festival, with some even here in Vegas.
“There’s a lot of retention from the participants who’ve really bought into the social and intellectual aspects of the game. That speaks volumes.
“It’s definitely getting busier with women. They’re continuing to flock to the game and get more excited. There’s a lot of excitement as this continues to grow.
“People want different things from poker. Some want to see if they can be semi-professional while others just want to meet more new people.
“It’s a great way to build a community, travel to different cities and to make friends. Some women gravitate to that aspect, while others will learn financial lessons and get that competitive edge.
“It’s catering to all types.
“Some people want a bit of everything which is great. That’s the beauty of poker; it has a chameleon quality. You can make it what you want.
“At the Winter Festival, it would be great and a success to get big numbers attending. But I’m also keen on the vibes and what people think when they’re coming away from it.
“I hope they think it’s fulfilling and they maybe pick up new things about poker along the way. You can’t control whether you win or lose, you can only do your best. But you can control if you’re getting the best out your experience.”
Top tips for females looking to start out
Marle Spragg is a PokerStars ambassador and content creator, boasting over 11,000 Instagram followers.
She’s played the game since she was a youngster, influenced by her dad’s involvement as a full time player.
Her husband Ben is also a huge name in the game.
She’s shared her three top tips for any aspiring women players looking to get involved in the game of poker.
Marle said: “I started playing as a kid, my dad played the game full time. I always played recreationally until I moved to Vegas after college where I then quit my job to play full time.
“Being a woman coming into the space when I did came with its own challenges, just because you were in the minority. But it’s difficult for EVERYBODY the first few times.
“However when I played yesterday, I had five women at my table alone with other tables having one or two at least, so there’s definitely more and more coming into it.”
- Start out playing with someone you trust –“It hasn’t always been easy! The first time you play is always uncomfortable – so I’d recommend starting out playing with someone you know and trust to guide you as it makes it a whole lot easier.”
- Play online first – “There’s micro stakes and women’s events online, just to get the feel for basic things like following the action and bet sizes. There’s one dollar tournaments you can play to help get the feel and help you get over that initial hump. It’s a great way to ease into it. I remember not knowing when the action was on me and misreading the chips, so that online help is a great way to get comfortable.
- Pick environments you feel comfortable in – “Those definitely exist, trust me! You just have to find them. But certainly going with those people you can trust will help with that. The staff and players now couldn’t be any more welcoming, you just need to experience it for yourself.”