Leveling Victory Poker May 4, 2010
Posted by Jennifer in : feminism,poker , add a commentVictory Poker is hosting a contest, or to be more precise, reality TV show auditions, for a grand prize of $100,000 in tournament entries and a high-rolling Las Vegas life. The contest is explicitly geared toward males. Take this excerpt from the rules:
After testing your abilities and going through some fun challenges (taking a playmate out on a date, getting hunted by Blitz in paintball, going heads up against Paul Wasicka in poker, or being able to hang with Antonio at the club), it finalizes down to one person who’s (sic) life will be changed.
The fantasy: An online poker millionaire may have zits and an imperfect body but with a large enough bankroll and a propensity toward sunk costs & good times, he can be transported to a land of silicon, luxury watches and high stakes sushi. For instance, a quote from the very visible CEO, Dan Fleyshman in a Victory promo vid, “Nobody is going to go out there and do what we do. They’re not going to coin flip for dinner every time, they’re not going to go Tao and spend $10,000.” is complemented by a quote from playmate Sara Jean Underwood in another video “I think poker players are absolutely sexy. It involves money and what about money isn’t sexy?”, and then we see Antonio Esfandiari draped in bikini clad models insisting, “I”m on the clock.”
Victory Poker’s sole female pro is the aforementioned Sara Jean Underwood, 2007 Playmate of the Year.
The two leading American online cardrooms, pokerstars and fulltilt sponsor female players with proven poker successes. For instance, pokerstars female pros include Vanessa Rousso and Katja Thater. Jennifer Harman is on Team fulltilt while the ink is still wet on sweet-faced but lethal Internet phenom Annette Obrestad’s FT contract. Obviously, looks and style factor somewhat into any site’s sponsored players but for stars and tilt, it’s clearly not the primary criteria.
Although I have no intention of trying out, I had to find out if this VP reality show was a dudes only affair, and if not, if they were primarily seeking out those with hot measurements or hot poker stats.
I was in luck. There is a sponsored victory poker forum on 2+2 so I got rapid responses from members of the VP team to both of my questions below.
Question #1-
Do you have any plans to market to women? I noticed the video contest link today and it doesn’t seem geared toward ladies. Maybe you could sub the watch for a handbag if a woman wins? Also, a woman will obv crush the date with a playmate challenge so you’d probably have to figure out a way to even the playing field there- Jenium
Response from Victory Poker CEO Dan Fleyshman:
Jenium: I do market to women in different ways. I sponsor ladies events and actively support the LIPS Poker Tour for women. If a woman wins, she would still receive a watch, just a ladies edition instead! There are 18 male poker players on my team that a lady can choose for the date challenge : )
I agree with you, we’ve thought about it many times and there will be easy adjustments made to suit the ladies that make it as one of the final 25 contestants.
It’s great that Fleyshman sponsors women’s poker tournaments but not sure about the parallels here. A watch for poker players is obviously not to tell time, but to display your bankroll and inspire envy. A better corollary for women would be a collection of Louboutins. As for the men to choose from, nothing against Team VP members but if you want a male answer to Underwood, wouldn’t this be more appropriate?
Not that he’s my type or anything, just making a point 
Question #2
Does a woman need a certain cup size to apply or is that something that she could work on improving during the competition?-Jenium
Response from Victory Poker sponsored pro, Keith Gipson:
We’re looking for a good poker player who gels with us. You’re gonna have to be smart and cool. Cup size is not gonna play a role as far as I’m concerned. But, Executive Producer is, in fact, the executive producer. So, a lot of what goes down will rest with him.
So there you go, cup sizes are not relevant to at least one member of the VP team.
But seriously, if Victory pros are so good at poker, why are they so simple to level? Eassssy game.
New Poker Rule: Queens Outrank Kings April 23, 2010
Posted by Jennifer in : feminism,poker , 3 comments
Women have won two major mixed poker titles in a row, which should be a boon to attracting more women to the male dominated game. Vanessa Selbst won the North American Poker Tour Mohegan Sun event, good for a $750,000 cash. Meanwhile, Liv Boeree won EPT San Remo for €1.25 million. I watched the San Remo final three on the live webcast and Liv’s staredowns were incredible. Freeze frame from one to the left. I rarely stare at people intentionally in poker or in life, but this got me wondering if I should start.
Vanessa Selbst’s blog entry on NAPT with her hand analysis was great, the kind of thing that inspires me to improve in poker. I also listened to an interview with Vanessa on pokercast where she talked about how important it was for her to be a role model to young girls, who rarely see openly gay figures in the media–great thing to say. I voted for Selbst to make it into the WSOP tournament of champions event and will definitely be checking her blog out regularly, in spite of gray text on black background.
I played next to Vanessa Selbst in the 2007 Ladies World Series of Poker–we had just broke down to the final two tables, I was super-short and she was seated to my left. I was not happy about having to shove with almost any two into her monstrous stack but met an even worse fate getting all my money in preflop a few hands later. I had AQo in the Big Blind against JJ (who raised two off the button) and AA (who re-raised in the Small Blind). The woman with aces was upset that JJ sucked out on the river to knock her out, and had some nasty words about my play. I remember being consoled by the fact that Selbst said I was right to go in (assuming I lacked major reads on the first two raisers).
Liv, the ultimate modern Renaissance woman, seems to have enthralled the entire 2+2 community. Well you gotta be either enamored or intimidated by an astrophysicist/guitar-playing/model/journalist/poker champion. Seems made up right? Check out the following clip of Liv interviewing Ron Jeremy, which shows that she thinks a level ahead of the porn star– in his own game:
Finish What You Start: My last shot at Monte Carlo & Checkmating Violence April 19, 2010
Posted by Jennifer in : chess,poker , 2 comments
This weekend I gave a simultaneous exhibition at a 24-hour “Checkmate Violence” marathon, organized by After School Activities Partnerships and sponsored by PECO. It was a 20-board clock simul where I had 45 minutes for all the games, and my opponents had 25 minutes. Very tough to win 20 games in 45 minutes, but I was happy with my final tally of 15:5. I certainly got a great cardio workout, completely canceling out my decadent Friday hoagie and mozzarella sticks dinner
It was also interesting to watch Mayor Nutter play chess against a 9-year-old girl from the program. Normally when political figures offer to speak at a chess event, they only make the ceremonial first move. But Nutter took it very seriously and ended up playing the entire game, which lasted 45 minutes. His aides, who were impatiently watching said it felt like it took 4.5 hours. See the full story in the Philadelphia Inquirer and look for some moves from the actual game on my CLO blog.
In another example of finishing what you start, I played the last chance €215 Ladies Luxury Poker Club Monte Carlo direct qualifier. I was seriously considering not playing because it may be hard to get to Europe in the new few weeks due to the volcano. But it just felt wrong to play so well in the first six and reject my final shot especially since I’d won a super-sat into it. Also I want to support stars’ efforts to promote women’s poker and it’s hard to find a $300 online tournament with such good value.
In the start of the tourney, I felt a little distracted and call-ey. But during the middle and end, patience, math and some luck ( I got kings at a good moment) came to the fore and I final-tabled with an average stack. Two €3500 packages were at stake and there were three consolation prizes for 3rd-5th of €530 Euros (about $700). Sadly I mini-bubbled for 6th (the big bubble is obviously third). The hand I busted on was pretty trivial. I had sixes on the button with a M of 10, was called by the shortest stack in the SB with AJs and lost the showdown, ace on the river 
Lost another showdown for the rest of my meager stack and ended up with the sub-consolation prize of €10 Euros! I did have some interesting hands earlier in the event like this one against the most aggressive player at the table:
I’d bet/fold against a lot of the tight players in ladies events, but against this player, my plan was bet/re-raise all in, since she’s perfectly capable of raising here with air. She did checkraise/fold so it worked out well, but later I wondered if my play was clearly +EV or if I was overestimating her range.
Speaking of aggressive female players, I bought the James McManus tome, Cowboys Full on the history and culture of poker and read two articles on WomanPokerPlayer.com, HeSaid and SheSaid summing up his thoughts on the supposed lack of female ability in No Limit poker tourneys. The main argument is that women are too risk averse for high stakes poker. I find this very oversimplified. Patience and bankroll management are also very important poker skills which women may have more cultural aptitude for. It’s not clear that these are easier to learn than aggression. Often the testosterone pumped men tend to be the worst players of all, garbage raising machines. I think it would be much easier to teach a peaceful woman to push T9o on the SB with a short stack than to teach an egomaniacal dude to fold most hands out of position. The argument that women are ill-suited for NL poker smacks of a foregone conclusion, “women play poker less than men and don’t cash as often,” so let’s explain why that must be the case, ignoring the fact that tons of “aggressive” male players have lost their shirts on poker. Poker is not just about how much you win, but also sadly, about how much you lose. Otherwise, we’d all be rich.
I played a lot of online poker in March and April and felt I learned a lot, but I’ll be taking a break till my yearly WSOP/National Open trip in June to focus on other projects, such as promoting the 2010 US Chess Championships in Saint Louis. The event will feature a 10K guaranteed blitz Open for just a $40-50 entry fee. Hope to see you there!
Double-Bubble and Forgetting to Enjoy the Weather April 12, 2010
Posted by Jennifer in : poker , 3 comments
Time has flown since my last blog update. On the domestic front, I hosted a hummus party and planted my first garden. I’ve also been playing lots of poker, working on some art projects, chairing the 2010 US Chess Championship committee and covering the spring tournament season on CLO (See the Philadelphia Open scoops here.) To be honest, I haven’t been enjoying the season of cherry blossoms and iced coffee nearly enough but at least I’m keeping busy!
I wrote an expanded version of my article on Ladies’ poker tournaments on WomanPokerPlayer.com. Two additions to my original post here were the idea of ladies sats into mixed events (like the World Series of Poker Main Event, which still boasts fewer than 5% females) and the realization that there are effective men’s only games.
I’ve been trying really hard to win a seat on stars to the Ladies Event at EPT Monte Carlo, but so far, it was not meant to be. I played six and got deep twice in the weekly €215 Euro final. One time I lost a three-way where two tickets were at stake. I came up short when the short stacks kept doubling up until I was the short stack. Yesterday I got heads up, amassed a 9:1 chip lead and was just a fleck of luck away from the €3500 tournament package when everything went wrong. I lost three races in a row, and in 20 minutes my dream trip turned into a €530 consolation prize. The life of a semi pro tournament player is brutal.
A positive aspect of these satellites, besides adding to my stars bankroll is the realization that I’m quite good at satellites. Satellite structures play to two of my strengths-endgame math and patience. My edge is greater in sats with at least two spots at stake, because the math is more layered when bubble factors are involved. So I’m planning to start playing in more medium sized satellites. On stars you can use the winnings to play in either the specific tournament they were intended for, or any other event, such as the Sunday Million.
On a brighter note, last week I won a freeroll on WomanPokerPlayer.com, netting me a one-hour private lesson with professional poker player Vanessa Rousso. I don’t have the details yet but I’m guessing it will be a phone lesson. I’ll probably ask her about 3-betting and 4-betting ranges against various styles/bubble factors. I think a lot of equity is at stake in making the right choices in that part of the game and it will be nice to compare her thoughts with those of the online pros I’m friends with. I’m sure the lesson will be interesting so I’ll let you all know how it goes!
Oh by the way, I recently re-uploaded my Fox News Hula chess vid cause it expired on the original site. If you didn’t catch it last autumn, it’s a must watch!
XOXO, Jennifer
Ladies Poker Tournaments are Awesome March 6, 2010
Posted by Jennifer in : feminism,poker , 9 commentsI qualified for a Satellite tomorrow into the EPT Ladies Monte Carlo event. I almost won on my first try, got heads-up with a 2x chip lead but we were very deep and I eventually lost the battle. In heads-up it can be hard to tell if you’re getting owned or unlucky–still not sure. The next day, I ran better, played better, avenged my loss and qualified. There is one 3500 Euro package for every 18 players in the tournament, so I’ll have to run really well to win.
Time to explain the merits of ladies poker tournaments, and to contradict some of the criticism (see the Black Widow of Poker blog for a detailed example and some fiery comments.)
Before my thoughts, let’s hear what famous female poker players think about segregated poker tournaments.
Nay
Annie Duke “Poker is one of the few sports where a woman can compete on a totally equal footing with a man, so I don’t understand why there’s a ladies only tournament.”
Vicky Koren “I don’t think I will play the Ladies’ Event again. A special women’s competition sends out the wrong message, as if we’re admitting we need some kind of help. I want to get better at poker and take my chances in an open field. Of course I want to win a tournament one day, but I don’t want it to be a handicapped one. I want to win a real one.”- From For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair With Poker
Tiffany Michelle : “If we’re sitting here and talking about equality, and wanting to play with the boys, then obviously it’s not fair to have a ladies only event…I mean, I would be pissed off if they ever did a men-only event, so how in the world can we sit here and do this?” –From cardplayer.com
Yay
Kathy Liebert- “Ladies events are usually weaker fields.” (In response to my tweet to her asking why she plays in ladies tournaments. Interestingly Kathy is considered by many to be the best female tournament poker player, but she is not sponsored. See an interesting article about this here..)
Annette Obrestad : “I haven’t played in any (women’s tournaments). They’re just haven’t been any – I can’t play in Vegas. I guess one day I will play one in Vegas – I think the field will be really soft. It’s a good chance to win a bracelet! (laughs) It wouldn’t be as good as winning a normal event, but it’s still money, it’s still good.”- Poker Player Interview
Mixed, Mostly Positive
Vanessa Rousso- I don’t often play in ladies events because they usually have a fast structure and I gamble a bit too much in the beginning. But I plan to play the PCA (the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure, which she ended up winning) which has a great structure so I’m excited about that. Paraphrased from a pokercast interview, January 4, 2010
Evelyn Ng: “Even though there is no apparent gender bias inherent in poker tournaments, there is no doubt that women-only events have a totally different feel than open events… it was so wonderful that almost 1,200 women came out to play this year’s Ladies Championship (2008). Many of them were playing their first poker tournament, and perhaps, their experiences at the WSOP will be their gateway into open events in the future. For what it’s worth though, I think that the term ‘Women’s Event’ is much more appropriate than ‘Ladies Event,’” From her bodog blog.
Maria Ho: “I see the ladies events as a very good platform. Some women don’t feel comfortable playing at the same table as men. They feel more comfortable learning with other women. This just gives them the option and I don’t see a problem with that. It’s great for women, which will only be good for the game. The bad thing is that these tournaments are usually crapshoots. The structure is pretty poor. I’m not sure if they don’t feel the need to create a good structure, since we’re just females.” From a pokerpages interview.
If you haven’t guessed by the article title, I am in the Yay camp. Here are seven reasons why:
1. Women poker tournaments are NOT admitting we’re not good enough to play against men. One of the main poker skills is game selection, finding spots where you’re plus EV, accounting for the rake and expenses. You could be the second best poker player in the world, but if all you do is play the best poker player in the world, you’ll go broke eventually. Women’s fields are usually softer especially for equivalent buy-ins (not due to some inherent lack of female poker skill, but due to less exposure). Who would dare tell a man that he shouldn’t play in an event where he had a positive EV at? This line of argument would suggest a male pro who waits desperately for a spot at the table with the drunk businessman is actually admitting his inferiority? That women shouldn’t play in women’s tournaments because it’s degrading strikes me as so anti-poker it’s hard for me to believe that famous poker players espouse this idea. In chess, maximizing EV is not an integral part of the game’s skill, so the argument against segregated tournaments holds up much better. I grappled with the issue in Chess Bitch and went back and forth, but in poker this argument is in a roundabout way, sexist. Women should not be told how to manage their bankrolls in a moralistic, anti-money way—this is poker, not identity politics.
2. Variety of Opposition is a Good Learning Experience: In poker, unlike in chess, it’s good to play against as wide a variety of skill levels and styles as possible. Playing in ladies events may make women more capable of generalizing on how to play against females, which could give them an advantage in mixed competitions.
3. Women who play in Ladies’ Events, Once Knocked out, often play in other events- I always see more women at open events, sit n gos and tables before and after ladies’ events. Check out this hilarious but sad video from the EPT event in Copenhagen, which as far as I know, did not hold a ladies event.
Watch EPT Copenhagen 2010: Where Are The Women? on PokerStars.tv
4. Women's Poker Tournaments are Exciting and Fun- Poker tournaments can get repetitive to the media/boring to the players, so the more types of events you have, the better.
5. Lack of Intimidation for Newbies- Some women may find a ladies' event more fun and comfortable, and a good excuse to come to a major event. Therefore, hosting ladies events has the potential to make poker more balanced and popular. Ladies poker events also allow for targeted promotions.
6. Structures are Often Very Good Value- Contrary to Ho and Rousso's comments above, I've often found that the structures in Ladies' events are a very good deal for the buy-in. For instance, at the Borgata, generally Ladies' tournaments feature the lowest buy-ins of the event, and yet they usually have similar structures to more expensive tournaments. Surely I wouldn't object to even more time for our money, but we have to expect that to some extent, we'll get what we pay for. The Mancession may be reducing the lingering differences between American male and female salaries. Still, it seems like women are generally less likely to risk their life savings on poker. So if the goal is to lure women to major events and balance the male:female ratio, offering prestigious and deep tournaments for less money is a good strategy.
7. Men can Play a Ladies Event If They Really Want to- In the last year, men have won two major ladies' events in Lake Tahoe and Atlantic City. The casinos call the tournaments "ladies' events" and discourage men from participating but for legal reasons, they have no actual intention to prohibit insistent men. Even in these cases, I think it's rude for a dude to play in a women's event and probably not the best way to get a date. But the option is there- when I played last month at the Borgata Winter Ladies Open, there was raucous applause after each of five men were eliminated from the competition. So, at least in Vegas and AC women's tournaments are only segregated by the cultural construct/biological fact of gender (pick your percentages.) Men are free to ignore the gender label of the tournament if they don't mind getting booed.
The arguments above run the gamut from pragmatically self-interested to philosophical, but the antipathy over ladies events is so surprising to me that I had to rant out every reason I could think of. Hope I win tomorrow so in May, I can bring you more thoughts on women's poker tournaments from one of the most expensive places on earth
Pokerstars Superbowl Sunday Million February 7, 2010
Posted by Jennifer in : poker , 2 commentsIt’s SuperBowl Sunday, so to feel like I’m a civilized American, I have to gamble a little richer than usual. So I’m liveblogging the Pokerstars Sunday Million, a tournament which I haven’t played in a quite a while, back when the players were so much worse than they are now and Greg backed me. I figure a lot of players will be half watching the football game and tilting on teasers gone wrong. Here we go…..
5:45 PM- Tougher to liveblog in a 215 than a freeroll. Have a few more chips than I started with, 11K. I had a couple interesting hands which I’ll post when the tournament is over
6:52 PM- Got KOed–shoved with ATc and got called by AQo. Two clubs on the flop but no more.
Here is one of my most interesting hands of the event. Of course it turned out well for me, but I have some unresolved questions about the hand. I could have pushed on the river instead of the min-raise. I’m not entirely sure what the right line is on the flop either, but checking the turn feels right Feel free to vote below!
Pokerstars WBCOOP Main Event Live Blog January 31, 2010
Posted by Jennifer in : poker , 3 comments
4:51- OUT Had KK all in vs. 66 and JJ. Jacks hit a heart flush. Anyway, it was fun blogging and playing simultaneously. Maybe I’ll try it more often!
4:20- Doubled up…but not through skill, but someone else’s lack thereof
4:11-Often already in shipping mode when re-raising. I have~2400 chips and blinds are 30/60 blinds+5 antes
4
- Hula-hoop break, up to 2900 chips.
3:42- Had a few interesting/successful hands, AJo on the cutoff, wasn’t sure whether to go to war preflop with 50 big blinds, but won the hand anyway. Then I had this J9s hand:
3:23-Got AA on the button and re-raised an aggressive player but unfortunately he folded. 2400 chips-100 fewer than I started with.
3:10- The whole tight when tired thing doesn’t apply to online play…I was thinking about the Main Event of the WSOP, where I decided to get some “practice” the night before the big day and ended up bubbling in a Bellagio event at 5 AM (I felt like a big genius). The next day I was floored and a bit tighter than usual. But in an online freeroll, being tired makes you just want to shove at the earliest opportunity. That being said, the challenge of blogging while playing is fun, so I’ll try not to do anything too weird.
3:04- Woohoo, the dudes to my left and right (so far) are indeed, sitting out! A total of five players sitting out at the table, so steal city until further notice…
2:58- Pokerstars WBCOOP Main Event starts in a couple minutes! I hope for many big red aces. (we bought this deck for the Goldilocks shoot) I was up today at 6 AM covering the final round of Corus Chess 2010, which was both a privilege (Congrats to Carlsen for winning the event and to Nakamura for finishing strong!) and an unusually early wake-up for me. Sometimes I play too tight when tired so I’ll be trying to avoid that tendency.
PokerStars WBCOOP Saturday prelim: Live Blogging! January 30, 2010
Posted by Jennifer in : poker , 2 comments4:34: Lost a race with 88 v. ATo and I’m out. Not much to say though ofc villain’s call was horrendous.
Boohoo, better luck to me tomorrow! Tougher hand was this one. Please vote on my correct play on the river:
4:15- Doubled up with 22 vs. A7s, lucky me! Interesting 77 hand…not sure what the right play is on the flop….
3:55-Interesting hand with tons of draws on the river. Lucky not to lose more on this hand- well not losing my stack was the reason I checked rather than bet on the river.
3:40 PM- All in against the button from the BB. AKo vs. AKo, split pot Up to 2380 chips. By far the toughest preliminary I’ve played yet.
3:15 PM- Nothing too eventful so far, was down to 1800 chips, just won a few back with this hand. Would you bet or check the turn? I like betting since it seems my opponent has given up on life (I mean this hand) but checking protects me from getting check-raised. But the chances of me winning with a hand that wouldn’t have improved on the river seem much greater than the chances of him check-raising….
3 PM- First hand of the WBCOOP event #6. A little bummed because in most of the WBCOOP events I played so far, 4-5 players sit out which makes the game so much fun! Raise, raise, raise all the time! Looks like today we have a full table….will continue to post any interesting hands in this post. Wish me luck!
A Golden Rule of Homeownership January 20, 2010
Posted by Jennifer in : art,feminism,poker , 1 comment so farA golden rule of homeownership, right next to “no keg parties” is “don’t let a film crew into your house.” I learned the lesson the hard way when filming my latest video art project with DimMak Films. After five minutes of production, a doorknob broke. For the next 14 hours, the cast and crew squeezed between tripods to enter bathrooms, and I hoped not only for good shots, but that the equipment that took up every spare square inch of our house (but somehow never showed up in the shots, hooray!), wouldn’t damage the 100-year-old home I recently bought.
Well, rules are meant to be broken, and I’m really excited about editing and eventually showing this piece. Goldilocks vs. the three bears. Place your bets now.
Pokerstars listens to my thoughts on women in poker! January 12, 2010
Posted by Jennifer in : poker , 1 comment so far
Pokerstars is the only poker site I play on and recommend to friends, because of their generous and consistent sponsorship of the US Chess League. Pokerstars customer support is also legendary, which was emphasized to me recently when I wrote the following letter, politely complaining about mandatory spa packages and training sessions they included for satellites into the Ladies PCA Caribbean Adventure event. An excerpt of my letter:
Women, like men, play poker to get as much value as possible and I didn’t notice many similar packages in WSOP qualifiers or in the other PCA events. I think if you polled women, we’d rather have 15% more prize packages than have the way the money is spent decided for us.
So as far as I understand the package was $1100 (entry fee)+ 900(expenses)+ 1000(Hotel)+ 250(Spa)+ 250(High Heels Poker Training). I think in the future, spa packages and poker training programs that are part of ladies’ event satellites (as great as they sound) should be optional and available for cash-out if desired unless the spa package or training session are included at significant discount rates.
They responded by telling me that maybe next time (for the Monte Carlo EPT series) they would seriously consider running two types of satellites, and the kicker…what was my address, cause they wanted to send me a gift! I wonder what it will be.
Also, poker fans should read my interview with Jeff Sarwer on CLO. It got a lot of positive feedback, which cheered me up in this frigid weather. Next up for me: Covering the Liberty Bell Open for CLO, playing a few tourneys at the Borgata Winter Poker Open, and editing my latest video creation. More on all that soon! Love, Jennifer
