Jessica Vierling: Breakinrummy sitesg Barriers and Redefining Women’s Place in Poker

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Table Of Contents

• The Challenges and Strengths of Women in Poker
• The Future of Poker: A Level Playing Field?

Poker is a game of skill, strategy, and mental endurance—but for women, it often comes with an extra set of challenges.

With over 1.3 million in live earnings, two WSOP Circuit rings, and several WSOP Circuit final tables, Jessica Vierling has consistently proven she belongs at any table she sits at and in any event she plays. In this piece, she shares her personal experiences at the tables, the moments that shaped her journey, and her thoughts on the game's future.

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A couple of weeks ago, I won a Venetian daily, sharing the final table with two other women – Katie Porrello and JJ Liu. There were only eight female entries in the tournament total, but with two tables there were four of us. I was like, “Wow, look at that!”

I love seeing us outperform our participation rates because there is still the stigma that women are not as competitive or strong enough to be a force in poker.

For example, last year, I registered the WSOP Circuit High Roller at Bally's, finishing as runner-up. On my way to my table, without asking which tourney I wanted to play, three different people tried to send me to the Ladies Event. I felt underestimated, but there are many success stories like mine. Look at how we keep defying the stereotype!

The Challenges and Strengths of Women in Poker

I remember when a friend of mine, who I play home games, with came to the casino with me. She looked around and couldn’t see a single woman, and so she didn’t want to play. It’s a simple equation: seeing more women will encourage more women to play.

I think women who compete in the game do so well because they have made the conscious decision to face obstacles that men don't have. Like when I played the High Roller, I'm choosing to battle against an almost exclusively male field and I'm choosing to do that although three people wanted to send me to the Ladies Event instead.

If women accept to sit through the occasional - often covert and "accidental" - prejudice without a female friend at their side, they are more committed to the competition. Most men are amazing, but the rare rotten apple spoils the batch. So, to step into the arena, we are willing to overcome fears and potential hostility.

It's not easy, and it's an additional challenge! That's why it makes sense that we are more competitive when we get there and perform better. We are dedicated to the game some people believe we are not supposed or expected to play.

As more women enter the field, and it won't be a gender question anymore, I think that edge will decrease or become equal because women will no longer have to overcome psychological barriers and need to prove themselves to belong.

Is poker a man's game? In a way, I would say it is at the moment. Over 90% of players are male. However, it also depends on how you define a "man's game".

It is a game played mainly by men, but does that mean men are automatically better than women? I don't think so.

If you really understand the game and the nuances, it’s basically a representation or microcosm of life. You need so many skills to prevail.

For the last 3,000 years (complex thinking humanity is about 70,000 years old), traits have been categorized as "feminine" and "masculine," with "feminine" linked to women and "masculine" to men. The "feminine" was viewed as inferior, e.g., hard facts over intuition, logic over emotion, and dominance over cooperation. Times are changing, though. We understand that everyone actually carries the potential for all these attributes, and we are valuing them again.

People love to follow a man who is directive and confident but admits when he's wrong and listens to the needs and feedback of his employees. He will win against a person whose ego demands he walks out a winner out of every argument and sees disagreement or softer notions as threatening. A woman (or anyone) embracing all her traits, assertiveness, boldness, patience, and social skills will do better in poker than a player who has to win every pot and doesn't know when to back down.

The Future of Poker: A Level Playing Field?

Poker requires a vast array of different skills and traits, such as pattern recognition, patience, work ethic, emotional endurance, intuition, and logic — I could go on forever. It teaches us risk assessment and standing by our decisions – whether the outcome is good or bad. We learn to focus on the process, not the outcome, developing strategies that can be used in day-to-day interactions, the business world, and even relationships.

Our brains are wired a lot more like each other than other people would like to admit, and you see that when it comes to these skills, there isn't a clear male or female advantage, just as in life.

It is extremely disappointing when accomplished poker players undermine and downplay women's abilities because it has a massive impact on a lot of people's opinions. Their fans look up to them and accept what they say as reality. It can be very demotivating for aspiring young females to be told they are "by nature" not competitive enough to succeed in what they love. I believe that "with great power comes great responsibility", and these people have failed.

I am confident that anyone who consistently works hard to learn poker, spiritually and psychologically integrates into wholeness, and has some basic emotional and rational intelligence will succeed.