For Women Also

Women have always made it a point that gender is not an issue for anything that a person wants to excel in. The game of poker is not an exception. Although admittedly previously lorded over by men, exceptional women have come forward to challenge men and women alike in this game.

Annie Duke is considered a very strong competitor in any tournament poker. She is one woman that can ably hold her own in the male-oriented game. She was born in Concord , New Hampshire and holds a double major on psychology and English. She was pursuing a doctoral degree in psycholinguistics when she began to play poker. It was her brother, Howard Lederer, that initially taught her how to play. She took over poker tutoring of actor Ben Affleck from Amir Vahedi. She is the leading money winner among women in the World Series of Poker history.

Cyndy Violette has caught the attention of poker enthusiasts both for her exceptional skills and good looks. She is very much into healthy living and has her sights on opening a health food café in the future. She started playing tournament poker in 1984. Her winning the Golden Nugget Tournament and her prize money of $74,000.00 (the biggest money ever won by a woman during that time) completely hooked her on the game. She won her first gold bracelet in 2004 in the Seven Stud Hi Low Event. This secured her seat in the World Poker Tour Ladies Night 2 event where only six women were invited to play.

Vanessa Rousso played poker while attending the University of Miami Law School. A dual citizen of US and France, she is able to speak English, French and Spanish fluently. She has always worked on trying to make her weaknesses less weak rather than concentrating on making her strength stronger. She came in seventh at the 2006 World Poker Tour Championship Event. She is known as the Lady Maverick of Poker.

Other women who have shown and continue to show much promise in this game are Shirley Rosario, Jennifer Harman, Jennifer Tilly, Evelyn Ng and Erin Ness. Women have brought a new perspective to the game of poker. It is quite a thought that when opponents think of them "only" as women, the more advantage these women get.

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