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Increasing numbers of female players laying their cards on the poker table
Sleazy smoke-filled rooms and tough guys chomping on thick cigars - is that what you think poker is all about.
Well, think again. Since online poker took the world by storm, Cool Hand Luke is almost as likely to be Cool Hand Lucy.
Statistics are thin on the ground, but internet poker sites report increasing numbers of female players laying their cards on the virtual table.
The number of women gambling at EmpirePoker.com has soared from 3 percent of players three years ago to 20 percent today.
Last year, 10 percent of members at InterPoker.com were female - that figure now stands at around 25 percent.
"Women are the fastest-growing demographic of new players", says Maryann Morrison, founder of the Women's Poker Club, a women-only US poker website.
So why the huge leap.
Getting a seat at the poker table in real life can be pretty intimidating for a new player, particularly a woman in this traditionally macho world.
But playing anonymously online, when you can play for low stakes and hone your skills - and also time your games to fit in with other commitments - all make poker on the net very attractive to the female gambler.
Playing comfortably at home is a big draw even for professional poker players.
US-based Francine Brandler is used to crossing the Atlantic to play for cash, but even she admits to taking part in games on the web in her pyjamas.
"The thing I love about online play is you can be dressed any way you want AND do your nails at the same time", she says.
Some sites, like The Sun Poker, offer a chance to play for free while you learn the rules and practise your skills.
And as they learn the rules of games like Texas Hold'Em, women who previously didn't know their ace from their elbow are becoming hooked on the adrenaline rush of an activity many are surprised to find themselves keen on - and good at.
Many male poker players reckon women are terrible bluffers, which is where playing online really comes into its own. Choose your playername with care and no one needs to know your sex.
Not that being a women is necessarily a disadvantage anyway.
As the poker-teaching website pokergirluk.com puts it, the skills you need to succeed at the card table include 'negotiation, aggression, patience, the ability to read people': the same skills you need to manage a partner, toddler, boss..
Is it really such a surprise women poker players are the new joker in the pack.
Source: BonusGambler.com Editors' Choice
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