Poker is the new bingo as ladies have fun

Wales -- IT WAS once the exclusive territory of fedora-wearing mafioso in dimly lit backrooms and whisky-slugging cowboys whose six-shooters lay next to their cards on the table.

But something has happened in the dangerous, murky world of poker made famous by the likes of gunslingers Doc Holliday and Wild Bill Hickok, who was shot in the back while he played.

The most famous card game of them all is becoming one for the girls as ladies swap bingo for blackjack and bored pensioners abandon their quiet nursing homes for a bit of action.

And Wales’ casinos are cashing in on the trend, with the glitzy gambling arenas offering tutoring, hen night and birthday packages which are soaring in popularity.

One woman leading the charge is Debbie Channing, who is now ranked among Wales’ top poker players and looks all set to compete in the Wales Poker League final at the Grosvenor Casino in Cardiff’s Red Dragon Centre next weekend.

Debbie believes women have a natural secret weapon over male players – a man's inability to understand how a woman's mind works.

Her view is backed by top US poker player Shirley Rosario, who says men perceive women as “tight, weak, emotional, less likely to bluff and not inclined to gamble as much as a man would be”.

“There’s not really any intimidation from the men but they underestimate us a lot,” said Mrs Channing, 48, an ex-hairdresser from Newport, who took up the game after she started hosting poker evenings in her pub, The Crown, in Maindy.

Since then, it’s become a family affair with Debbie’s husband Roger and 18-year-old daughter Janine also highly ranked players who often face each other around the table.

“But that works to our advantage – men find women difficult to read don’t they?

“It’s one of the few games you can compete fairly against a man and come out on top. You get away with a bit more as a woman.

“There are lots of women involved in poker now right across the board. There’s even a 76-year-old who found life so boring in her nursing home that she took up poker to keep her mind active.

“She’s now doing very well in the league.

“You will definitely find that many of them used to do something like bingo before they found poker.”

Irene Hull, sales manager at the Grosvenor, is leading a marketing drive to attract more women to the game, which now has its own magazine Woman Poker Player while the world’s top female player, Las Vegas’ Kathy Liebert, has amassed total winnings of around £1.9m.

“There are a lot more women playing in poker competitions, whether in the GUKPT tournament (where former EastEnders actor Michael Greco won £100,000 in Cardiff last year) or our £5 competitions,” she said.

“My role is to get as many customers as possible but I’m finding more and more of them are women. We’re getting well known for our hen parties and birthdays and we even have a Ladies Club on the first Thursday of every month where we let ladies’ hairdressers or salons come in and showcase.”

The rise in the numbers of women is also linked to a change in the law, which has helped propel casinos into the mainstream leisure industry.

A 2005 YouGov poll showed that up to 40% of online poker players were women, while analysts say writer Victoria Coren’s win at the 2006 European Poker Championships could be leading more women to start playing the game.

News Added: 21 April, 2008

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