WSOP Ladies Event: Should Males Be Allowed?

The $1,000 Ladies Event descended into a bit of a farce when male youngster Jonathan Epstein made the final table, busting out in 9th for $13,701. It begs the question, should males be allowed to participate in the event?

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On a day when poker aficionados should have been watching the WSOP's most prestigious event, the $50k Poker Player's Championship, most eyes were on Jonathan Epstein and his quest to become winner of the $1k Ladies Event. Seen as the pantomime villain, his every hand was greeted by booing from the crowd.

Men playing in female events is not a new phenomenon on the poker circuit. Gregg Sessler won a WSOP Circuit Ladies Championship event at Lake Tahoe in 2009.

Right Or Wrong?

Why do men defy the ridicule and jeers from the audience to take to the felt in ladies only events? Is is it a playful wind-up (as the men appearing in drag costumes would suggest), or a tongue in cheek dig at gender discrimination?

Some men may see their decision to play in a ladies event as a meaningful political statement. Rather than attempt to undermine the integrity of the female game, it is part of the fight to give women equal parity in poker. After all, poker is a gender neutral game where skill prevails.

But we have to be realistic - alot of women do not feel at ease at male dominated poker tables. Poker started off as a game confined to seedy underground back alleys, and as Doyle Brunson will testify, the blackmail and robberies meant only the toughest souls survived. For along time, poker was a game which only men could really play. It was also seen as a social taboo - a dangerous form of gambling which only the red-blooded male would dare to dabble in.

Even now, a woman may be subject to misogynist jibes and sexist jokes at the tables. Of course, there are some outstanding and very successful female poker players, including Jennifer Harman, Vanessa Selbst, Liv Boeree, Vanessa Rousso and Kathy Liebert.

But there are still a large number of females who feel intimidated by what they perceive to be a male dominated game. The statistics don't lie - less than 4% of the 2010 WSOP tournament fields comprised of female entrants. The $1k Ladies Event attracted over 1,000 members, yet it would be unthinkable to have that number of women in a standard $1.5k Hold'em event.

Therefore, it seems only right to give women a platform to play, before they develop the confidence to tackle mixed events. Sadly, the WSOP can't actually prohibit men from entering ladies tournaments because it is a non-discriminatory organisation.

Epstein Explains Himself

In his defence, Jonathan Epstein didn't seem too phased by the whole ordeal. In response to the jeering, he stated "Some of the people watching have been kind of rude but I’ve just been ignoring them. It’s fine."

He added, "I’m undecided about it. I feel it’s somewhat unfair that women get their own event but I see the reasons behind it".

Epstein simply comes across as a misguided buffoon, not someone evil or vindictive towards women.

Even though men playing in female events is a ludicrous concept, the real villains are the men hostile to women in mixed events. These are the individuals hindering female involvement in poker.

What does everyone here at PokerStrategy.com think? Should males be allowed to play in female events? Please share your views and opinions.

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