The World Series of Poker just began on GGPoker, this time complete with a Ladies’ event on September 10. CardsChat spoke with GG to get the scoop on the reasoning behind their decision and why women’s poker events matter, even online.
“This type of event is important as it allows us to shine a spotlight on a great and growing player community that might otherwise get lost in the wider poker world,” said GGPoker representative Paul Burke. “Poker is the world’s greatest card game and, currently, sees far more men participating than women, but this may not always be the case.” He added that the industry as a whole has historically focused on young male players. While that certainly is the past, it’s not destined to be the future.
Many ways to measure success
CardsChat asked GGPoker about their metric for success for the Ladies’ event and, interestingly, it’s not necessarily dollar signs.
“We have no particular target in terms of number of entrants,” Burke said. “GGPoker will consider the WSOP Ladies’ event a success if a majority of those taking part enjoy it.”
The September 10 event sports a $500 buy-in, which may be a bit steep for the average player. PokerStars, for example, lowered its Women’s Sunday tournament buy-in from $55 to $22 after community feedback.
Burke stressed, the GGPoker online series, which runs from August 14 to September 27, is meant to “dovetail” with the live World Series of Poker and must fit in with the broader series of events.
Buy-ins for all events range from $210 to $10K, although most are in the $500 to $1,500 zone. The Ladies’ event costs $500 to enter, placing it on the more affordable side of the spectrum, relative to the rest of the series. Last year, there was no Ladies’ event, although GGPoker has an ongoing partnership with the online community Fantastic Ladies in Poker (FLIP), and has hosted a number of joint online tourneys.
Eligibility is based on government ID through account verification. Some have found this guideline to be strict, but overall, the reaction to a women’s only field has been supportive and enthusiastic. And if enjoyment is the metric GGPoker is using to determine whether the tournament is a hit or not, the event is bound to be a success.
YES! The @WSOP Online $500 Ladies Championship on September 10th @GGPoker will be restricted to women only this time! @mjbloech #morewomen #flipthetable #ggpokercanada pic.twitter.com/YwbUeU2hfo
— Doc ♠️❤️♣️👑 (@DrAlexChauran) August 8, 2022
