Gone are the days when women were only the faces for raising the Poker population. This is the time when women are taking equal part in Poker and giving tough competition to their male counterparts. In fact, there are several historical moments in World Series of Poker Tournament (WSOP) wherein women have shown their eye-popping performances. Given below are the ‘unheard-of’ women specific moments in the history of WSOP:
- Entry of Barbara Freer in 1978 WSOP Main Event: Dating back to its roots, poker always has been a male-dominant game. The only women that you were seen in the Poker room were the wives of Poker pros, bar tenders, and dealers. These ladies knew how to play poker but were not allowed to play poker because of social issues. So, to engage these poker-skilled ladies and to make them feel special, WSOP created a women specific event in 1977. Within few years, this WSOP Ladies Only Event gained huge popularity. In 1978, just after one year of its launch, Barbara Freer decided to crack only men’s participation at WSOP, and took part in its Main Event.
- 1995 – A Year When Women Fought and Entered in WSOP Main Event: 1995 was an inspirational year for women in Poker as it was the first ever year wherein a lady named Barbara Enright made to the final table of 1995 WSOP Main Event. But, unfortunately she encountered historical beat in her Poker career when her pocket eights were crushed by 6-3 of Brent Carter. However, she got $114,180 for this historic win and set herself as an example for prospective women Poker pros.
- At an Early Age of 18 – She Won WSOP Europe Main Event – Yes, at the age of merely 18 years Annette Obrestad became the first teenager girl in Poker’s WSOP history to conclude Europe Main Event final in 2007. Do you know it was her online name ‘Annette_15’ that proved lucky as it helped her win the first ever WSOP – E Main Event title. This victory earned her prize money of $2 million and made her #1 player of all time in women list.
- 2014 – When Vanessa Selbst Won her Third Open-Field Bracelet: Vanessa Selbst has always been considered one of the best female Poker players of the world. And, she continued her legacy when she won the Event #2 of the 2014 WSOP $25,000 NL Hold’em Mixed-Max thereby creating a new history of becoming the first women to win three open-field bracelets.
And the list goes on. There are many more historical moments wherein women poker players have left no stone unturned to imprint their names on the golden wall of Poker. Their achievements have been an inspiration for all the female Poker enthusiasts, and moreover, proved that even at the high level of Poker women can beat men with flying colors.