In the history of poker, the game
has traditionally been played by men and dominated by male players. Since the
game of poker and most games of chance were spread by professional soldiers and
other drifting and traveling vagabond type characters, it stands to reason that
the game was predominately played by males through the history of the craft of
poker. In the early days of the American Western frontier games of chance such
as poker and other casino style type games spread throughout the Western frontier,
as rough and tumble cattlemen searched for ways to alleviate boredom and blow
off steam in local saloons. This tradition of cavorting and gambling in saloons
and gaming halls has its roots in ancient history, as brawling and boozing
tavern patrons would wager on games of chance of all kinds throughout history.
Traditionally, in the old world
situations where gaming occurred such as casinos and poker rooms, the woman was
usually represented by dancing girls and fair maidens that were basically
hangers on to highrolling gamblers. While females were present at gaming
events, their role was reduced to simply attending, and rarely did they
participate in the playing of poker or any other game of chance. Some cultures
even forbade the participation of females in any type of gambling or games of
chance. While all these events and circumstances conspired to keep women out of
casinos and poker rooms, in modern times women have taken their rightful place
as highly talented casino and poker players.
Although it is impossible to
determine how many online poker players are women and how many are men, it is
fair to assume that at least some are female, if not half. Considering the
subservient and reduced role that females originally played in the gambling
community, it is not surprising at the active role that women take in gaming
and poker playing in the modern day, as internet poker rooms are filled with
women and successful female players every day. Online poker rooms specifically
attract female players due to the fact that there is less hassle and difficulty
in playing poker online than there is in the traditional brick and mortar real
world poker room setting.
While women are always welcome at
any gambling table in the modern day, online poker rooms are specifically practical
for the modern woman who is generally too busy to attend casinos and poker
rooms in the traditional real-world setting.
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