Zimba Blog:
This was the last weekend before I head to Las Vegas for my annual WSOP trip. As my wife and kids will be heading out East to visit family for several weeks around the same time, I prioritized spending time away from the computer this weekend.
Tonight Mrs. Zimba and I took a walk around the neighborhood as we often do. As we rounded the bend of one street I could hear some kids playing basketball behind a big fence. The lone voice I heard sounded like that of a 6-8 year old girl. She called out with exasperation "I hate when boys are right." Her sentiment immediately crystallized some thoughts and reactions I had to rumblings in the poker world I had seen over the weekend on Twitter regarding men playing in the WSOP Ladies event.
The reason I found this girl's perhaps flippant comment profound was that even at her young age she grasped something about human nature that she will have to face the rest of her life. With the understanding that this trait isn't gender specific, nor without exception, let me explain further my male perspective. Boys do care a lot about being right. They focus on their desires and outcomes often to the exclusion of all else. Boys are pushed to compete and strive from an early age. When boys are right, they aren't often magnanimous but rather revel in their "rightness." If proved ultimately correct, how they arrived at it, or any peripheral damage is overlooked. They don't prioritize the feeling for the vanquished. They don't sympathize with opposing or alternative viewpoints.
In the poker world, the notion of "rightness" would best be captured by the notion of Equity Value (EV), that in every situation there is an EV attributed to our decision. If the balance is in our favor, we should act regardless of any other considerations. If it isn't, we are playing against the odds. Each EV decision is based on our personal perception of events and working with the information you have.
On Friday, Jonathan Epstein and eleven other men decided that it was positive EV to play the $1,000 WSOP Ladies event. They may have had different motivations or personal calculations on why it was positive EV for them to play, but they each joined the 1,044 women who also signed up. Epstein made it the furthest, the first to bust at the final table settling for 9th place and $13,701. Afterward, he claimed to have mixed thoughts on whether he would do it again.
"I figured it wasn't going to be a big deal but I was clearly wrong," he said. "Obviously there are a lot of people who are upset."
"To be honest in the beginning I thought it was fine but now I don't know," he said. "I'm undecided about it. I feel it's somewhat unfair that women get their own event but I see the reasons behind it."
He made money, but the reaction from staff, fans, and fellow players indicated that his decision might not have been positive EV. You see, there is poker EV and then there is life EV. Where in poker EV you shut out all other variables to focus on your personal decision and what's best for you, in life you need to consider many more variables. No one goes about the world alone. The fact that Jonathan Epstein may have been a better poker player than many of his opponents pales in comparison to the violation of the spirit and purpose of the Ladies event.
Let's look at the realities of women in the WSOP. Roughly 3% of entrants at the 2011 WSOP are women. This year, four women made final tables, with a ninth, a sixth and two second place finishes in 55 events. Remove the top 50 women professional poker players from the equation and the women playing in WSOP event numbers would fall drastically. It is easy to see that since women make up 50% of the population, they are the largest under-represented community in poker.
We all want poker to grow. We want more players in the game. The male dominated WSOP environment is intimidating for women to play. The Ladies event encourages a fun and friendly woman-only event where many get their feet wet and can gain some experience before joining the more treacherous and frankly negative male dominated environment. Over 1,000 women play in the event. For many of those women, it is the only WSOP event they will play. With confidence and further experience, they may join the ranks of those playing multiple open events.
I understand that legally, men can't be prevented from playing, but come on. Stop thinking of yourself and your perceived personal EV. There is a Seniors event that allows only people over 50. There is a Casino employee's event. Even a Media only event. If the WSOP wanted to have an event for left handed, Slovakian jugglers would it really matter that much that you don't qualify? There are 55 other events you can choose to play at the WSOP, with dozens of simultaneous tournaments running around Las Vegas. Think of the growth of poker. Respect the decision of the WSOP to hold such an event and of the women who look forward to playing in the supposed woman only event.
One of the true life lessons that I have gained as an adult, is that life is not about just my desires and my EV. If I want to have a wife and children, I must think of their needs and desires. If I want to be part of a group or community, I must regularly consider their thoughts and feelings. If I want to hold onto a well paying job I need to respect their requirements and expectations. Being an engaged adult in society means not focusing solely on my needs. It involves constantly thinking of others beyond myself.
Congratulations to Mr. Epstein on going deep in a poker tournament. Your result provides evidence that you were likely right that you had positive personal EV. I would simply urge you and all men to rethink their EV in consideration of more variables before entering a Ladies tournament. I would argue that life EV trumps poker EV.
P.S. On the massive GG.net "hot girls in poker" that pictorially includes more than 270 women in poker now, I had one commenter say that he didn't find some of the women to be hot. My response was similar in spirit to what I expressed in this blog. Just because you personally don't find someone attractive doesn't make them unattractive. Someone somewhere does find them attractive. Each woman depicted is either a daughter, sister, wife, mother or girlfriend to some male that loves them and finds them beautiful. Open your mind to realize that it's not only about you.
This was the last weekend before I head to Las Vegas for my annual WSOP trip. As my wife and kids will be heading out East to visit family for several weeks around the same time, I prioritized spending time away from the computer this weekend.
Tonight Mrs. Zimba and I took a walk around the neighborhood as we often do. As we rounded the bend of one street I could hear some kids playing basketball behind a big fence. The lone voice I heard sounded like that of a 6-8 year old girl. She called out with exasperation "I hate when boys are right." Her sentiment immediately crystallized some thoughts and reactions I had to rumblings in the poker world I had seen over the weekend on Twitter regarding men playing in the WSOP Ladies event.
The reason I found this girl's perhaps flippant comment profound was that even at her young age she grasped something about human nature that she will have to face the rest of her life. With the understanding that this trait isn't gender specific, nor without exception, let me explain further my male perspective. Boys do care a lot about being right. They focus on their desires and outcomes often to the exclusion of all else. Boys are pushed to compete and strive from an early age. When boys are right, they aren't often magnanimous but rather revel in their "rightness." If proved ultimately correct, how they arrived at it, or any peripheral damage is overlooked. They don't prioritize the feeling for the vanquished. They don't sympathize with opposing or alternative viewpoints.
In the poker world, the notion of "rightness" would best be captured by the notion of Equity Value (EV), that in every situation there is an EV attributed to our decision. If the balance is in our favor, we should act regardless of any other considerations. If it isn't, we are playing against the odds. Each EV decision is based on our personal perception of events and working with the information you have.
On Friday, Jonathan Epstein and eleven other men decided that it was positive EV to play the $1,000 WSOP Ladies event. They may have had different motivations or personal calculations on why it was positive EV for them to play, but they each joined the 1,044 women who also signed up. Epstein made it the furthest, the first to bust at the final table settling for 9th place and $13,701. Afterward, he claimed to have mixed thoughts on whether he would do it again.
"I figured it wasn't going to be a big deal but I was clearly wrong," he said. "Obviously there are a lot of people who are upset."
"To be honest in the beginning I thought it was fine but now I don't know," he said. "I'm undecided about it. I feel it's somewhat unfair that women get their own event but I see the reasons behind it."
He made money, but the reaction from staff, fans, and fellow players indicated that his decision might not have been positive EV. You see, there is poker EV and then there is life EV. Where in poker EV you shut out all other variables to focus on your personal decision and what's best for you, in life you need to consider many more variables. No one goes about the world alone. The fact that Jonathan Epstein may have been a better poker player than many of his opponents pales in comparison to the violation of the spirit and purpose of the Ladies event.
Let's look at the realities of women in the WSOP. Roughly 3% of entrants at the 2011 WSOP are women. This year, four women made final tables, with a ninth, a sixth and two second place finishes in 55 events. Remove the top 50 women professional poker players from the equation and the women playing in WSOP event numbers would fall drastically. It is easy to see that since women make up 50% of the population, they are the largest under-represented community in poker.
We all want poker to grow. We want more players in the game. The male dominated WSOP environment is intimidating for women to play. The Ladies event encourages a fun and friendly woman-only event where many get their feet wet and can gain some experience before joining the more treacherous and frankly negative male dominated environment. Over 1,000 women play in the event. For many of those women, it is the only WSOP event they will play. With confidence and further experience, they may join the ranks of those playing multiple open events.
I understand that legally, men can't be prevented from playing, but come on. Stop thinking of yourself and your perceived personal EV. There is a Seniors event that allows only people over 50. There is a Casino employee's event. Even a Media only event. If the WSOP wanted to have an event for left handed, Slovakian jugglers would it really matter that much that you don't qualify? There are 55 other events you can choose to play at the WSOP, with dozens of simultaneous tournaments running around Las Vegas. Think of the growth of poker. Respect the decision of the WSOP to hold such an event and of the women who look forward to playing in the supposed woman only event.
One of the true life lessons that I have gained as an adult, is that life is not about just my desires and my EV. If I want to have a wife and children, I must think of their needs and desires. If I want to be part of a group or community, I must regularly consider their thoughts and feelings. If I want to hold onto a well paying job I need to respect their requirements and expectations. Being an engaged adult in society means not focusing solely on my needs. It involves constantly thinking of others beyond myself.
Congratulations to Mr. Epstein on going deep in a poker tournament. Your result provides evidence that you were likely right that you had positive personal EV. I would simply urge you and all men to rethink their EV in consideration of more variables before entering a Ladies tournament. I would argue that life EV trumps poker EV.
P.S. On the massive GG.net "hot girls in poker" that pictorially includes more than 270 women in poker now, I had one commenter say that he didn't find some of the women to be hot. My response was similar in spirit to what I expressed in this blog. Just because you personally don't find someone attractive doesn't make them unattractive. Someone somewhere does find them attractive. Each woman depicted is either a daughter, sister, wife, mother or girlfriend to some male that loves them and finds them beautiful. Open your mind to realize that it's not only about you.
First Zimba Blog: I Want That Feeling, One Time!
Second Zimba Blog: Sunday Poker Diatribe
Third Zimba Blog: Thoughts and Experiences with Cheating in Poker
Fourth Zimba Blog: The Myth of Money Won in Poker
Fifth Zimba Blog: Poker Super Powers - The Cloak of Invincibility
Sixth Zimba Blog: The Good News About The Portuguese Prodigy
Seventh Zimba Blog: Finding Your Place In Poker
Eighth Zimba Blog: Poker Empathy
Ninth Zimba Blog: Poker - A Global Game
Tenth Zimba Blog: 10 Things I Learned From My First Week Not Playing Poker
Eleventh Zimba Blog: The Blame Game
Twelfth Zimba Blog: Commentary On FSG 218 Pros List
Thirteenth Zimba Blog: Poker News or Perspective?
Fourteenth Zimba Blog: WSOP Memories Redux
Fifteenth Zimba Blog: WSOP Memories Redux, pt. 2
Sixteenth Zimba Blog: Grandfathered In
Seventeenth Zimba Blog: Full Tilt Poker and the $60 Million Cost of Business
Eighteenth Zimba Blog: WSOP Bracelet - What is it worth anyways?
Nineteenth Zimba Blog: Down the Rabbit Hole
Twentieth Zimba Blog: Full Tilt Poker Misplayed Their Hand
Twenty-first Zimba Blog: U.S. Poker: 180 Days and Degrees
