In a card game that is still mostly male, women have gradually gained their space at the poker tables as well.
Along the way, however, they needed to overcome the prejudice and contempt they say they feel from their opponents and prove their value in the game.
In the BSOP (Brazilian Series of Poker) tournament held at the end of January at the Costa do Sauípe resort, on the coast of Bahia, 81 women participated in Ladies, a competition within the event exclusively for female participation.
They represented around 1.4% of the total of approximately 6 thousand registered participants present at the tournament in Bahia.
Bank employee Priscila Martins, 42, became champion of the women’s tournament, taking home a prize of approximately R$15,000. To be able to participate, the registration fee was R$1,000.
As a basis for comparison, the event’s main tournament, open to all participants, had 854 entrants and had a registration fee of R$5,000, with a prize pool of R$550,000 for the champion.
Having achieved her second title, the amateur player from Guarulhos started playing the sport about eight years ago, when she started to join a group of co-workers who met periodically after work to play some recreational poker games. In the class of around ten people, she was the only woman.
A frequent figure in tournaments over the last few years, including in mixed competitions, Priscila said that today she feels that she is now more recognized and respected by her peers, whether men or women. But he highlighted that starting the game tends to be more difficult for the players.
“When you’re starting out and people don’t know you, because you’re a woman, you need to prove yourself twice. I’ve already felt that,” said the champion, who was accompanied by her mother during the contest at the luxury resort.
“When I started out, the first thing I had to do was show my opponents that I’m not weak, that we’re playing on equal terms. I think maybe other women have felt that too, but as you play and become known in the world, that diminishes,” she added.
She said that, although it is a hobby that she intends to continue carrying out in parallel with her work at the bank, she also invests part of the winnings in online courses and classes with professional players to improve her skills at the card table.
According to the player, being patient to stay connected during matches that can last a few hours, and closely observing opponents to identify any weaknesses, are important characteristics to be successful in poker. She estimated that there is also about 30% luck involved, depending on the cards that are dealt each hand.
“Poker is a game of the mind, it’s a game of people. It’s a super high level, so I saw that I needed to study. And the idea is to bring more and more women, and show men that we have the same technical level as them”, said Priscila.
Brazilian champion in 2025 and two-time “Ladies” champion, businesswoman Lúcia Risson, 61, was one of the most experienced participants in the women’s tournament. In this edition, she finished in fifth place, entitled to a prize of R$5,000.
Defining herself as a “workaholic”, Lúcia stated that she started playing poker around ten years ago to have some leisure time and be able to leave her focus on work for a few moments.
“When we’re playing, we don’t think about work. There’s the review, the friendship, the game itself, which is extremely strategic, observation, body reading, mathematics, feelings, and that all fascinated me,” he said.
She added that she believes that she ends up having a certain advantage in the card game because she is a woman, according to the businesswoman, as she reads more carefully than men during games.
“I think that women, because they multitask, can take care of their children, cook, do several things at the same time… So, I think we end up having greater sensitivity when reading the game. And body reading in poker is very important.”
She also stated that she has experienced episodes of prejudice in the industry because she is a woman, having heard comments about “washing the dishes” and “taking care of her husband”, and considered that, although Ladies can be interpreted by some people as a segregationist event, she considers this type of competition important to attract more players.
“When you bring a woman into this space, she allows herself, she has the perception that the environment is hers. It becomes easier, she is not afraid of making a wrong move, of hearing a discriminatory comment.”
