Poker News

Susie Isaacs

In some poker rooms in the early days of poker in Las Vegas, one low-limit, high-volume table would be designated as a “snatch” table. Specially trained dealers would visibly take four or five dollars from the pot as the rake, and then discretely take another six, eight, 10, even 12 dollars by “palming” the chips. These dealers were called “snatch dealers.” They actually were “snatching” chips from the pot. One such snatch dealer was Linda Davis who as a young woman was one of the first female poker dealers in Las Vegas and one of the first female snatch dealers. She reminisced, “We were taught to snatch when we were taught to deal. The dealer who snatched the most during a week would receive a bonus envelope. I loved to play poker and I was pretty good but dealing was so lucrative, I dealt as much as I could. Snatch games began to die out in the late 70’s when the boys (the mob) were on their way out and the Feds were coming in. By the early 80’s the poker games were fully regulated and there were no more snatch games.”

In 1970, Benny Binion decided to create a battle of poker giants and dubbed it “The World Series of Poker.” That first year there were seven players and the following year 13. The numbers of entrants never stopped growing. In 1978 the first woman entered the major competition. Her name is Barbara Freer. In 1986 the player field had grown to 141 players and Wendeen Eolis became the first woman ever to win money in what the men considered “their event.” Poker was becoming known as a game of skill as a result of the World Series of Poker.

Some free-spirited women began to play poker publicly in Las Vegas, Reno and California card rooms. They were a vast minority and had to be strong-willed to survive the negativity from the male dominated majority.

When it came to Vera Richmond, strong-willed is an understatement. She was the first woman to match wits and bankrolls with the likes of Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, Stu Ungar, Bobby Baldwin and other high-stakes poker players. Her father was Alfred Neiman of Neiman Marcus and she owned Vera Designs in Beverly Hills, California. The one overall general consensus in respect to Vera Richmond’s poker play was that the men hated her. June Field, a personal friend of Vera’s recalls, “Vera had as much money as any of them, as much nerve, and could out cuss any of them. They could not intimidate Vera!” Vera Richmond was the first woman to win a World Series of Poker open field event in 1982. Although her being the first female to win a coveted World Series of Poker bracelet is a matter of public record, the men so disliked her that they never acknowledged her accomplishment. It would be 14 years later before another woman; Barbara Enright won another open field event. Most believe that Enright is the first woman in history to win an open field event.

From 2000 to the present day most men still consider poker a blood sport that requires testosterone to play while more andmore women realize it is a great social activity. With the advent of Internet poker to practice in private and televised poker competition to watch and enjoy, kitchen table players have become more comfortable with the game. Only a few years ago it was estimated that fifty million people played poker. Today, that estimate is over eighty million and growing. Female poker players are coming on strong but remain a minority. Statistically speaking, the number of female poker players versus their male counterparts entering major poker competitions compared to where they finish, suggests that the feminine contestant is the strongest. Poker, it’s past is legendary and it’s future is limitless.

Susie Isaacs has written about poker and poker players since 1985. She is the first woman to win back-to-back titles at the World Series of Poker. Her latest venture is a line of “Designer Gaming Jewelry.” Visit www.susieisaacs.com.

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