Gone are the days when poker was about as “boys club” as anything could be. As soon as poker crossed the door of the dark, dodgy, and smoke-filled back rooms we are used to see in Hollywood movies, women have earned their place among the greats of the game and are dominating it alongside men.

Talented players like Loni Harwood, Vanessa Selbst, JJ Liu, Victoria Coren Mitchel, Maria Ho, and Xaun Liu, have opened the door for other women to enter into the world of poker and join the game in a way that, even just a decade ago, would have been unthinkable.

Loni Harwood began as a World Series of Poker Circuit grinder with a bright future ahead of her. With one of the best poker faces in the game, she rose to the top of the rankings in 2013 after she played in the World Series of Poker. In 2015, Harwood became the first woman in history to actually win a WSOP Circuit National Championship, this was also her second bracelet victory, the first bracelet she won was in 2013. She has made $1.6 million in live tournament earnings and is ranked 13th on the Women’s All-Time Money List, not a bad record at all.

Vanessa Selbst has played in the best poker rooms of the world. Her name comes up as being one of the best poker players in the world, male or female, and she has the poker stats to back that statement up. She is the only women to ever have three open-field bracelets in WSOP history. She is also tied for the number of bracelets won by a woman. She has made $11.64 million from live earnings and is currently ranked No. 1 on the Women’s All-Time Money List, as well as being 21st on the official All-Time Money List.

JJ Liu was considered one of the top female players in the world, back in the early days of the Poker Boom. Liu was runner-up at the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Stars in 2007 and won the WPT Ladies Night Out title in 2006. Liu hasn’t had a lot of very high profile table wins after 2007, but she has remained in her consistency of winning and keeping her numbers big. She has only failed to earn $100,000 a year once since 2005. She has at least $2.9 million in live earnings and won the HK $25,000 High Roller Event at the APPT Macau for at least $183,125. Since 2008, that was her first six-figure score but we expect to still see great things from her.

Victoria Coren Mitchel is the cause of a few historic milestones while she was on the European Poker Tour when she won the EPT London in 2006 and became the first woman to win an EPT event. She also became the first woman to win two EPT events when she took EPT San Remo in 2014. She is much more than these two historic milestones though, she actually has at least $2.46 million in live earnings and has averaged over six figures every single year since 2010. She is a mother, writer, and TV personality as well as being an excellent poker player.

Maria Ho is probably one of the most feared women players in the Poker World. She has twice finished as the Last Woman Standing in the WSOP Main Event in 2007 and 2014. She also has at least $1.7 million in tournament earnings and her largest live score was in 2011, she took runner-up in the $5,000 NL Event from the World Series of Poker. With that score, she earned $540,020. Currently, she has 32 WSOP cashes and two final table appearances.

Xuan Liu is a newer poker star, and a poker strategy savant, who is quickly on her way to the top. In the past recent years, she has posted several very impressive scores. She finished 3rd in 2011 at the EPT San Remo, which earned her $524,705. After that, she came in 4th at the 2012 PCA Main Event for $600,000. She has placed all over the world with final table appearances at Aussie Millions and APPT Seoul. One of her most recent accomplishments was at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in Hollywood, Florida, when she finished deep in three events and placed fourth in the $2,650 NL Freezeout. Right now, she has about $1.6 million in tournament earnings and there is not a doubt that she will be heard from in the future.

Women are changing the face of poker in a big way. More and more women are making deep runs in the biggest events out there. As long as there is a commitment from the poker community to bring more women into the game, it most likely won’t be long before we see a female crowned World Series of Poker Main Event Champion.

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