According to 27-year-old Maria Ho, the world’s best female poker player, women find men intimidating when facing them across the table. Because of the intimidation factor, Ms. Ho supports ladies-only poker tournaments, so as to prevent women from being frightened away when they are starting out.
While I’m sure Ho is being honest here, she ought to consider that a lot of boys are probably intimidated when they play against men for the first time, and competition is meant to have an element of aggression, because otherwise it really can’t be called competition.
Although she doesn’t come right out and say it, Ho probably knows that women are not as competitive as men in general, so having separate tournaments makes some sense despite the fact that poker is a game of chance and calculation rather than of brawn. I’d be inclined to agree with her that it is a good idea, because whenever women are placed in competitions with men there is invariably a push to handicap male players in one way or another, which detracts from the contest. If the women at least have their own tournaments then there is less pressure to hobble men in their own competitive endeavors.
But then again, if women demand equality in all things, then these women’s tournaments are fair game for male competitors — especially if there is money involved.
