Every year, the poker community gathers to celebrate and honor some of the best poker players in the industry.
While the Poker Hall of Fame has been around for decades, as it was created by Benny Binion in 1979, the Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WiPHoF) is relatively new. The prestigious organization was founded in 2008 to celebrate the phenomenal achievements and contributions of women in the poker world.
It has been announced that the WiPHoF is looking to invite a new member to join the club this year, and fans of the game are trying to guess who that player might be. Who made a serious impact on the industry? Can they be a role model for young players who want to learn how to use poker bonuses better and become phenomenal players themselves?
Women in Poker
Since poker became such a popular game, it was generally a male-dominated industry, as the Poker Hall of Fame list demonstrates. Out of 61 members at this prestigious club, only a few are female players: Barbara Enright was inducted into the PHoF in 2007, with Linda Johnson and Jennifer Harman joining her in 2011 and 2015 respectively. That means that only 5% of the PHoF are women!
But even though the data doesn't reflect it, women are more involved with the poker industry than anticipated. While not as prone to joining co-ed tournaments as their male counterparts, there are a lot of women showing a growing interest in playing poker professionally, and the numbers keep growing every year.
The WiPHoF has inducted 25 strong and talented women since its creation, sometimes choosing to honor multiple women in the same year for their contributions to the industry.
Nominating women to become the next WiPHoF member is an easy process, but all nominees must meet two specific requirements for the committee to actually consider them:
- At least 35 years old, a candidate must have been active in the poker world – as a player or industry leader – for a minimum of 10 years.
- The candidates must have affected the poker industry in a significant way: winning a major tournament or contributing to the industry in some way.
Anyone could have submitted nominations until September 23, with the voting process scheduled to start on October 14. The induction ceremony itself will take place in December in Las Vegas.
Possible Women in Poker Hall of Fame Nominees
It is hard to guess who might get dominated this year, but if we look at the most successful female players this year, we might get an idea of whose name we might see on the list.
According to the Hendon Mob database, Kristen Foxen has had a pretty lucrative year so far. Winning cash prizes in more than 20 live events this year, she earned more than $1,500,000, bringing her total live earnings to $8,407,009.
American player Rania Nasreddine also had a pretty spectacular year so far, with wins worth $1,161,410 under her belt. Since she hasn't been playing live poker for long her total live earnings only sum up to $1,752,401, but she is already ranked 6th on the Oklahoma All-Time Money List.
Victoria Livschitz managed to make $886,337 in live earnings this year, which places her in third place when it comes to this year's most profitable female players, with her live earnings standing at $2,082,889.
In Conclusion
With every year that passes, women are making more of an effort to break the glass ceiling and become a more prominent staple at the poker tables, and organizations like the Women in Poker Hall of Fame are here to help the cause!