For the Woman Poker Player

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, a great German writer, adored women. He wrote his autobiographical novel Faust when he was 80 years old. In that novel, he concluded that human beings could be saved through a woman's endless patience and lofty spirit of sacrifice. Also, throughout his eventful life, this genius writer professed that human spiritual maturity comes from the woman.

It cannot be denied that the history of human beings has been recorded and controlled by man. I've even read that the word "history" comes from the words "his story." I am setting up this subject because there still are so many male-dominated positions throughout the world, and I feel deeply skeptical about this matter.

It is true that everyone has a mother, and no one can deny the value of a mother to a person's growth.

If a human being has grown up without a mother's warm heart and caring love during his childhood, how is it possible for him to properly mature? From where does he get his wisdom and encouragement? Do they come only from his excellent physical condition and brain? No. Actually, it is very hard for him to accomplish his job without the motivational power of a mother's great love and caring.

I don't want to argue who is better, man or woman. I just want to say that women should be treated equally, because inevitably, men and women live together and should respect each other even though they are physically and mentally very different. After creation, a male-dominated social system continued for thousands of years. Whether they knew it or not, women were being denied, abandoned, and probably gave up themselves.

Later, women started having chances to challenge men in all areas, but they had to scale high walls to do so. I am sure that it was a long and hard struggle that couldn't be compared with any war in the world.

As is the case in all areas of society, there is a large number of men in the poker world. Last year, I won the $1,000 buy-in Omaha high-low event at the Legends of Poker tournament at The Bicycle Casino. Among the 120 entrants, there were only six women, and when there were 40 players left, I was the only woman. All of the men were very kind and smiled at me, but at the time I could feel their hidden sense of superiority over me. It was as if they couldn't admit my ability at all because I am a woman. They played the game very toughly and aggressively with partially arrogant minds, and after it was all said and done, they helped me to gain the victory. I felt that they believed they should win because of only one reason – they are men.

Since I have been a poker player, I have met many great women poker players, such as Marsha Waggoner, Barbara Enright, Linda Johnson, Kathy Liebert, and Nani Dollison. While the percentage of women poker players is small in comparison to men, there are some good ones in the poker world.

"Women players!" I understand and I believe. We must fight several times harder than male players. But, we are not thoughtless. We have the strongest patience and we are smart and wise. We can gain victory over men with our soft inner strength.

Absolutely, don't give up. Don't let your confidence wane in any occasion, and let's try hard to love man. It's probably the only way to make the world beautiful.