As one of the few women playing in the tournaments, I put up with a lot of goofballs who try to throw me off or not let me be me. They have their own idea of what they want a woman to be. Brains are not what they want. Besides the staring at my upper body or the comments on what I am wearing (do I comment or care what they are wearing?), they sometimes have the expectation that I am a fish they can roll over.

Yes, I can use this to my advantage when squeezing them waiting for them to give it up. I like the pained expression on their faces when they realize they've underestimated me. And they think that women bluff less of the time. Now why would they think that considering all the divorces they have been through?

Have they forgotten all the women actresses who have done their job well? What about all those oppressed women whose only avenue of power is manipulation? Doesn't a lot of poker boil down to reading men - what they are thinking, what they are going to do? Isn't this what high school girls spend a lot of time on? Isn't this what wives and girlfriends do to get what they want?

Really so many guys know this and do things to get rid of the women. Once when I was doing well at the final table, a guy said to me, "I'm going to find out what direction you are walking out of here." I had read where a famous woman player was robbed three times, but I just ignored him.

Another guy actually told a good woman player he was going to kill her. Yes she did get upset and cried and hasn't came back, but that's unusual. Most of the women are tough as cactus. An older woman who has won several tournaments said once this guy next to her put a very graphic porno mag on the poker table to make her upset, but she just asked the dealer to make him put it away.

I was at a table when a waiter asked if anyone wanted take-out. A guy said "Yeah, bring me a Thai prostitute." When I said "There is a lady present," he said "Bring her one too." They also bring their low level thoughts out when there is a woman dealer. One guy said to a dealer "You are giving me an erection" and gave her a ten dollar bill.

Of course I hope you haven't met guys like this. I mean I hope you are not currently attending kindergarten where you might be meeting guys like this. But if you are one of these guys who won't let women play in peace because you are angry at women or don't know how to value the sacred source of life, I say to you, "Flush off and get help to learn how to respect women."

-Poker Princess