I have
had a bit of stick online for banging on too much about "women and poker", but
really, come on the girls! It's hard not to be pleased that the World Series of
Poker (Europe) has been won by 18-year-old Annette Obrestad of
Norway.
This follows a year in which Katja Thater of Germany won a
bracelet in the traditional Las Vegas World Series, and, sorry, I won the
European Championship. There are so few women on the live circuit, and these
are such disproportionately big results, how can we fail to think "Ha!" in the
face of all those men who still insist that females don't have the instincts or
the muscle to win tournaments?
I feel protective of young Obrestad, given
how little time it took for posts to go up on the internet describing her as
"no looker", "a surly midget", and (really nastily) "a troll". She is pretty -
she's 18, for God's sake! They're all gorgeous! - but she makes no effort to
glam up at the table. She dresses comfortably, masks her face behind giant
sunglasses, and rarely speaks. She's quite scary, in her stern look as well as
her fearless and aggressive betting style. It's not unlike having Wednesday
Addams at the table.
But I admire her uncompromising demeanour, having
never managed silence or pitilessness at the table myself. I smile, I chat, I
self-deprecate to my own annoyance. Annette is braver and more serious,
bringing nothing to the table but a strong game. She could afford to lighten up
a little, which I'm sure will come with time and social confidence. For now,
she is a refreshing antidote to those fame-hungry American girls who play poker
in bikinis (or less). Annette doesn't need to be a sex symbol for men, when
she's going to be such an inspiration for young women.
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