Know when to hold ’em
What happens when you put twenty women, two poker tables, a couple of professional dealers and varying degrees of poker knowledge into a private members’ club for the evening? As it turns out: a lot of laughter, a little bluffing, some questionable betting decisions — and a very good night.
For our latest The Kid in Her gathering, we decided to try something a little different. Our host for the evening was Alexandra Llewellyn, the London-based designer who has turned games into an art form, creating exquisite poker sets, backgammon boards and games tables that are almost too beautiful to play on. Well, almost...
Our group arrived with poker experience ranging from “I’ve played a bit” to “Can someone please explain what a blind is?”
We divided ourselves between two tables, each with a dealer — which proved increasingly useful as the evening progressed.
First came the lesson: the hands, the betting, the folding, the blinds. And, naturally, the most important poker skill of all: maintaining an expression of supreme confidence while having absolutely no idea whether your cards are any good.
A few practice rounds later, things started getting competitive.
Chips changed hands. Poker faces were attempted. Bluffs were called. Beginners suddenly became suspiciously confident. And somewhere along the way, the lesson turned into a proper game.
For the next couple of hours, the tables became exactly what we love about The Kid in Her: women talking, laughing, learning something new and getting to know one another — with the game making conversation easy and new connections happening almost without anyone noticing.
And as the chips moved around the tables, so did the conversation.
There were triumphant reveals, questionable bluffs, plenty of good-natured accusations and, inevitably, a few beginners who became just a little too comfortable with a stack of chips in front of them.
Somewhere between the poker, the laughter and the increasingly competitive play, the evening had done exactly what we’d hoped — brought everyone together and given us a very good time in the process.
We may not have left ready for the professional poker circuit, but there were definitely a few beginners looking considerably more dangerous with a stack of chips by the end of the night. Mostly, though, we discovered that a little competition, a lot of laughter and twenty women around a couple of poker tables is a pretty good combination.
Women are often told about the importance of having a seat at the table.
This time, we took ours.
And then we dealt ourselves in.