In the mid 1980’s, women were considered no factor in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, and other than the famous rounder and professional gambler Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston, poker players rarely made headlines in the mainstream press. That all changed when Wendeen Eolis became the first woman to cash at poker’s “Big Dance.”
In the 1986 WSOP Main Event, Eolis battled some of the best players in the world, including Amarillo Slim, in a field of 141 runners. She was on her way to a 25th-place finish for a $10,000, return on her buy-in, and permanent bragging rights as the first woman in history to cash in the WSOP Main Event.
Eolis attributes her 1986 WSOP performance to a year of poker tutoring from one of the best, a “relatively” conservative game plan, and cooperative cards. She told PokerNews, “Even today, women can win more by bluffing less than men.”
Ryan "ch1ckyparm" Hefter opened to 4,000 from under the gun and "gadres" three-bet jammed a stack of 19,383 from middle position. Hefter called with more.
"gadres":
Ryan "ch1ckyparm" Hefter:
The board ran out and "gadres" secured a double-up with a pair of aces.
Sean "Truckerben" Winter opened to 4,800 in late position and Jon "jonnyg93" Gisler three-bet jammed a stack of 5,977 from the cutoff. Winter called with a bigger stack.
Jon "jonnyg93" Gisler:
Sean "Truckerben" Winter:
It looked like a double for Gisler after the flop of and turn left his ace-high ahead, but the river brought the to improve Winter to a pair of queens to win the pot.
Gisler rebought back into the tournament after being eliminated.