Women in Poker: Empowering Stories of Female Players and their Fitness Journeys

What was once the ultimate boy’s club has been well and truly infiltrated by girl power, and the women in poker are taking the industry by storm. From the first female poker pioneers in the early 2000s to the young guns winning millions and giving the men a serious run for their money in the World Series of Poker, there are many inspirational and empowering stories to focus on that encourage more women to sign up.

Although secondary to their wildly impressive poker skills and the fact that they have carved their names into the history books of a game that denied them competitive access for so long, the mental and physical fitness journeys taken by the women in this sport to help them stay sharp and successful are motivational in their own right.

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest names in women’s poker, how they got to where they are, and what makes them superstars. 

Jennifer Harman (Ranked 14th on the Women’s All-Time Winnings List with $2.8 million)

Our first inspirational woman in poker is Jennifer Harman- whose career through the 1990s and early 2000s resulted in two World Series of Poker wins, just over $2.8 million in earnings, induction into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in 2010, and her rightful spot in the Poker Hall of Fame in 2015 (only the third women to achieve this honor).

All these things are impressive, but the story gets more interesting when we take a look at Harman’s life away from the poker table. 

In the same year, Harman won her first WSOP bracelet and had her first kidney transplant. Her second transplant came two years after her second win. 

As if leading the way for women in the still male-dominated world of poker in the 90s wasn’t enough, Harman did it while facing kidney failure and raising twin boys. 

Since her battle with her kidneys, she has also launched her own charitable organization, CODA- Creating Organ Donation Awareness. Jennifer Harman is known for her philanthropy, having hosted many charity poker events to raise money for her foundation- as well as anti-animal cruelty organizations.

Fitness has always been a loved hobby for Harman- especially through her health journey. In the past, she has talked about how keeping emotion out of the game helps her to succeed, and maintaining a healthy balance between poker and life beyond the green felt has been vital in her journey. 

Vanessa Selbst (Ranked 1st on the Women’s All-Time Winnings List with $11.9 million)

No list of outstanding women in poker is complete without Vanessa Selbst. The undisputed number one all-time female winnings champ, New York’s Vanessa Selbst is a formidable strategic player regardless of gender.

Selbst has changed the outlook for poker for women, proving that men do not have a monopoly on the game. She has also been a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ representation and an ambassador for improved inclusivity in poker.

Some of the highlights of Selbst’s poker career include becoming the first woman to win three WSOP bracelets, almost doubling the total women’s winnings record, winning the North American Poker Tour two years in a row, and nomination for the Women’s Poker Hall of Fame. 

Vanessa Selbst’s fitness journey has been an emotional one rather than physical, with the mental impact of competitive poker pushing her to retire from the game in her 30s to pursue a law career instead. Despite having returned to professional poker just a year later, a shift in mindset was clear to see.

The female number one faced a moral battle regarding her role as an ambassador for PokerStars. It was a question of ethics being part of promoting a platform for online gambling. An internal struggle impacted her mental wellness in the game, and other pressures drove her away from the game.

Since leaving poker, Selbst has welcomed a baby boy with her wife Miranda, established her foundation Justice is Blind (an organization dedicated to providing legal representation for those suffering from marginalization), and donated more than $100,000 to human rights and legal support charities. 

It is clear that Selbst’s journey from internal moral dilemmas and emotional health battles due to the pressures of the poker spotlight to a champ back on top and changing the world has relied heavily on putting good out into the world and reaping the mental benefits.

Emotional fitness is wildly important in professional poker, as Vanessa Selbst’s decision to walk away at the top of her game has shown.

Kristen Foxen (Ranked 3rd on the Women’s All-Time Winnings List with $6.48 million)

Another name that appears on every list of the best female poker players of all time is Kristen Foxen (formerly Kristen Bicknell). Since discovering a love for poker in college, the Canadian superstar rocketed to fame and success in the poker scene by gaining the number one female ranking for live tournaments in 2017 and winning three WSOP bracelets (the first when she was only 27 years old).

Kristen has also already secured the third-highest total poker earnings by a woman in history and still has plenty of career ahead of her. She is only a few hundred thousand behind the iconic Kathy Liebert, and is likely to steal the second spot in the very near future.

Of all the women in poker, Kristen is the biggest advocate for the importance of fitness. She openly states it is the number one way she maintains balance for her body, mind, and life in the throws of professional tournaments. In fact, she goes as far as to say that fitness is her top priority- weight lifting in particular.

Her fitness journey is shared with her husband, William Alex Foxen, who is ranked 21st on the all-time money list for professional poker players in general. Together, they are the exciting young power couple promoting fitness, wellness, and female empowerment in poker.

Summary

The list of influential and inspirational women in poker continues to grow. Poker is no longer a boy’s club, and the formidable female players on the scene today are building from the foundations built for them by the greats of the 90s and early 2000s and are set to narrow the gap between genders.

Physical, mental, and emotional fitness are important for any walk of life, and the Wonder-Women of Poker are powerful examples of how to use it to maintain balance in your life.