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You don’t like to brag, but let’s be honest: When the cards come out – whether it’s Go Fish, Uno or Cards Against Humanity – you’re the queen of the game. Although male poker players outnumber female players two to one, Cards Chart reports that female players actually take more playing risks, show more game dedication and save more of their winnings.
Where can card queens learn how to play, show off their expertise and bond with other like-minded women? Here are five women’s card clubs from all over the U.S. – plus a bonus tip on how to find the women’s card club that is perfect for you!
While the name is great, even better are the endless options for poker lovers. According to their website, LIPS, beginning in 2004 and based in Las Vegas, is a premier poker tour focused on women. It offers both domestic and international poker tournaments for players of all levels.
So far, LIPS offers events in 15 states in the U.S., Canada and (soon) in Latin America. What kind of fun can you have with LIPS? Besides various championships, this organization also hosts open events like I Love Poker Weekend, Ladies Poker Night, All In or Fold and Gender Defender. Their free online championships are also perfect for women who want to rule the poker world from the comfort of their own homes!
Maybe you’ve never played poker before; maybe your biggest dream is connecting with powerful women while enjoying one of New York’s most exclusive female-only poker games. If either of those statements is true, start brainstorming how you can be invited to Heidi Messer’s twice-annual poker nights!
In Vogue, Heidi Mitchell wrote about her experience at the elite meet up, listing fellow attendees like activist Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur, former model Olga Vidisheva and author Pamela Ryckman. All game winnings are donated to various foundations run by the game’s attendees; however, plenty of women have still benefited from their poker night networking.
Getting invited is the hard part – the number of interested women has supposedly reached 1,000 – but if you find a way to score a golden ticket (or, in this case, a golden email invite), don’t hesitate to say yes!
Do you live in Las Vegas? Do you love bridge or want to learn how to play? Those are the only requirements (plus an $8 playing fee) to enjoy the Spring Mountain Bridge Club.
Run by Charlene Mintz, sister to world champion card player Rhonda Walsh, the club began in 1997 and has grown increasingly since. Compared to other groups, Mintz says that this club is less competitive and more social (complete with snacks!). The 200-person club is also composed of mainly women and offers games for beginner to intermediate players.
For card players, Hagerstown Maryland is a dream come true. The Women’s Club presently offers three different card events from which you can choose. Club members can enjoy lunch while playing a variety of card games – including bridge, canasta or five hundred – every first Wednesday of the month.
Nonmembers can also play twice a month when invited as a substitute. More of a bridge devotee? Members and nonmembers with a playing partner can participate in Round Robin Bridge, a tournament that begins in September and ends in June. You play once a month for $2 each game and tournament winners can celebrate with prize money.
The newest card group is Club Mah Jongg. Members play year-round, following National Mah Jongg rules. As an extra social perk, players dine together before the game on players’ birthdays or once a month.
The State College area of Pennsylvania is another surprising home to various card clubs for women, each hosted by the Women’s Welcome Club. Every card club meets once a month in various locations in the State College area. Games of choice include Bunco, Couples Rubber Bridge, Duplicate Bridge, Game Night at Denny’s, Ladies Poker (Texas Hold’em style) and Mah Jongg. The club prides itself on including women of various ages and skill levels, so everyone is welcome!
If you want to join a card club but don’t know where to start, try using Meetup, a site that lists a variety of social activities from book clubs to car and motorcycle events to fitness groups. In the Card Games category, Meetup features almost 830,000 members and lists over 2,000 card clubs from which you can choose.
Besides searching for clubs near you, you can also narrow down your search by the type of card games you like playing, such as Poker, Strategy Games or Tournaments. With a search engine like Meetup, the odds of finding a group of fun women to play with are in definitely in your favor!
