Last night, blonde live updater turned poker extraordinaire Dana Immanuel turned a commanding chip lead into her first live tournament win to earn entry into a Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Main Event.The competition was a £50 No Limit Hold‘Em Freezeout and the location was the Grosvenor Casino in Walsall. Although I considered donning blonde wig and tutu, this was a strictly all female affair, the likes of Jen Mason, Lucy Rokach and Debbie Welch clearly salivating at the thought of a free GUKPT seat kindly added to first prize by the good folks at Blue Square.
Although the ever-smiling S Cheung was the early pace setter, Dana soon jumped into contention out coinflipping Mary Bond and Jen Mason to give the banjo-ing Londoner over 35k in chips. Soon after, Dana cemented her position as chip daddy (or mummy), by stumbling upon the American Airlines, her opponents’ meek A-Q and K-Q being a near perfect encounter. No miracle and Immanuel had circa 70k and a Cheshire cat grin.
Continually railed by her friend and former eliminatee, Jen Mason, Dana (83k) remained top of the pile for the rest of the tournament, a wheelbarrow required to assist her and Caroline Manson (80k) to the final table.
The final itself was a rather brisk affair, shortstacker Ratsamee Mayall being quickly followed by DTD technology genius Kate Langshaw, before the departures of Janet Dell, S Cheung, Debbie Hancock and Kim Jagger (7th-4th respectively) left us with our final 3. Of those, Debbie 'Shark Lady' Witcombe was the most recognisable, her presence at Walsall over the last few years making her a favourite amongst the locals.At this point, a deal was struck, each player taking home £800 and playing for the prestigious seat. Inevitably, with a cheque sealed, the players swiftly loosened up and Dana was left to raise her arms in triumph, a classic Jacks versus Big Slick confrontation sending her hurtling into the GUKPT.
A lot of comments have been made regarding the legitimacy and ethics of female exclusivity in tournament poker, but whether you are a fan of them or not, they have undoubtedly encouraged more female players into the cardroom, and one certain Israeli/Hampsteadian into the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour.