That poker suffers from a gender imbalance is well known. In general, more men than women play the game; what’s less well understood is why.
In a bid to grow the game among female players, the World Poker Federation (WPF) launched an initiative in 2025 to hold simultaneous women-only poker tournaments in various countries across the globe.
A year on, and the WPF Ladies Weekend is returning for a second edition, even bigger than before. October 16-18 will see tournaments running in at least 14 different countries — including the USA, UK, Nigeria, South Africa and Estonia — with accompanying events including bootcamps, round-table discussions and networking opportunities.
“It was a huge success,” recalls the WPF’s Roberto Lifschitz, of the 2025 edition.” We ended up having 10 countries, and 17 or 18 stops altogether. There was big engagement across all the stops, I think we had around 2,000 players, combined. There were high rollers, PLO and more. The attendance was way above what we expected.”
The WPF does not run the events, but instead works with local poker federations to organize, market and promote them.
At the events themselves, feedback is sought to better understand what may be holding some women back from taking part in poker, while efforts are made to encourage local media on the ground in participating countries to report on the events.
The goal is growth and increased understanding, and Lifschitz believes that goal is being hit.
“We got a lot of attention from local media outlets, showcasing poker and encouraging women to play. And that was our main goal, because we don't run the tournaments, we don't take anything from the tournaments. We create them to boost poker locally, and to present poker, especially for women, in a different manner, in an open environment. That was a huge success.”
Confirmed events for 2026
The countries participating in WPF Ladies Weekend 2026, at time of writing, are:
- United States (see below)
- United Kingdom (London)
- Brazil (São Paulo)
- Taiwan (Taipei)
- Belgium (Antwerp)
- Bulgaria (Sofia)
- Estonia (Tallinn)
- France (Aix-en-Provence)
- Hong Kong (Kowloon)
- Israel (Bnei Brak)
- Liechtenstein (Bendern)
- Nigeria (Lagos)
- The Philippines (Manila)
- South Africa (Cape Town)
In the US, the following states will be hosting events:
- Nevada (Bellagio Las Vegas, with speakers Jamie Kerstetter and Emma Hodge)
- California (Stars Casino Tracy)
- Florida (Oxford Downs Summerfield, One Eyed Jacks Sarasota and Bonita Springs Poker Room)
- Kentucky (The OG Clubhouse Oak Grove)
- Ohio (Empire Social Lounge Toledo)
- Pennsylvania (Rivers Casino Philadelphia)
- Texas (Palace Poker Grand Prairie)
Further stops in Arizona and New Mexico are also expected to be added.
For more details of WPF Ladies Weekend events being run near you, visit the WPF website.
Big name players head for London stop
The Hippodrome Casino in central London will play host to the only UK leg of WPT Ladies Weekend, and has already had some major players RSVP.
Octopi Poker’s Victoria Livschitz will be in attendance, as will PokerStars ambassador, streamer and pro player Marle Spragg.
Spragg will be playing in a livestreamed cash game on Friday, October 16, and the £300 Hippodrome Women’s Classic tournament on Sunday, October 18, which will have a £20K GTD prizepool. In between, she’ll be hosting a strategy session on the Saturday.
“That will probably be a review of a tournament I played,” explains Spragg. “We can talk about hands and just have a fun open chat and trade ideas. Looking forward to that.
“I’m mostly excited to just chat poker with women. There aren’t many of us in the game and usually you’re just chatting hands with men, so it’s a special opportunity for all of us.”
Joining Spragg behind the mic, albeit via Zoom, will be fellow PokerStars ambassador, author and chess queen Jennifer Shahade.
“I will be giving a talk on my win last year at the Women’s Summer Festival at the Hippodrome,” says Shahade, in reference to her victory in London last year, “and how to approach a women’s event with so many talented players. I’ll also touch on how to adjust and get comfortable playing on stream if you land on a streamed table."
“One of my favorite things about these events at the Hippodrome are the streams. They allow women to get comfortable under the bright lights and hole card cameras, which will make us that much more confident when we play for an EPT or WSOP title.
“In this masterclass, I'll also bring in some ideas from my latest book, Thinking Sideways, on how to be creative and confident, while still analyzing your choices systematically.”
Hero(ine) calls
Measuring the success of slow-burn initiatives like this is not as easy as counting entries or simply receiving positive feedback from individuals. The WPF and its partners know they’re playing a long game, and the effects may be difficult to monitor with accuracy.
And yet, there are surely few that would argue against this being an increasingly strong era for women in poker.
The past few years have seen stars such as Shiina Okamoto burning brightly on the biggest stages, from the European Poker Tour to the World Series of Poker.
Last summer Kristen Foxen became the first woman in five years to win an open WSOP event, banking over $1.7M in the $25K High Roller.
And, of course, in 2025 Leo Margets reached the final table of the WSOP Main Event, only the second woman to have done so in 30 years.
We asked Spragg and Shadade who their favorite female players are.
“Krissy Foxen, of course,” answers Spragg. “She is a role model for all of us. She’s showing us that the ceiling is very high for women and anything’s possible.
“Cecile Ticherfatine is also one of the best female players out there in my opinion. She’s a very creative player and I’ve seen her make a lot of big deviations based on live reads. But she has a strong theoretical understanding as well which is always where the best exploits come from.
“And Leo Margets as well. We’ve played together a bunch on the EPT and she’s always playing solid and will put you in some uncomfortable spots. Plus she’s a cat-lover so she obviously knows what’s up.”
“Two I spoke to recently really stick out,” shares Shahade. “I appreciate the table presence of Julie Cornelius, as she combines skill and aura so beautifully. I am also so impressed by the historic accomplishments and relentless spirit of Xuan Liu.”
There’s no doubt that women’s poker is riding a wave right now, but one thing we know about waves is they rarely stop after just one. Who knows who may be in the next wave of high-flyers, or even where they’ll come from? With the WPF Ladies Weekend expanding at its current rate poker is reaching even wider audiences, and in places you may not necessarily expect.
And with tournaments taking place simultaneously in multiple countries, the WPF has not given up on its goal of holding a ‘champion of champions’ event at some point.
“It’s still something that we wish to do,” says Lifschitz, “but it's tough. There might be one champion that played against 8 players and bought in for $10, and one that won a 500-player field for $200. But that's something we're still aiming for. We want to have all the local champions playing together at some point on a global stage.”
The WPF Ladies Weekend takes place October 16-18, 2026 across the world.
For more information, and to find out details of your nearest event, check out the WPF.
Additional images courtesy of Triton Poker/Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd/The World Poker Federation.
