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Table Of Contents

• A Place to Learn
• Confidence is Key
• Learn From Every Hand

Kerryjane Craigie, PokerStars Ambassador and Director of Poker at the Hippodrome Casino is in poker action this week at EPT Monte Carlo, and as always she's keen to advance the cause for women in poker.

Her main takeaway? By fostering an atmosphere of inclusivity and passion, you can create the optimum space for everyone to learn and make their way in the poker world.

Well, Spring is certainly in the air, and so are the cards at many poker tournaments to choose from - just reach out and grab one to suit your bankroll and ability.

Having just returned from a fabulous few days in Dublin at the hugely successful, full of fun and record-breaking Irish Open, I was fired up for EPT Monte Carlo and I couldn’t wait to get in my seat and get my crown out!

Playing in the EPT Monte Carlo Women’s Event highlighted just how essential these tournaments are for advancing female participation in poker. The field was diverse, representing a wide range of nationalities, skill levels, and experience.

While I say this with complete respect, it was clear that some players had limited exposure to live poker. That’s not a criticism - we all start somewhere. But more experienced players were able to pick up on certain tells, such as announcements and bet sizing and capitalised on them, as is expected at a poker table.

A Place to Learn

The key takeaway is this: a lower buy-in, women-only environment fosters learning. It creates a space where players can develop their skills without the added intensity or pressure that often comes in mixed fields. I firmly believe that the same learning curve in a mixed event would likely be much more daunting, and potentially discouraging. And that belief isn’t rooted solely in gender; it’s about experience, comfort, and opportunity.

I feel my game has developed a little over the past couple of months, and I truly feel that is reliant on the live poker I am playing and the level of experience I have been challenged with whilst at the tables.

So, what has happened for me to make that bold statement? They say that the best form of training is based on the following key principles:

• Observe: Be interactive and engaged in the game, watch your opponents' moves and play to gain valuable information.
• Positive Reinforcement: Mentally playback and acknowledge a successful move or action made by yourself or an opponent
• Imitate/ Repetition: Review and retain memory of positive key outcomes, and repeat at appropriate intervals to improve long-term retention of better play
• Peer Learning: Fundamentally, we learn from those around us. Use every opportunity to learn in real time, at the game and apply it to your own

We have all been in a situation where we've been put on the spot to make a crucial decision. Perhaps we're facing a tricky river bet, or trying to determine the optimum bet sizing. Are you deciding to go for value or make a bluff to claim the pot. The answer to all of these scenarios relies on you calling on those four points above. Take time to think and make your move based on your memory bank.

Confidence is Key

I watched a player in the Irish Open Main Event in Dublin, and noted how he won all of his pots without getting to showdown. Surely he could not have connected so well on every hand? Could he? Well, we will never know, because he didn’t let us get to that.

There was no ultra-aggression in his play, nor did he have a high VPIP. However what he did was play with confidence, with a deliberate and consistent betting range and, more importantly, had built up a great table image that encouraged his opponents to fold on an early street.

I learnt something from him and I pushed myself by applying just a fraction of what I had witnessed. And I consciously made an effort to play more confidently. Here are some of my memorable ones, nothing outstanding, but credibly, steps in my progression.

Hand #1: Confidence in Aggression

After an early raise, action was on me. I was going to three-bet but considered my sizing a lot more before doing so. I stayed in the hand and, after connecting on the turn, I turned up the heat on my opponent. I bet just enough for him to call and again on the river to take the pot.

Not such a big deal, right? But with this pot, I felt my game grow a little the moment I made those manoeuvres.

Hand 2: Don't Be Scared of Jacks

Being out of position, I check raised on an Ace-high flop whilst holding a pair of jacks. Again, I had witnessed my opponent's previous style, I thought out my sizing, and I took down a considerable pot. Whilst adding it to my stack, I felt my posture change and placed the hand in my memory bank.

Hand #3: Seizing a Moment

Sometimes, it pays to pay attention. I had defended my big blind to a very active player with suited middle connectors. I check-called on the flop with a flush draw and a gutshot, and check-called again when the board paired on the turn.

On the river, my opponent acted out of turn, the board had double paired and I had missed both my draws. The only way to win this hand was to exploit the out-of-turn bet - so I did. I bet pot and he folded.

Learn From Every Hand

If you read back all these hands, they were all winners. Far too often, it’s the beats we memorise and recall - and we must equally learn from those too, but I am staying true to my positivity in poker for 2025.

And it’s made a difference.

Not everyone has the time, the funding, the access or the confidence to study or engage a coach. However, we all have eyes and memories and if you are sitting at any poker table, you are in a classroom. And you have an opportunity to learn from those around you and that session of play.

So I encourage you to pick up a tutorial, learn ‘something’ the next time you are playing, and come tell me about it.