Sandra Mohr directed "Poker Queens", which tells the story about the first female poker pros and follows several notable players during the 2019 WSOP. The doc debuts on Amazon Prime streaming services in November. Liv Boeree, Jen Harman, and Kathy Liebert get top billing. E-Tay, Kelly Minkin, Kristen Bicknell, and Loni Hardwood also get screen time.
It's been a while since there's been a documentary about poker. It seemed like in 2011-12, a couple of docs came out including Bet Raise Fold. And aside from Mississippi Grind, there has not been a decent poker movie made in years. Molly's Game was more about the Molly Bloom character than it was really about poker.
But for the first time, there will be a documentary about women in poker. Better yet, it's directed by a woman too, which means we will get a better perspective on what it really takes for it to be a woman in poker surrounded by dudes all day and night long. Being a pro is difficult enough, but being a female pro is an uphill battle because women rarely like to help other women succeed in the business world and especially in gambling circles. It will be great to get down to the nitty gritty and catch a glimpse of what it is like to be behind the scenes of real life pros trying to grind out a living.
The tagline for Poker Queens reads: "Glamour, Glitz, Guts & Glory. They're All In."
According to the film website, Poker Queens is self-described as, "Poker Queens is a feature length documentary film about the thrilling game of poker, and follows the world's best female players in their quest to be the first of their gender to win the famous World Series of Poker."
"Poker Queens" is directed by Sandra Mohr. According to Mohr's IMBD page, Sandra Mohr is most known in the biz for her work on the TV Series "Macabre Theatre" (2002), "Radio Wars" (2012), and "Finding Mr. Wright" (2011). She also directed several short films.
"Poker Queens" is produced by Mohr Productions in conjunction with Sandra Mohr and Liz Bolwell.
Poker Queens will appear on Amazon's streaming service, Amazon Prime. The debut date is set for November 2019.
The cast includes several pioneers in poker including Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, Kathy Libert, and Jen Harman.
Appearing in the trailer are Kelly Minkin, Esther Taylor-Brady, Kelly Minkin, Kristen Bicknell, Loni Harwood, Aza Sogoian, Gillian Epp, Kristy Arnet, Angelica Hael, and Sia Layta, who is the author of "Black Widow Poker".
The website also mentions Jen Tilly, Vanessa Selbst, Muskan Sethi, Kayla Voogd, and Annette Obrestad.
Sandra Mohr, in an interview with PokerNews, explained the dawn of a new era.
"Women are just now starting to take back their power," said Mohr. "It's going to be amazing to see the change in the years to come."
According to the website, "With a backdrop of the glitz and glamour of high-roller Las Vegas, POKER QUEENS highlights the victories and explores the struggles of women in the world of professional poker. Women only make up about 5% of poker players today, and very few succeed as full-time players. Yet some women clearly stand out... for their beauty and skill in the game. This is their story, and their quest for the top prize in the World Series of Poker."
Industry stalwarts always toss out the 10% number about women in poker, but 5% seems more accurate if you frequent card rooms across America.
Black Friday crushed a major conduit for women in poker. Many women felt safer playing anonymously online. I always wondered what the true number of women in online poker at the height of the poker boom? Too bad we don't have online poker on a federal level. That would create an avenue for more women to gain expertise without harassment and intimidation.
Watch the trailer for Poker Queens...
