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Shirley Rosario, Tough On and Off the Felt
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Shirley Rosario, Professional Poker Player
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Saturday, August 26, 2006
Shirley Rosario is a sweet women and we were lucky enough to pull her aside after the Bicycle Casino's Ladies Poker Party event to raise money for the Susan B. Kolman Foundation. This is an organization that is very near and dear to Rosario since she is in the last phase of her therapy for her own battle with Breast Cancer. She discovered a lump and it wasn't even detectable in a mammogram. She insisted on a biopsy where they found the small lump to be cancer. She has undergone six months of chemotherapy followed by six weeks of radiation therapy. She was a bit shy about her appearance, but she looked fabulous for someone who is going through such a major ordeal. She asks all women to get checked regularly, and "if you think something is wrong, and the tests don't show it, keep insisting they take a closer look." Good advise we could all use!
Shirley is Professional Poker Player and also the webmaster of PokerBabes.com. She has been playing poker for 10 years with the last three being a professional player. She attributes her skills to Steve Badger, her mentor who really took her under his wing to perfect her game. She knows all poker games but Omaha H/L is her favorite. She spent a lot of time at the Commerce Casino learning her game, but calls the Bicycle Casino her "home casino". When reflecting on when she first started playing in casinos she says "Things have changed dramatically. When I first started, men we not all that welcoming. Now they are getting used to women being at the tables and they know we can play."
She has had many successes cashing in at events, but the one she is most proud of is winning the Legends of Poker Omaha H/L event. Shirley plays a lot of online poker but feels "there is nothing like playing live." She hopes to win a bracelet at the WSOP in Omaha but would be happy with winning any major open event.
Shirley plays mostly mixed events. Even though she occasionally plays ladies only events, she feels there is a place for them because they are great for "...getting a woman's feet wet in a casino. They are fun and great for socializing." But also feels "winning a women's event doesn't mean as much as winning an open event. Only because women's events don't get the same recognition." She continues, "Now a days in a mixed event, the person who wins is called the best player... but it's very unlikely the best player is going to win. Women need to be agressive in their play if they are going to win. A lot of women lack that skill."
We asked her who her favorite player was and she said "Phil Ivy is the best player out there." But when we asked who would be at her 'fantasy poker game' she didn't mention Phil... she said, "I would want a bunch of rich businessmen there who don't know how to play poker!"
Women's Poker News wishes Shirley a speedy recovery and looks forward to writing about her again when she reaches her goals of winning that bracelet. You can read more about her poker adventures in her blog at www.poker-babes.com.
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