'I Just Hope What I've Done Is Aspirational': Maria Ho Is Breaking the 'Glass Ceiling' for Women in Poker

The poker world is overwhelmingly male-dominated, but Maria Ho is helping change the narrative and open the door for women to enter the high-risk sport.

"I just want to showcase the side of poker that I think maybe the mainstream is missing out on, which is that not only is this clearly a skill game, but the people in it are so diverse and so interesting. That’s what I love most about the community," Ho exclusively tells OK!.

"I’ve met so many people from all different walks of life, and I just want it to be a little more accessible to other people as well. I want people to not see it as gambling, and for people to understand that this game is such an intricate, special, complicated, complex and beautiful game," Ho adds. ''The people in it, they’re not what you think of when you think of the '80s poker player in some back room with a cigarette hanging out of their mouth. They’re really smart and passionate people!"

Ho participated in The World Series of Poker, held at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip every summer, which is regarded as the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world. However, many casinos report that less than 10 percent of players are female. Despite the statistics, the tournament is helping to create a safe space for women interested in the activity through the Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship.

"If you’re starting out and you want strategy tips, there’s a women’s poker club for you," the correspondent shares. "If you want to get to the next level and you’re looking to become a professional poker player, there’s a poker club for you. A lot of these have been started and pushed for in the community by other women poker players who are very established. I think they saw a need for this."

Throughout her career, Ho has earned over $5,000,000 in live tournament earnings, and she hopes she can pave the way for more people to get involved in poker moving forward.

"I just hope that something that I’ve done is aspirational for other women poker players," she says. "Breaking a little bit of that glass ceiling, I was the first woman to ever be a strategic commentator on a poker TV broadcast."

"They were only using men – they were using women in sideline reporting and hosting roles, but they weren’t using women for poker commentary. There’s a lot of talented, skilled, high-level, high-thinking poker women out there, but we just were not tapped to do the commentary and I was the first one to do that," Ho continues.

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