Reaction from the community was swift, full of astonishment and dread, and even heartbreaking in some cases. The media - poker as well as mainstream - quickly printed interviews with those affected by the indictments. There were disabled people who used online poker as a way to support their families. There were college students who used it to pay tuition and may have to quit school. There were players who supported their spouses and children and haven’t worked a day job in many years.

What was missing from the majority of those conversations? Women.

Some female voices were in the mix in the form of members of the poker media and the few players who chose to speak out. While women make up a small portion of the professional poker world - and most of them with sponsorships were instructed not to talk about the situation until further notice - the majority of the news, comments, tweets, and stories expressed the voices of men.

But the female opinions were largely also missing from the forums and social networking sites as well. Women in the U.S. were certainly affected by Black Friday, but they didn’t take to Facebook, Twitter, and Two Plus Two like many male players. There are several speculative reasons for that.

First, there are fewer women who play poker in general, but moreover, there are fewer women who depend on online poker as a primary source of income. Most play recreationally or for part-time income, meaning the crux of their familial financial contribution may be significant but not catastrophic. Though many women are the sole supporters of their households, they likely have other forms of income upon which to fall back.

Second, women tend to be more proactive in situations such as this. While women are often stereotyped as being emotional, they are also more reactionary, which means that they immediately begin to make plans for a solution. Those who are out substantial amounts of income probably reacted by immediately creating a new budget, laying out their options for replacement income, and initiating efforts to put plans into motion. Women may be more likely to react with emotion in the short term, but the needs of their families and general livelihood quickly take over and propel them into action.

These two reasons put together keep women from spending too much time on the forums, bemoaning their losses and placing blame, as they’re busy moving on to the next steps that will keep their lives from cracking.

There could also be other reasons for the lack of female voices in the forums. Some may voice their opinions but not reveal their identity to be female, if they built a reputation in the anonymous online poker world as a male player in order to be treated as an equal. Others may feel intimidated by the overwhelming male presence in the forums and choose not to speak out, restricting their comments to female forums and more private conversations, though even forums like the one here on Woman Poker Player have been relatively quiet since Black Friday.

Add to it all that the predominant number of players who made their full-time livings from online poker are men, and that explains in a nutshell why women seem to be less affected by the recent turn of events in online poker.

Lastly, women tend to be more private about their woes. As the aforementioned speculations testify, they are not only likely busy making other plans, but they are less prone to publicly acknowledge their financial suffering, especially if it was from a game like online poker. If they were supporting their families via such funds, they will tend to be judged more harshly than men who held the same job, and they will therefore not be as public about the harm that the recent indictments inflicted on their families. Instead, they will strive to find an alternative and move forward.

As in the entirety of the poker industry, women’s voices are missed in times like these. However, the probable reasons for their silence are some of the strengths of the female gender, and they will be back on their feet before much of the male contingent. Women have overcome worse obstacles and will undoubtedly do it again.

See also: He Said: Women, Men and Black Friday