What was it about the world of poker that really drew your interest?
Kara Scott
I've always been interested in games and competitions. I actually used to do martial arts when I was growing up and during university. From there, I was involved in television and actually used to present a martial arts TV show for Channel 5, so I was always used to the very male-dominated world. So poker for me wasn't really that big a difference - I understood it. I grew up in a small town where there weren't a lot of girls anyway. It's interesting that when you're a minority within a certain industry, you do become quite visible, and so there are some opportunities that come your way.
For me, the real thing that grabbed my attention about poker was the sense of competition - especially for women and girls. We don't really grow up being told to be competitive and to go for things. We tend to be told to be nice, be quieter, don't be 'rough and tumble', don't be aggressive - it's not really something that we're taught. Aggression - especially when used correctly in both poker and life - can get you the things you want to get. You go for them, you don't back down. It taught me a lot about those things when I started playing poker. I was very meek - very Canadian - so I needed that extra push to think, 'this is what I want and this is what I'm going to get'.
You started out as a presenter - what was it that sparked your move into professional play?
I was doing a TV series about backgammon of all things, and a poker channel saw my work and asked me to come in and host a show for them. I was going to be the voice of the novice player, alongside a professional, with me asking the questions that a novice would ask, because back then I didn't know what I was looking at. Ultimately, I loved it so much and I read up on the subject - I looked at books, forums, got a coach - I didn't want to be asking the dumb questions! I wanted to make sure that I understood everything properly.
I've never played solely professionally - though I work with the world class players - the best, and I interview them. A lot of peoplecall themselves professional poker players, but still have another job. They just play at a professional level, which is different. When you put everything on the line and play at the highest level, it takes an enormous amount of discipline and that's not my life. I'm lucky I get to play at a professional level and on the professional circuit, but it's not what I'm looking at come the end of the month on my spreadsheets as to whether I'm up or down!
How would you say women are treated in the poker industry?
It's varied. The way women are treated in poker reflects the way that women are treated in the world - especially when you look at the fact that poker has always been a very male-dominated industry. Women aren't raised to pursue these kinds of pursuits - there's that stereotype of Smokey cardrooms and poker being a bit dodgy, but it's not. Because of this, a lot of women don't come into the game, which means we're in the minority.
I love being in the poker industry - it's my home, my job and includes my friends - I don't like to say anything negative about it. However, I do think that we've started to see a shift in how women are treated in poker, and I'm glad, because it needed to happen. When we talk about women in poker, for years the images that we're used to were quite young and very attractive women. The reality is that a large portion of women who play poker are retired - they have both time and disposable income, and they get left out of the conversations, which is really insulting for them. I have a lot of friends who are retired women that play poker professionally - that's what they do and they never get mentioned. There's talk about how women in poker can use their sexual wiles, but some are grandmothers who frankly probably aren't interested in the guys playing, and who just want to play the game.
Thankfully, it's shifting and we're starting to see the media cover the broad range of women that play the game.
You won your first professional title in 2008 - how did that feel?
It was amazing - really fantastic. The format was a strange one where we played with money instead of chips, which was really hard. With chips, you can understand how much you have, and how much your opponents have. Stacks of bills are hard. It was fun, but also difficult to work out what people had in front of them.
It felt incredible. I never thought I'd win a title and it wasn't something I put my mind to, so when it happened, it sparked this hunger to play more. It was amazing - being the last person standing in a tournament is a feeling like no other. Beating a lot of people at once is great.
Poker seems to be something that's constantly garnering more interest - why do you think that is?
On the television side of things, we really try to look at people's stories. One of the reasons that I enjoy being in the poker industry is that I really enjoy the variety of stories. I like to be able to talk to people that have really varied backgrounds and paths, and poker tends to attract these kinds of people who are less than conventional, so I feel a bond with them, as my choices have always been less than conventional. You look around at all these people and you can hear how they got to where they are, and it's wild. There's always something that we share - whether this be the love of competition, the love of math or the love of travel, which poker lets us do - there's always something. It's nice to sit at a table anywhere in the world and have something in common with those people.
Where do you think the future of poker lies? Could we be seeing virtual reality poker tournaments soon and the like?
Yes, I wouldn't be surprised! The way things are going - this whole Pokemon GO thing, with adults playing Pokemon - shows that people love the mixture of virtual reality with their real lives. With gamification, there are ways to gamify what is already a game. One of the things that I like about 888poker, and the reason I joined as an ambassador, is that they have a focus on recreational play - poker as a fun thing to do. Their motto is 'live the game', which comes back to the aggression that I was talking about. For me, living the game is about using poker in real life to improve my life. The smaller buy in tournament means that a lot more people can play. Poker is such a fun game, and that's the point I've gotten to in my career - I want to play for entertainment because I really love it, and I think there are a lot of people in the world that feel that same way, so I'm glad that they're being catered to. The fact that 888poker is doing these live events means you can travel, do a smaller tournament and have some fun.
Who are some of your favourite professional poker players?
The sad answer is that, as a broadcaster, whoever is at the table at the time is my favourite - I just become so invested in them, and go through the emotions with them.
What is your most memorable poker match of your career to-date?
It would definitely be the Irish Open where I came second - it was an enormous amount of money and was super fun. It was incredible, and they filmed it for television that year. I went to the airport the next day - completely exhausted - and people were saying that they saw me on television. It was madly surreal, and it still plays on television now, so I get people bringing it up every so often.
What tips would you give for any budding poker players out there?
Make sure that you're still enjoying the game, don't let it become something that you feel you have to do. Find places to play that are fun, with people that are fun. If you're going to be playing online, make sure that you're slowly building up your bankroll. I still play, and sometimes it's free roll, $1 events on 888poker where there are nice prize pools, so don't feel that you have to dive right in with a big buy-in. Do it for fun until you're beating the different monetary levels. Be careful you don't jump in over your head.
You're at the World Series Of Poker in Vegas this year - what's that experience like?
It's slightly different this year - it's the tenth year that I've been coming and the sixth year I've been broadcasting and not playing in the main event. The stack is bigger this year, with more people winning, so I'm walking round and am incredibly jealous! Watching my friends play is great.
Is there a really exciting atmosphere at the event?
The further you get into the main event, the more you start to feel the tension. There are three massive rooms of poker happening all the time, and they're not really connected, so there's not really a sense that it's all the same thing. Then the main event happens and it's all about the main event, and it starts to get smaller and smaller. You're trying to pay attention to what's happening, whilst focusing on your own table and it's kind of electric.
I was lucky that the first year I played the main event I got down to the 2%, that's all the way to day five and it was a wild experience. When the bubble breaks in the main event, everyone applauds, with everyone knowing that they're 'in the money'! But you still feel sorry for the person that has busted out!
Finally what's next for you following on from the WSOP?
I'm going to go home and relax as it's been a busy summer. I was also here filming the Super High Roller Bowl for Poker Central and CBS Sports. I went home and then came back, so I'm going to rest until August and then I'm on the road again filming an 888 live event in Tallinn, Estonia, which is meant to be beautiful.
Kara Scott is an ambassador for 888poker, the main sponsor of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. You can find out more information about 888poker at http://uk.888poker.com/