Some of the most elite finance executives spend their free time at the card table. Hedge fund managers John Sabat and Whitney Tilson chair the Take ‘Em to School annual poker tournament fundraiser. (The vast majority of players each year are men.) In 2018, billionaire hedge fund manager David Einhorn placed 6th in a $1 million buy-in World Series of Poker tournament. A 2019 study out of the University of Alabama found that hedge fund managers who are skilled at playing poker are, on average, better fund managers.
Just soon began playing with her own network of women at Peak6, and started extending the idea to more women she knew in finance. “This didn’t happen on purpose, it happened accidentally,” she said. “Sometimes you get lightning in a bottle.” When the pandemic hit, she built out the online program and hired professionals to teach.
Research has debunked the myth that women are worse negotiators than men. Studies have found that when women ask for raises or promotions, they’re more likely to be penalized, which can deter them from engaging in the process altogether. A poker class can’t change a dynamic that stunts so many women’s career growth.
Still, some women have said they’ve used skills learned playing poker to negotiate for better job offers and pay. “There’s really this behavior change that happens — in terms of how women show up when they’re negotiating, how assertive they’re able to be, how courageous they are, their resilience,” said Gail Berger, the deputy director of the Kellogg Center for Executive Women.
And at the very least, as a networking tool, it beats Zoom happy hour.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.