Eileen Sutton

"A serious card player and devoted fiction writer, Eileen’s passion for poker happened by accident in her mid-50s. After a friend taught her the basics of Texas hold’em, she played casually in a free New York City pub league. She then moved on to low-stakes tournaments, but found that live cash play was her true love. Through her poker community on Twitter (@pokerforgirls), Eileen devotes herself to women’s issues, and does all she can to help female players feel more comfortable on the felt. Eileen blogs for Red Chip Poker about the many challenges for women players, and is working on a memoir about her poker life. She was the editor of record for The Course by Ed Miller, one of the country’s leading poker analysts. Ed became one of Eileen’s coaches, along with three-time WSOP bracelet winner Matt Matros. At the start of her training, Matt grounded Eileen in the game’s math fundamentals, a demanding aspect of poker she continues to explore and absorb. Above all, Eileen invites everyone to explore the game’s immense creativity. She urges players of all levels to move beyond fear, take chances, and unleash a style all their own. In addition to her love of the game, Eileen is a devoted novelist and short-story writer, having studied with E.L. Doctorow at New York University, where she got her Masters degree in Creative Writing."