PokerStars x Poker Power Women’s Bootcamp: Ines Lafosse Looks to Make South America Proud

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Oct 16, 2023 3 min read Last updated Oct 18, 2023

Earlier this year, PokerStars announced that an exciting program created for women to learn more about poker would return in 2023, and it will soon culminate on Oct. 18 at European Poker Tour (EPT) Cyprus with a Showdown tournament, which will award a full package to EPT Prague in December

The Women’s Bootcamp, in partnership with Poker Power, is aimed at beginners who will then be mentored by PokerStars ambassadors including Jen Shahade, Lali Tournier and Georgina “GJReggie” James.

The final recruits battled it out in Home Games Tournaments, where the winners were awarded the chance to travel to Cyprus and compete in the ultimate Showdown. In preparation for that event, PokerNews wanted to profile some of the women who’ll be battling for the opportunity of a lifetime.

Meet the Women of the PokerStars x Poker Power Women’s Bootcamp Showdown

Get to Know Ines Lafosse

South America will be represented in the upcoming Showdown at EPT Cyprus thanks to 35-year-old Ines Lafosse of Argentina, who is the only daughter among five children.

“I have a big family and used to work in hotels around the world. I love tourism and hospitality, and after working in different travel agencies I started my own business,” she told PokerNews. “Today I am a travel blogger, and I am living my dream life showing to audiences unknown destinations and travel hacks.”

Lafosse moved to Brazil seven years ago, and today is married to a Brazilian. As for poker, she actually just started to play earlier this year at a PokerStars event in the Bahamas.

“It was really important for me to take some classes in advance, to understand more about the poker mindset and strategic moves, and also to gather more knowledge in terms of what to expect about a poker tournament,” she shared.

“The tournament ended up being very different from what I originally thought. It surprised me to see so many diverse and young people, who were traveling around the world, playing poker, and enjoying the event itself. Also, I learned about poker as a sport. I had the opportunity to try a live poker game and I experienced so many different emotions about it. I remember the feeling so vividly, I was excited and felt powerful as a woman. Poker requires you to perform under pressure, and if you aren’t able to keep your emotions under control and your concentration on point, your opponents will outsmart you pretty fast. It was amazing to experience these feelings around all the players!”

Naturally, the Women’s Bootcamp was a great resource for Lafosse.

“At the beginning, when I received the invitation, I wanted to improve myself in the game,” she said. “Over the years I realized that women are stronger than what they think they are, sometimes we don’t have enough confidence in ourselves, which puts men in kind of an ‘advantage’ situation. With the Women’s Bootcamp classes, I realized that there are a lot of different aspects we should learn from each other.”

She continued: “The one topic that helped me the most was the charter Calculate. At some point, I didn't know that I needed to be more calculated about the options of the other players, and I was taking more risks than I should have. In my daily routine, it also helped me to be more confident and courageous than before. It made a big difference in my decisions in life and playing poker.”

PokerStars Continues to Encourage Women

“We’re delighted to be joining forces with Poker Power for the second year and continue developing our commitment to encouraging women into poker," said Rebecca McAdam Willetts, PokerStars' Director of Partnerships, PR, and Consumer Engagement. "We are doubling the length of our Bootcamp to eight weeks, and we will not only teach women how to play poker, but also provide them with skills that can be applied to their daily lives.”

According to research by PokerStars in the United Kingdom, 42 percent of women who play poker believe the game brings improved focus and concentration while 38 percent believe it could improve their ability to make decisions. Despite this, over half of women surveyed (55 percent) said they feel that poker is not inclusive.

Learn More About the Women's Bootcamp!

PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

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