You don’t often imagine the average poker player to be particularly attractive. In fact, the stereotypical image of poker players would probably be of middle-aged men who spend too much time sitting in darkened rooms playing poker, not eating healthily and probably drinking and smoking too much! Of course, now so many millions of people play poker and other casino games online with the likes of thetop10bestonlinecasinos.com, it’s difficult to describe a typical poker player – they surely come in many shapes and sizes!
Photo credit : Pokertime.eu
One poker-playing celebrity who dashes that image of the stereotypical player described above is Erica Schoenberg – otherwise known as the Blackjack Babe and, latterly, the Poker Babe. Before she started playing blackjack in 2004, Erica earned her living as a fashion model and a professional volleyball player. She was trained by a member of the MIT Blackjack Team and she first entered the World Series of Blackjack in 2005. She was soon being referred to as the Blackjack Babe and became a household name when she took part in the reality show CBS Ultimate Blackjack Tour in 2006.
Erica transferred her playing affection to Texas Hold’em in 2006 and managed to come 16th in the World Series of Poker Tour $25,000 season 4 that very year. By 2007, she had come third in the World Series of Poker $1500 No Limit Hold’em. She concreted her allegiance to poker when she married fellow pro player, Erick Lindgren in 2011.
Erica’s not the only former model to make it on the poker scene – Monica Reeves has also become a recognised player on both the blackjack and poker tours. She also became a familiar face when she took part in the Ultimate Blackjack Tour TV show and won the fourth preliminary tour. Although she’s been quoted as saying she doesn’t think there’s a gender advantage in either game, she has also said she’d be willing to use her female charm if she thought it might make the difference in a game!
