Raise Women: Building Confidence and Female Community in Poker

Raise Women

For a long time, poker has been considered a man’s game, but today female half of the population shows no worse results. Liv Boeree, Katie Swift and Vanessa Selbst are just a few stellar names from the feminine constellation in the poker sky. Despite showing good skills at the table, female players still experience some pressure while playing. The feeling of being unwelcome and unconfident is familiar to Janna Leach, an active online and live poker enthusiast from England. The desire to change the culture around the game and supportive space for women resulted in the creation of the RAISE Women initiative.

Who is Janna Leach?

Janna Leach is a passionate card player and an advocate for inclusivity in the world of poker. Looking at her results on the Hendon Mob database, we can say that her live poker earnings of around £430 are very modest. The girl currently takes 25,260th place on the All-Time Money England list. However, she has had an active presence in live poker events, especially during the last two years. Janna also plays online on the best poker sites.

What is RAISE Women Initiative All About?

RAISE Women is a young but friendly community for current females in poker or those who want to become such. The level of play does not matter: a green beginner and a skilled hand can join the collective. The initiative aims to provide all-around support to women who do not have enough confidence to show up at bigger poker events than just home games.

The landscape of modern poker relies on hours of dedicated studying, advanced tools and solvers. Those who have family commitments and work cannot pay the same amount of time to improving skills as full-time players. And Janna Leach knows that like nobody else. She raises a daughter and has experienced all the challenges while bringing her game back up after a pause due to maternal bonds. Hence, Janna has a burning desire to help women like herself gain confidence, level up and thrive in the competitive poker arena. Poker environments should not be intimidating for women, she stresses.

As part of the RAISE Women initiative, its members are supposed to study and grow together, discuss different poker strategies, analyse hands, and, of course, celebrate each other's achievements.

First Visible Success of the Initiative

RAISE Women’s impact is producing its first fruits. One of the members, Amber Megan Sullivan, triumphed at the 2025 Goliath Ladies Championship, which earlier took place at the Grosvenor Casino in Coventry. In the girl’s words, she learned how to play poker in her own pub and developed her first set of skills there. Amber credits the support network with giving her the confidence to travel to such a big poker festival and compete.

Author’s Final Words

Adapting to an increasingly technical game of poker can be truly challenging. Especially for women whose time is mainly occupied with work and family duties. Initiatives like RAISE Women are super valuable as they bring real support and knowledge to the table, not just a social interaction. Being part of an encouraging environment, one can overcome cultural barriers and compete on equal footing. The founder, Janna Leach, has lots of plans ahead. As stated on the official Facebook page, they intend to run live RAISE competitions and grow grow grow as a community. Here at Cardmates, we believe that building such support networks is a fantastic idea that deserves high praise.

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