Amount of women playing poker may surprise you

Online or at a casino, more and more women are playing poker nowadays. According to new studies, nearly 30 percent of online players are female and the number of women in the Ladies World Series of Poker is up 400 percent.

Thirty years ago, things were different, said Barbara Enright, who was a former hairdresser who became a professional poker player. Taking a seat next to the boys used to make me downright queasy. I was so intimidated when I sat down in the game," she said.

Her advice to women in a man's world is to take chances and past your comfort zone. Today, Enright keeps her competition studying her opponents and takes notes on their betting patterns.

I plan how I'm going to play the hand before I even get the cards. She said. In poker as in life you have to stay focused, talk less, listen more and never get emotional. A mistake Enright calls a man-thing. If men underestimate you at the poker table or in the boardroom use it to your advantage, and you'll be laughing all the way to the bank.

Barbara says trust your intuition. She says your first instinct is usually your best bet. Whether it's online in tournaments as the one offered by DoylesPokerRoom.com - the only poker room endorsed by the legendary Doyle Brunson, or in a casino or your neighbor's living room, women are going crazy for poker.