She went against his request and was determined to play and improve. She discovered poker through an ex-boyfriend who insisted that she not pursue the game, but being around it piqued her interest and would turn out to jive well with her strengths. Poker provided and continues to present all the right kind of challenges for her, complete with competition, math and psychology. Like many who are attracted to playing poker, Zajmovic was always competitive and enjoyed games and sports. Zajmovic has called Quebec City, Canada home since the age of six when she moved from her war-torn native country of Bosnia following the war there in the mid-1990s. You try not to drink the night before and that’s pretty much it – but it’s hard in Barcelona where you can just enjoy and have fun.” Path to Poker " is a game so you have to take it as it is and do your best when you compete but it’s like a sport - you just try to do your best. “We try to travel and to enjoy our time," she said. Besides bringing her mother along with her to Barca this trip to enjoy the city alongside her, she also travels with a core group of friends, all players from her hometown area of Montreal and Quebec City. Her other secret is the company she keeps. It helps that the EPT is held in places like sunny Barcelona that double as a vacation spot. Many can attest to the challenges and personal strains - both physical and mental - that the traveling poker life can present, but Zajmovic has found helpful ways to make the stops feel like less of a grind. “I think it’s improving somehow and it’s getting more easy for women, with more satellites and things.” It’s emotionally really hard, and it’s not always the healthiest environment.” But Zajmovic has played long enough to know the reality. “Everyone sees the upside to it,” she said, referring to the idea of cashing in on a big score. While she personally loves the game and enjoys the poker lifestyle, Zajmovic also knows the negative aspects of the game can prove detrimental to certain individuals. While it’s all well and good that women who are interested have more opportunities to participate in the game, Zajmovic doesn’t see a particular need to act as an ambassador to bring more ladies into the game, the way that she thinks might be important for some other fields. Ema Zajmovic is looking for her first cash in an EPT Main Event. So I think it’s improving somehow and it’s getting more easy for women, with more satellites and things.”įor Zajmovic, the availability of nice poker destinations are helpful to draw women as well, like Barcelona where you can combine some poker with vacation and sightseeing and so forth. “Now in the tournaments though I think it’s more accessible,” she said.
Zajmovic is used to this scenario as primarily a cash game player, but she thinks tournaments draw more of a mix. Sure enough, apart from a couple female massage therapists and dealers, it was nearly all men seated at the tables. "I took her to the cash game area and she saw the room and she was like 'Where are the women?'" "I'm with my mom here in Barcelona - I brought her here for vacation," Zajmovic said.
“In poker, there’s so much psychology and timing – it’s perfect. Asked whether she sees this situation evolving, Zajmovic pointed out a difference between cash games and tournaments. Apart from that, it's the same game and Zajmovic has grown accustomed to being one of a minority number of women competing at the stakes she plays. She’s looking to change that here in Barcelona.Ĭompared with playing in her home Canada, Zajmovic sees the competition as being a bit tougher in Europe, mostly due to the elite players that come in from some surrounding countries. Still, despite playing in over 10 EPT Main Events, the 2017 WPT Playground Montreal (Kahnawake) champ is yet to cash in a single one of them. Ema Zajmovic has had considerable success in tournament poker over the last few years, with her fair share of final tables on the World Poker Tour.
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