WPA Player of the Year

Each year the WPA continues to recognize the achievements of women in poker, through our Player of the Year program. All ladies tournaments are eligible for the WPA Leaderboard in North America. Currently there is not a POY points system in place for International ladies events.

Women’s Poker Association is not a poker tour. We are an all-volunteer organization with a sole focus on celebrating & elevating the poker experience for women.  The WPA Player of the Year Program is an additional way to support these goals.  You too can help support women in poker by informing us of any local public ladies events which meet our criteria, that are not already listed on the Women’s Poker Calendar under our “Where to Play” tab. Additionally, if you are a regular in a poker room, encourage the operator to host women only events.  Then help them by sharing the tournament information and results with WPA so we may include them in our POY Program.

Feel free to send us new event info or links to any event results to: admin@wpa.poker

WPA PLAYER OF THE YEAR NORTH AMERICA

Eligibility 

1. WPA POY Program is open to all women poker players who are of the age to enter and participate in a legally operated casino/poker room tournament.

2. It is the responsibility of the player to check on the accuracy of their own POY standings.

3. WPA is not responsible for typographical errors.

4. WPA utilizes Poker Atlas, Hendon Mob and any operator provided payout sheets to capture player place finished and to calculate total points based on the leaderboard formula. Calculations are based on the following criteria:

• Tournament buy-in amount
• Amount of players
• Player place finished
• Prize Pool Total

5. Only women only events with a buy-in of $100 or more and 40 entries or more qualify for WPA POY Program. See Below for Point Calculations. (Exception: Survivor events, Satellite events and online tournaments do not qualify for POY points regardless of buy-in amount or number of entries)

HOW POINTS ARE CALCULATED (New for 2026)

Step #1, Field Size:

• The number of entries is multiplied by three.

Step #2, Entry Fee:

• Amount of the buy-in is modified by a multiplier as follows:
  • x0.6 for $100-$199
  • x0.7 for $200-$299
  • x0.8 for $300-$599
  • x0.9 for $600-$999
  • x1.0 for $1000-$1499
  •  x2.0 for $1500-$2499
  • x3.0 for $2500+

Step #3, Total Points Awarded:

• The first and second steps points are combined to get the Total points awarded. 

Step #4, Points Awarded to Each Player Who Cashed:

• The money awarded to each player is calculated as a percentage of the total prize pool.
• The points awarded to a given player is the percentage of the total prize pool she won multiplied by the total number of points awarded.

Example: First Place Finisher in a $400 Buy-In Tournament with 215 Entries:

• Total prize pool equals $77,400.
• First place paid $15,480 which is 20% of the total prize pool.
• Step #1: Number of entries (215) multiplied by three is 645.
• Step #2: The entry fee multiplier is 0.8 for $400.
• Step #3: Total points awarded equals number of entries x 3 x 0.8 … 645 x 0.8 = 516 total points.
• Step #4: First place finisher is awarded 103.2 points, which is total points (515) x percentage of prize pool (.20).

There is no limit to the number of tournament events a player may play, or the number of entries per tournament.  Certain tournaments may be structured offering a single entry or multiple entries.

If two players end up tied in first place for points at the end of the year, the tie breaker for the winner would be who had more first place POY qualified event finishes.  If a second tie breaker is needed, then it would be who placed in the most POY qualified events.

Prize Allocation

• The WPA Player of the Year receives a Title, Featured on WPA Website & POY Ring

Simply compete in qualified ladies events, do your best, and we’ll keep track of your success!

WPA POY INTERNATIONAL

NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME

WPA Player of the Year Leaderboard Details  

Players must finish in the money to earn leaderboard points

Points are awarded based on a tiered model that includes tournament buy-in and place finished. WPA Player of the Year for 2026 concludes on Dec 31st, 2026.

Other FAQ’s:

Question: What if I play in a publicly advertised ladies event and the results aren’t published to an online tracker like Hendon Mob?
Answer: Simply ask the operator to send WPA the results to poy@wpa.poker or request a copy of the event payout sheet and send it to us yourself. We can verify the information with the operator.

Question: How are events counted which are held in poker clubs like in Texas?
Answer: Poker is played in both Casinos & Poker Rooms. If a ladies event is held and open to the public, (i.e., Texas rooms are membership based for legal reasons, but membership is open to the public and therefore qualifies), then the tournament qualifies for WPA POY.

Question: If an International player travels to North America and cashes in a ladies event, would she have points on the North American POY list?
Answer: Yes

Question: How are Ladies Championships on cruises to be counted?
Answer: They also are included as cruises are open to the public. Anyone can register to attend a cruise and play in the event. They are attached to the port of sail. If it departs out of North America, then the North America WPA POY race applies. If it departs Internationally, then it would be considered an International ladies event.

PREVIOUS POY WINNERS

2024 – Pamela Belote

2023 – Christina “Chris” Read

2022 – Bridgette Adkins

2020/2021 – Bridgette Adkins

2019 – Ruth Hall