Cathy Hulbert

In 1996, Card Player magazine published an article naming the top 7-card stud players in the world. The only woman on the list was Cathy “Cat” Hulbert. The article said, “It must be emphasized that there is zero tokenism in the selection of Cat. She is that good.” And since then, her game has only gotten better.

Prior to her poker career, Cathy traveled the world as one of the first female professional card counters. She was a member of the famous Czech team and was part of Ken Uston’s group in Atlantic City, where she was arrested more than 50 times for trespassing. Cathy became so notorious that she was barred from casinos in Asia before she even sat down at a table. Once, determined to beat casino surveillance, she donned a wig and a full beard and took acting lessons to perfect her disguise as a man.

Between blackjack and poker, Cathy was also a professional slot player, running a team of octogenarians who sat and pulled handles for her when progressive jackpots reached profitable levels. “Slot machines were the grimiest, dirtiest, hardest work I’ve ever done,” says Cathy. “It’s the lowest form of gambling you can do.” Still, it was good for a few hundred thousand dollars.

Finally, after burning out on blackjack and slots, Cathy moved on to poker. She struggled for the first three years until 1986 when she hooked up with David Heyden and Rick Greider, two of the best 7-card stud players in the world. She took lessons and began beating the game. In blackjack, being a woman had been a big negative. In poker, she found that the opposite was true, as men, with their swollen egos, were easy to manipulate. “No one challenges my authority at the table,” she says of her ability to compete with the big boys.

Today, Cathy divides her time between playing $40-$80 hold’em at Hollywood Casino, teaching poker to women, and writing fiction.

(This excerpt is from the book "Gambling Wizards", written by Richard Munchkin.)