Ema Zajmović

Ema Zajmović (born 7 April 1990) is a Bosnian-Canadian professional poker player. In 2017, she became the first and only woman to win an open World Poker Tour (WPT) Main Event.

Ema Zajmović
Zajmović in 2018
Residence	Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec, Canada
Born	(1990-04-07) 7 April 1990 (age 34) Bosnia and Herzegovina (then part of SFR Yugoslavia)
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s)	None
Final table(s)	None
Money finish(es)	9
Highest ITM Main Event finish	215th, 2018
World Poker Tour
Title(s)	1
Final table(s)	4
Money finish(es)	11
European Poker Tour
Title(s)	None
Final table(s)	None
Money finish(es)	1
Information accurate as of 25 April 2023.

Early life and education

Born to Bosnian parents in 1990, Zajmović grew up in war-torn Yugoslavia. Her family moved to Quebec City, Quebec, after the war in 1996.^[1][2] An introvert and a good student when she was young, she originally wanted to become a lawyer, but at Université Laval in Quebec she studied public relations and earned a master's degree in political communication.^[2][3][4] She worked for Justin Trudeau's first election campaign in 2015 and, after moving to Montreal, worked part-time for a public relations company as her poker career progressed.^[1][2][3]

Career

Zajmović, who took up poker at age 19, has primarily played cash games instead of live tournaments.^[1][5] She won her first tournament prize money in August 2011 at a European Poker Tour (EPT) side event in Barcelona.^[6] In July 2016, she made her debut at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, finishing 929th for a cash prize of US$15,000.^[6] In November 2016, at WPT Montreal (held at the Playground Poker Club in Kahnawake), she reached her first WPT Main Tour final table, but bluffed away her chip lead to finish in fifth place for just over CA$100,000.^[7][8][9] Tournament winner Mike Sexton spoke highly of Zajmović's aggressive play up to her exit, saying she "dominated that tournament like nobody I've ever seen".^[8]

Returning to Kahnawake for WPT Playground two months later, Zajmović made her second straight final table and this time came out on top, placing first out of 380 entrants for CA$241,500 and a wrestling-style belt.^[7][10][11] She entered the final day as the chip leader; she retook the lead multiple times as she knocked out the last four players, clinching the tournament when her K♠ Q♠ hit two pair.^[7][12][13] This victory, on 15 February 2017, marked the first time in WPT's 15-year history that a woman had won a Main Tour open buy-in event,^[a] an achievement that was recognized with the Moment of the Year Award at the 2017 American Poker Awards.^[1][14][b]

Zajmović narrowly lost two WPT Main Tour events the next year. She made her third Main Event final table in April 2018 in Amsterdam, where she finished in second place for just over €100,000.^[6][16] In November 2018, she returned to WPT Montreal for her biggest payout to date: Though she got beat by a heads-up hero call, she received CA$556,000 for second place.^[6][17][18]

One of the most prominent female players on the professional poker tour, Zajmović has spoken of the difficulty early in her career of "being a girl in a man's world".^[2][19] She has appeared on shows such as Live at the Bike and Poker After Dark.^[20][21] With over US$1,230,000 in live tournament winnings as of 2023^[update], she is the 38th-most successful female poker player of all time.^[22] Additionally, she is the second-most successful Bosnian poker player of all time (after Ali Imsirovic).^[23]

See also

• Barbara Enright, first woman to win an open World Series of Poker event
• Victoria Coren Mitchell, first woman to win a European Poker Tour event

Notes

1. Zajmović was the second woman to win a WPT Main Event in general, following Van Nguyen at the WPT Celebrity Invitational in 2008.^[7][12]
2. As of 2022^[update], Zajmović remains the only woman to win an open WPT Main Event.^[15]

References

1. Shapiro, Michael (8 March 2017). "Zajmovic first woman to win WPT major". San Francisco Chronicle. from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
2. Chaffin, Sean (17 March 2017). "First Female WPT Winner Ema Zajmovic Isn't Going Away Anytime Soon". PokerNews. from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
3. "Ko je Bosanka Ema Zajmović, prva žena koja je osvojila Glavni turnir Svjetske poker serije" [Who is Bosnian Ema Zajmović, the first woman to win a Main Event on the World Poker Tour?]. Dnevni avaz (in Bosnian). 14 September 2018. from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
4. "Équipe" [Our team] (in French). Observatoire des médias sociaux en relations publiques (Université Laval). from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
5. Cross, Valerie (26 August 2019). "Former WPT Champ Ema Zajmovic Talks Poker, Life, and a Bluff to Remember". PokerNews. from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
6. "Ema Zajmovic". Global Poker Index. from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
7. "Ema Zajmovic and Her History-Making WPT Playground Championship Belt". World Poker Tour. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
8. Clark, Matt (22 October 2019). "Step Back in Time: Mike Sexton Wins WPT Montreal!". World Poker Tour. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
9. "C$ 3,500 + 350 No Limit Hold'em - WPT Montreal Main Event". The Hendon Mob. Global Poker Index. from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
10. Charter, Anthony (15 February 2017). "Ema Zajmovic Makes History, Wins WPT Playground". PokerNews. from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
11. "C$ 3,200 + 300 No Limit Hold'em - WPT Main Event (Event #10)". The Hendon Mob. Global Poker Index. from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
12. Fast, Erik (14 February 2017). "Ema Zajmovic Becomes First Ever Female World Poker Tour Open Event Champion". Card Player. from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
13. Glatzer, Jason (21 February 2017). "PokerNews Performance of the Week: Ema Zajmovic Makes WPT History". PokerNews. from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
14. "4th Annual American Poker Awards Winners". PokerNews. 22 February 2018. from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
15. "Championship Day 1B: Dave Stefanski Eliminated by Ema Zajmovic". seminolehardrockpokeropen.com. Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. 22 January 2022. from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
16. "€ 3,000 + 300 No Limit Hold'em - WPT Amsterdam". The Hendon Mob. Global Poker Index. from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
17. "C$ 5,000 + 300 No Limit Hold'em - Main Event #2". The Hendon Mob. Global Poker Index. from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
18. Sources referring to the final hand's "hero call":
    • "Patrick Serda Wins 2018 World Poker Tour Montreal Main Event". Card Player. 4 November 2018. from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023. Serda went into the tank, but eventually found the hero call with his third pair.
    • World Poker Tour (7 November 2018). "Hero Call of the Year? Patrick Serda Wins WPT Montreal with $668,388 on the Line". YouTube. from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
19. "Ema Zajmovic: 'You Can't Just Compete With the Girls'". pokerlistings.com (interview). 15 June 2021. from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
20. "Israeli Ron Destroys 4 Players with Queen Deuce!! ♠ Live at the Bike!". Live at the Bike. YouTube. 21 March 2017. from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
21. Sofen, Jon (29 September 2021). "Nick Wright Gets Trappy, Phil Hellmuth Folds Over Pair on Poker After Dark". PokerNews. from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
22. "Women's All Time Money List - Top 14,952". The Hendon Mob. Global Poker Index. from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
23. "Bosnia & Herzegovina All Time Money List - Top 283". The Hendon Mob. Global Poker Index. from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.

External links

•   Media related to Ema Zajmović at Wikimedia Commons
• Hendon Mob profile
• Ema Zajmovic WPT profile
• WSOP profile