Deal Her In
A beginner-friendly poker night about confidence, connection & claiming your seat.
No poker experience needed. If the game has ever felt like something that happens behind closed doors you weren't invited into, this night is the invitation.
We're bringing women together to learn poker from scratch, in a warm, low-stakes room in the heart of Chicago. Because poker isn't really about cards: it's about making smart decisions with imperfect information, knowing when to hold and when to fold, betting on yourself, and getting comfortable taking a seat at the table. The same skills that serve you in every room you walk into.
Come learn the game, meet women worth knowing, and leave with at least one real connection.
📍 The details
🗓️ Wednesday, July 8, 2026 · ⏰ Starts 6:30 PM · 📍 SHFT, Chicago
🎟️ $10 ticket to hold your seat — keeps it accessible and helps everyone actually show up. Snacks & drinks provided. The room is intimate, so spots are limited. 👉 Save your seat now!
This is a female-identifying event — built around confidence, empowerment, negotiation, and risk-taking. Come on your own or bring a friend.
✨ What to expect
A relaxed, social evening: part hands-on learning, part real networking, zero pressure. You'll be taught the basics at small tables by experienced instructors (trained through Poker Power), so total beginners are not just welcome, they're the whole point. We'll have snacks, drinks (and non-alcoholic options), and plenty of time to actually talk to the people in the room.
🃏 Learn to play, from zero — small tables, friendly instructors, real hands.
🧠 The skills underneath the game — confidence, decisions under uncertainty, knowing your worth at the table.
🥂 Real networking — founders, investors, and women doing interesting things, in one room.
🧀 Snacks & drinks — a spread to settle in with.
🃏 Plus: a deck full of keepsakes
Think yearbook signings, but with a deck of cards. Everyone gets their own deck — when you meet someone, swap a card: write a quick note or a quote you love on one of yours, hand it over, and she does the same back. No one fills out all 52; you just collect cards as you go, and each one becomes a little keepsake from someone you met. Try to fill a suit by the end of the night — first to do it wins a prize. 🏆
💡 Why you should come
♠️ Demystify a game you were never taught. Walk in curious, walk out able to play.
🤝 Meet your people. Learning something new together is one of the best icebreakers there is. You'll connect faster than at any standard mixer.
💪 Build the seat-at-the-table mindset. Confidence, negotiation, and comfort with risk. Get reps making bold calls with imperfect information, on the felt and off.
🌃 Spend an evening somewhere special. A beautiful Chicago community space you probably didn't know existed.
🗓️ The night, roughly
6:30 — Arrive, mingle & grab your name tag and card deck 🥂
6:50 — Welcome & host intros: how poker builds confidence, strategic thinking & comfort with risk
7:00 — Breakout poker teaching sessions (beginners encouraged!)
8:00 — Wrap-up: networking & a facilitated conversation
👋 Your hosts
Holley Brandchaft-White and Genia Yovankin — SHFT 🏠 Our host space. SHFT is a Chicago wellness and community hub whose upstairs has held fireside chats, workshops, and creative nights — anything that brings people together around growth and connection. Tonight, it's poker.
Sophia Huard — Ghost Social 👻 Founder building in the IRL economy — bringing people together in real life and connecting the rooms that matter. A poker instructor who genuinely loves the game and its mission.
April Oury 🎯 Chicago founder turned investor (GP, LP, and active angel). She'll tell you herself: learning when to fold made her a better investor. A poker instructor who came for the strategy and stayed for the people.
Haley Kwait Zollo — Starting Line 🃏 A VC at Starting Line and a poker instructor who'll be running a table. She knows firsthand how the game's instincts — reading the room, sizing up risk, making the call — translate straight into investing and leadership.
Mahika Hari — Centr 🤎 Founder building the app that helps you be a better villager — keep up with the people who matter, plan the catch-ups, and protect your social battery. Centr is all about real connection, in real life, on purpose — exactly the kind of night this is.
Everyone wants a village. Nobody wants to be a villager. Tonight, let's be villagers — and learn to play while we're at it. ♠️