“For sure it was a rough road, with all the money and emotional swings all poker players know about,” she said. So far, that decision has been a good call. She began playing mainly cash games, but recently added tournaments. At 19, she traveled with a former boyfriend who played poker and soon joined in on the action, preferring playing rather than shopping or just hanging out. Like many modern cardsharps, Zajmovic began playing as a teenager. Away from poker and her busy business schedule, Zajmovic enjoys reading, yoga and basketball. Along with poker, she also loves hockey and owns an NHL draft website, livedraft.ca, for those interested in running hockey pools. She now works part time in the field from home in Montreal, where she moved a year ago. While she wanted to be a lawyer at first, Zajmovic instead earned a degree in public relations and a master’s in political communication. As she grew older, Zajmovic enjoyed sports and was more often hanging out with the guys than girls. But the tough new girl from Yugoslavia stuck it out and put her efforts into her studies. She and her family had to learn to speak French and she felt rejected during much of elementary school. Growing up, Zajmovic was a calm kid who loved school and studying.Īnd while she may have left the violence and turmoil of her home country behind, Zajmovic also faced challenges when she reached Canada. “I’m really proud of them and grateful for the chance that they gave me.” “My parents did everything they can for my sister and me,” she said. In 1996, when Zajmovic was 6, her family left the situation behind and headed to Quebec City, Canada. The decade-long fighting left 140,000 dead and more than four million without homes. The fighting led to the breakup of the Yugoslav state, with smaller republics like Bosnia and Croatia becoming independent after inter-ethnic warfare. The Zajmovic family was caught in the middle of the Yugoslav Wars, a series of wars and insurgencies from 1991-2001. Zajmovic has the grit of a true poker player, evidenced from the strength she displayed in her upbringing. And you can believe this, you'll be hearing a lot more from her in the future.” Image courtesy of the WPT She could have won the WPT event I did and she won it the very next go-around. She's aggressive and not afraid to play pots. When I won in Montreal, she dominated play from four tables down to the final table. “I'm probably Ema's biggest fan,” Sexton said. "You can believe this, you'll be hearing a lot more from her in the future." Zajmovic flexes plenty of mental muscles on the felt. In November at the WPT Montreal C$3,850 Main Event, Zajmovic finished fifth for C$102,010 in the event won by Sexton. I want to compete against everyone and not just women.” When I play, I just want to be better than my opponents, to make fewer mistakes than others, to play my A-game more. “I know the first women angle was a huge highlight on the media perspective. “I honestly focused on the fact that I made back-to-back final tables,” said Zajmovic, who turns 27 in April. It’s an honor for Zajmovic, but she focuses on other aspects of her recent run. This young shark would go on to win the hand and the tournament for C$261,000, becoming the first woman to win an open event on the WPT Main Tour. Both players got all their chips in on the turn. The luck continued later when she hit a ten on the board with her pocket tens against the pocket aces of Eric Afriat (who would finish third). She remembers Poker Hall of Fame member and WPT commentator Mike Sexton passing by after the hand and giving her a wink. It didn’t look good – her ace-queen versus ace-king. 13, Zajmovic found herself all in for her tournament life. But winning a major tournament takes a bit of luck at some point, an unexpected turn of cards that foreshadow that it might just be one’s fate to win the whole thing. With temperatures below freezing outside, Zajmovic was cool under pressure with a legitimate shot at the title.Īfter three long days of play, Zajmovic had bluffed, bet and raised through a field of 380 entries. Only three years ago, the public relations professional-turned-part-time rounder only dreamed of playing an event on the tour. She now had the chance for her second final table in a row.Įma Zajmovic tried to remain calm and focus as the field narrowed to 16 players left in the partypoker WPT Playground C$3,500 Main Event. Two deep runs in a row on the World Poker Tour and both in her home province of Quebec.
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