"The poker world has changed phenomenally," says Lucy Rokach, the UK's top female player. "The money now available to be won is life-changing. You've got sponsors offering you deals, celebrity players as in other sports and there are more women, which makes for a much pleasanter atmosphere."

Poker is on a roll. Cheap $1 tournaments with million-dollar cash prizes are proving so tempting that poker has become our fastest-growing hobby, while online-to-live success stories are doing their bit to sell the rags-to-riches dream. Surprisingly the UK provides 80% of Europe's poker, while Ladbrokes.com, which draws in around 350,000 players per hour, estimates that women accounted for 20% of its players last year. So far, there's no evidence to suggest that either sex is more susceptible to the game's more dangerous, addictive qualities. But one thing's for sure: with nearly 300 poker websites to choose from, more than 1.5 million regular players, and nearly £100,000m being wagered every day, there's always a game to be had.

When Rokach, 56, first started playing poker 18 years ago it took her just four months to lose everything. She was forced to remortgage her house and borrow money, but she carried on regardless. "I perceived it as a challenge. I didn't like losing and I thought, 'Well, it can't be that hard'." Now known as Lucy "Golden Ovaries" Rokach she is widely acknowledged to be the best female player in the UK.

"My first nickname was Spring Lamb - because I was a lamb at the sacrificial altar [in a highly confrontational, male-dominated world], then Golden Ovaries. I was playing a cash game with a friend about 12 years ago and I kept beating him with these wanky little cards and he had aces. He was about to say golden bollocks, stopped himself and said, 'Mmm, golden ovaries'."

Rokach, from Stoke-on-Trent, has had her share of testosterone-laden matches over the years, although she says the presence of more women is improving the game's table manners. "I've had face-to-face arguments several times with fellas I know would have liked to have hit me, but I've stood my ground and they realised it was a no-win situation for them."

Her style, she says, is "aggressive and fast", though she adds: "It's got to be controlled aggression. There's no point in being all in, all in, all in. That's not aggression, that's kamikaze."

Aggression is crucial to poker players. And women are not afraid to show it. Take Isabelle "No Mercy" Mercier, who loves the terror-inducing nickname given to her by poker commentator Mike Sexton. You have to be pretty formidable to earn yourself a nickname in this world, and anything that adds to her opponents' fear is fine by her.

"I have a very aggressive style of playing, and that disturbs people. When we draw seats for a tournament most are relieved to see they are not on my table, because when I play live, most of the time I'm the most aggressive player at the table."

Mercier, 29, has put time and effort into becoming more aggressive at the table over the years: eyeballing opponents, staring them down and generally unnerving them so much that they throw in their hand.