Cherish Andrews won GPI’s Female Player of the Year for the second time in 2024. She totaled 36 cashes, three wins and $829,863. She’s certainly happy to carry the torch for female players, but it’s an award that she takes with a grain of salt.
“I feel kind of bipolar when it comes to winning that title,” Andrew said. “I feel that I’m among the better players today, not just women.
“That’s something Kristen (Foxen) and I have talked about before,” she said. “We’re both happy about it but also conflicted.” Foxen and Andrews have the last six of seven GPI Female POY titles between them.
“You want to be recognized as not only a really good female player but as a good, elite player on your own – not just in the Female category,” said Andrews.
Shutting up the comment section
Female players have to deal with their own brand online detractors, but Andrews slammed the door on critics this year by also finishing runner-up in the Mid-Major POY race.
“It sure shuts people up,” she said. “I’m a little sad I didn’t win that one – I tried pretty hard. I could have went a little harder and played lesser [buy-in] events in December because that was a bigger goal for me to win. Then that would actually help shut people up about women being in their own category.”
She plays a wide range of buy-ins from stacked $10,000 fields to $400 Turbos, both online and live. But it’s right in the mid-stakes zone where she thrives. “My average buy-in is probably $2K or a little more, I don’t feel the need to play high rollers or bigger [buy-in] events,” she said.
“I will play them if I think the field is good and there isn’t a smaller tournament going on,” Andrews said. “But I’m not going to play a $25,000 over a $1,500 – ever. I just don’t feel the need to; I’m comfortable where I’m playing. I can play high rollers and I’m good enough, but it makes more sense to me to play lower stakes.”
Does a different Andrews show up to play $10,000 differently than a nightly? “Nope, I’m the exact same player,” she said. “If I think I have to go for it in a spot, it doesn’t matter if it’s a $400, $5K or $25K, I’m going to play it the same way.”
Finding new adventures
Andrews' 2024 wasn’t only a career year for her, she also traveled to EPT Barcelona to play poker internationally for the first time. The trip took a bit of prodding from boyfriend Brock Wilson for the homebody and dog mom to finally relent.
“If it were up to him, we’d be going everywhere,” Andrews said. “Where I’m like, ‘Why leave the country if there’s really good poker here?’ But I agreed to do one trip out of the country with him and ended up loving it. That poker was insane and the city was beautiful, so we are going back this year. It’s one of the best stops I’ve been to, and I did not regret it. “
Balancing the internal struggle
At the tables, Andrews has a calm, studious table image but those closest to her know she struggles internally to stay composed. At her core, she’s an empath.
How does an empath navigate a zero-sum world? Is it hard for her to watch people lose?
“Yeah, it actually is,” she said. “People are very right about me being an empath. My friends laugh at me all the time because I have cried when I’ve busted somebody. Some people take it so hard – for instance, I was playing a 92-year-old gentleman and he busted. I was like, ‘Good luck tomorrow,’ and he said, ‘If I wake up, I’ll be here.’ I literally cried and texted my friends, ‘Are you kidding me?’
“I feel what other people feel, which is very difficult to disassociate from,” said Andrews. “But I have to - I’m playing to take someone’s money. It’s not uncommon for me to cry, it’s harder for me in tournaments because more people are taking shots than they would in a cash game. It’s difficult.”
Work is work & setting boundaries
Finding balance away from the tables was a challenge in the early days of her relationship with Wilson. It was difficult at first due to his own obsession with the game. “Anybody that knows Brock, knows that he loves poker more than anyone. He loves every aspect of poker – watching, studying it, playing it, coaching it – he just loves the game entirely.”
“We had to set a boundary where we have to treat poker as work,” Andrews said. “When we’re together that’s our relationship time and we’re not going to talk about work. We will study together but I had to set the boundaries.”
Beyond the game
She’s been playing poker for most of her adult life but if she decided to give up the game tomorrow, what would she do next week?
“I guess I’m going to be making babies,” she laughed. “I guess that’s what I’m doing. Ummm…that ‘s something we’ve talked about. It’s something that if I’m going to be a mom, I’m going to be all in on being a mom.”
“If that does happen, you will definitely see me a lot less,” she said beaming. “Right now, there’s no plans, but you never know…”
Additional images courtesy of Jesse Becker & Alicia Skillman
Graphic courtesy of GPI
