Although poker is generally considered to be a man’s game, there are female players that prove this wrong and Vanessa Selbst is certainly one of them. With live tournament earnings of more than $10 million and three WSOP bracelets, the Brooklyn native is indisputably the most successful female poker pro of all time.
Selbst got her first WSOP bracelet in 2008, when she topped the field of a $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event for $227,933. Four years later, she won her second one. This time she emerged victorious over the entries of a $2,500 10-Game Six-Handed event for $244,259. Bracelet number three came during the 2014 WSOP. Selbst finished 1st in a $25,000 Mixed-Max No-Limit Hold’em to be awarded $871,148 and the exclusive piece of WSOP jewelry.
Selbst received her first-ever live tournament cash in 2006 at the 37th WSOP. There, she finished 7th in a $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em event to capture the amount of $101,285.
In April 2010, the player topped the field of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour Uncasville $4,700 + 300 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event to win her first major cash of $750,000. Only five months later, she triumphed in the Partouche Poker Tour Cannes €7,750 + 750 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event. There, she was paid the amount of €1,300,000 ($1,823,430). Up to date, this is the biggest live cash in her career.
In 2011, Selbst won yet another North American Poker Tour Uncasville $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event, this time for $450,000. In 2013, she emerged victorious in the PCA Paradise Island $25,000 + 500 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller to be paid the amount of $1,424,420. A year later, she finished 3rd in the PCA Paradise Island $98,000 + 2,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller for $760,640, and the $25,000 + 500 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller for $607,580. And the list of her achievements goes on and on.
So far, Selbst has a total of $10,623,193 in live tournament winnings, which makes her the most profitable female poker pro. At present, she ranks 26th in the all time money list. In addition, she is 1st in the New York money list and 14th in the US one.
Furthermore, Selbst is the first and only female poker pro to have ever topped the Global Poker Index ranking. Currently, she ranks 110th in the prestigious leaderboard. In 2010, she became a Team PokerStars Pro, joining popular players like Daniel Negreanu and Jason Mercier.
