Poker is a male-dominated sport, that’s for sure. You would think that a cerebral game that relies solely on luck plus strategy and decision-making skills would be attractive to women, but alas, poker’s reputation precedes its essence. Poker, and all other casino games for that matter, is usually associated with macho men, cigars, alcohol, and pretty bar girls- in other words, it’s not a world that most women would happily jump into.
Yet some women do bravely jump into the testosterone-driven fray. And they get pretty good at this game to, giving a lot of top men players a run for their money. Here are some of the most prominent female poker players that have been making waves in the poker world:
Annette Obrestad
Annette Obrestad is the very definition of a poker wunderkid. This feisty young lady from Norway started playing poker at the very young age of 15, first making a name for herself in online poker rooms (where she is known as “Annette_15″). Obrestad built her bankroll from nothing; she claims that she has never made a single deposit at any online poker site- she made her money winning freeroll tournaments. As of this writing, Obrestad holds the record for being the youngest player at age 19 to win a WSOP bracelet during the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe tournament. She is also currently ranked in first place in the all-time money list for live tournaments in her home country of Norway.
Vanessa Selbst
Hands down, Vanessa Selbst is the most successful female player in the WHOLE history of poker. Eight years in dabbling in the professional leagues has seen Selbst amass over $10 million in total earnings. In the early part of this year, Selbst became the sole woman in the world to top the Global Poker Index; she stayed on the number one position for four weeks. Since Selbst is still pretty young (she’s age 30 as of this writing), we can be assured that she still has years of poker playing ahead of her.
Liv Boeree
Liv Boeree has a large fanbase that is attributed not only to her sharp poker skills, but also to her striking good looks. The European Poker Tour champion, who counts top players Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, and Dave Ulliott among her mentors, also works as a model and TV presenter. But she’s not all about the looks though, she also has brains to back it up. Boeree once studied Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. With a total lifetime winnings of nearly $3 million dollars, she currently plays for Team PokerStars Pro.
Kathy Liebert
Kathy Liebert is probably the first female poker superstar, considering that she has been on the scene since 1994. She has a total of nearly $6 million dollars in lifetime winnings, with a World Series of Poker bracelet under her belt. The majority of her major wins were from the period of 2002 to 2008. Today, Liebert spends most of her time juggling between her two passions- poker and the stock market.
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