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Today, more women than ever are enjoying poker in person and online, and many female players are professionals who earn millions. Online poker makes practicing easy, and it lets novices avoid high stakes casinos. Most female players say their success comes from spending plenty of time learning about the game before sitting at a table in person. Here are some of the women who are overtaking the poker world.
1. Annette Obrestad
Annette Obrestad became the youngest player to win a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in 2007, before her 19th birthday. She’s Norwegian, and she’s been playing since she was 15. She used nothing but her online winnings to fund her career, and she has earned over $4 million so far.
2. Vanessa Selbst
Vanessa Selbst is the highest-earning woman in poker, a Yale graduate, and a Fulbright scholar. She has three World Series of Poker bracelets, and she has earned more than $11 million employing poker strategy to outsmart her opponents at the poker table. In 2010, she founded Venture Justice, a charity that uses her poker winnings to help young entrepreneurs start new nonprofits.
3. Vanessa Rousso
Vanessa Rousso has been a famous player for over a decade, and she’s earned more than $3.5 million so far by playing live poker. Vanessa has made over $1 million online as well. She used her poker fame to become a spokeswoman for GoDaddy and a contestant on Big Brother in 2015.
4. Liv Boeree
Liv Boeree is a TV presenter and model from Manchester, England, who has a degree in astrophysics. She became well-known when she appeared on a reality show in 2005. After learning more about poker, she attended the World Series of Poker in 2006 in Las Vegas. In 2008, she won the Ladbrokes European Ladies Championships. Then, in 2010, won the European Poker Tour in San Remo, Italy, for $1,650,000. Few women had ever won a pot that size, and the victory launched her name into the headlines of mainstream and poker media.
Liv has won more than $3 million in live games, and she enjoys traveling the world. She spends a few months playing in Las Vegas every year. She says that there’s a lot of camaraderie among her fellow players, and everyone loves to have fun. However, the play is still cutthroat and exciting.
5. Maria Ho
Maria Ho was born in Taiwan, and she grew up in the United States. She’s won more than $2.5 million, and she’s had cashouts in 55 WSOPs and 14 World Poker Tour events. She also finished as the Last Woman Standing in the WSOP’s main event in 2007, 2011, and 2014. She was nominated for the Bluff Reader’s Choice Favorite Female Player award three times.
Maria also competed in The Amazing Race reality show. She’s a TV host and commentator for many poker shows, including NBC Sports’ Super High Roller Bowl, CBS Sports’ The Final Table, and seasons nine and 10 of the Heartland Poker Tour. This skilled player was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in 2018, the first year she was nominated.
Soon, there will be many more women cashing in through online and live poker.
