Vanessa Selbst

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Vanessa Selbst has gone on to establish herself as one of the world’s most formidable tournament players.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Vanessa Selbst has gone on to establish herself as one of the world’s most formidable tournament players. Selbst developed her competitive spirit from a young age, as she excelled both academically and on the sports field playing tennis, field hockey and rugby.

After achieving excellent results in school, Selbst attended MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) for one year, before transferring to Yale. Although she began playing poker in home games in high school, Selbst has credited much of her poker education to her time at Yale, where she began to discuss the intricacies of the game, and became involved in the 2+2 forum.

While still a student, Selbst began to dedicate her summers away from study to play poker, participating in her first World Series of Poker in 2006. Her first WSOP could be considered a success, as she final-tabled the $2,000 No-Limit Hold ‘Em event finishing 7th for $101,285. Selbst would continue her success at the WSOP in the following years as she finished in 3rd place in the 2007 $5,000 World Championship Heads-Up event for a $128,968 cash, before winning her first bracelet in the 2008 $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event. In the heads-up section of the Pot-Limit Omaha event, Selbst’s opponent Jamie Pickering, who had been drinking alcohol throughout the tournament, was shoving all-in blind and Selbst survived the madness to pick up her first WSOP bracelet.

Selbst managed to win her 2nd WSOP bracelet in 2012 when she won the $2,500 10 Game Six Handed event for $244,259. Selbst’s biggest career win to date is her first place finish in the 2010 Main Event of the Partouche Poker Tour, as she took $1,800,000 for her win.

In January of 2013 Selbst took down the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure High Roller event for $1,424,402. Selbst had proposed to her partner the night before the event began, making the tournament an extra special win for her. Unlike many other professional players who drop out of education after realising they can make money playing poker, Selbst is unique in that she has continued on with her studies.

Selbst returned to Yale after graduation to pursue a law degree, graduating in 2012. She has since stated that she would like to pursue a career in civil rights: economic equality, racial justice and against the government’s abuse of authority.

Read More
8 years ago31,018BestPokerVids,

Published 8 years ago

The Big Game - Vanessa Selbst Gets Mad!

Vanessa Selbst isn't happy with herself in this hand from an episode of Pokerstars The Big Game. Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari and...

5 years ago22,001BDJB,

Published 5 years ago

The Biggest Poker Blow Ups!

Sometimes, it's the action OFF the felt that entertains us the most, and some of the biggest names don't let us down in this compi...

7 years ago7,069BestPokerVids,

Published 7 years ago

The Unforgettable Vanessa Selbst

Vanessa Selbst (born July 9, 1984) is an American professional poker player and the only woman to ever reach the number one rankin...

7 years ago12,267BestPokerVids,

Published 7 years ago

Three Amazing Bluffs by Poker Babes!

Everybody loves watching bluffs in poker - and, if you thought that bluffing is a man's job only, well, think again! Watch, in thi...

8 years ago10,393BestPokerVids,

Published 8 years ago

Top 5 Angry Vanessa Selbst Moments

Vanessa Selbst is undoubtedly an extremely talent poker player who's consistently performed at the very peak of the game. However,...

3 years ago2,253BestPokerVids,

Published 3 years ago

Top 5 Biggest Blow Ups

The Top 5 biggest poker blow ups by some of the best and worst players. Sit back and enjoy the pain. 

3 years ago2,087BestPokerVids,

Published 3 years ago

Top 5 Most Controversial Hands

PokerStars go back into the vault to showcase 5 of the most controversial hands in the history of live poker. Featuring some of th...

7 years ago12,403BestPokerVids,

Published 7 years ago

Top 5 Poker Table Nightmares

The poker table is a place where you meet people from all walks of life. Most of the time you'll be sat with fellow players who lo...

9 years ago6,408welovepoker,

Published 9 years ago

Top 5 Vanessa Selbst Hands

5 of the most entertaining hands featuring Vanessa Selbst.

7 years ago5,554BestPokerVids,

Published 7 years ago

Top 5 WTF Moments

Whether it's a disastrous bluff, horrendous bad beat or a terrible slowroll there are some moments at the poker table that leave u...

Poker Pros Trolling and Taking the Huff

January tends to be a relatively quiet month at the tables, but some pros have spiced things up with trolling and falling outs hitting the gossip columns.

Live Poker Events, 6 years ago

Maria Lampropoulos Wins PCA Main Event for $1,081,100

Maria Lampropulos navigated through a field of over 500 players to take down the 2018 Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure.

Poker Pros and Fans React to Retirement of Vanessa Selbst

The recent announcement made by Vanessa Selbst to retire from the game of poker came as a shock to many.

Jason Mercier Leaves PokerStars

In the second big departure of the week, 5-time WSOP bracelet winner Jason Mercier has decided to part ways with PokerStars.

PokerStars’ Loss is a Hedge Fund’s Gain: Vanessa Selbst Retires From Poker

The most successful female poker player of all time announces her retirement from poker and parts ways with PokerStars through a Facebook post.

Poker Pros Make Light of Bitcoin Plunge

The 30% or more plunge in the price of cryptocurrency Bitcoin from its $20K high has been mainly met by amusement rather than dread by the top pros.

Dan Bilzerian Reveals a Diversified Cryptocurrency Portfolio

Dan Bilzerian's millions of starstruck social media followers who tune in for a bit of vicarious pleasure at his playboy lifestyle have been treated to something more than photos.

Crazy Rapper Brands Poker Pros Racist

Half a dozen of the most liberal pros in the poker world found themselves under attack by the rapper Talib Kweli, who seemed hell-bent on calling everybody a racist.

TV Shark vs. Card Shark: James Woods Goes After Selbst on Terrorist

Woods pounced on Selbst's tweet by misusing the word malaise, and misunderstanding her point.

Matusow Criticised by Selbst Over Weinstein Hollywood Tweets

Mike ‘the Mouth’ Matusow was once again at the centre of controversy when he shared his thoughts on the Harvey Weinstein alleged rape and sexual abuse scandal.