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.

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9 years ago14,886Sherminator,

Published 9 years ago

PCA 2014 - $50k Super High Roller Ep03

The highest stakes in tournament poker - the $50k PCA Super High Roller. Featuring Vanessa Selbst, Dan Shak, Antonio Esfandiari, P...

9 years ago9,558PokerTube,

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Vanessa Selbst - One Word

Vanessa Selbst - What's the first word you think of?

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Vanessa Selbst playing the Main Event

Vanessa Selbst is today the leading lady of poker. With uncontested results over the last couple of years, she was just recently r...

9 years ago21,194Sherminator,

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PCA 2014 - $50k Super High Roller Ep02

The Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure 2014 - $50,000 Buy-in Super High Roller Event featuring the biggest live players in poker.

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Vanessa Selbst - An Image Game

A presentation given by Vanessa Selbst discussing the ways in which a players' image can affect their game.

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Kurganov straight flush vs Vanessa Selbst

Igor Kurganov turns the straight flush against Vanessa Selbst.

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Top 5 Vanessa Selbst Hands

5 of the most entertaining hands featuring Vanessa Selbst.

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The Big Game - Top 5 hands with analysis

The professionals talk us through their lines of reasoning in these big hands.

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Published 10 years ago

Vanessa Selbst chops pot with amateur then berates him

Vanessa Selbst clearly isn't one of those people who say you shouldn't berate or abuse the fish at the table!

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Published 10 years ago

PCA 2014: Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst

This time last year Vanessa Selbst was recently engaged and about to win a High Roller. Sarah catches up with her about where she ...

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Daniel Negreanu Dreams Of Cheating Jason Koon

Vanessa Selbst, Doug Polk and Jeff Boski get Freudian when Negreanu cheats with Jason Koon… in his dreams!

Is This Allowed? Genderswap at the WSOP

A female poker player is willing to risk disqualification and play the next year’s WSOP Main Event disguised as a man.

Queens of The Poker World on International Women’s Day

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Suzie’s Vegas Dreams Come True

It’s every player’s dream to head out to Vegas and return with jewellery, but poker-loving Suzie Williamson’s story had a unique twist to it.

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The hits just keep on coming for Party Poker, as the aggressive and growing poker room landed German poker star Philipp Gruissem as their newest sponsored pro.

Rafael Nadal's Skills on the Tennis Court a Good Fit for Poker

It's not out of the realm of possibilities to see the tennis star make a go of it on the poker tournament circuit someday.

Vanessa Selbst Debut as Rec Player Angers Some

After announcing her retirement from poker to move on to hedge fund trading as 2018 arrived, Vanessa Selbst apparently found herself with some free time.

High-Stakes Sharks and the Wolves of Wall Street

It’s often said that poker skills translate well into good business acumen, and the high-flying world of Wall Street seems to be the perfect training ground to prove this.