Vanessa K. Selbst (born July 9, 1984) is a poker player, the only woman to ever reach the number one ranking in the world on the Global Poker Index.[1] She has over US$11.8 million in live poker tournament earnings and used to be a member of Team Pokerstars Pro, where she plays under the username "V. Selbst".[2]
Vanessa Selbst | |
|---|---|
 Selbst after winning the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event at the 2008 World Series of Poker | |
| Born | July 9, 1984 |
| Alma mater | Yale University (BA, JD) |
| Occupation | Trader |
| Employer | Jane Street Capital |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 3 |
| Final table(s) | 8 |
| Money finish(es) | 20 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish | 73rd, 2012 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | None |
| Final table(s) | 2 |
| Money finish(es) | 3 |
| European Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | None |
| Final table(s) | None |
| Money finish(es) | 4 |
Selbst has three World Series of Poker bracelets and is the only woman to win three WSOP bracelets in open field events.[3] She is also the only poker player to win the same North American Poker Tour Main Event back-to-back.[4][5] In January 2013 Selbst won the PCA high roller for $1.4 million, which made her the highest-earning woman in poker history.[6] Her results put her in the top 100 of the overall All Time Money List, with career tournament winnings just shy of $12 million.[7]
Selbst was born in Brooklyn, New York, into a Jewish family.[8] She attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a year[9] before transferring to Yale University, where she graduated with a degree in political science. After Yale, on a Fulbright scholarship, she spent a year in Spain. On her return to the United States, she worked for consulting firm McKinsey & Company.[8] She later returned to Yale Law School and received her J.D. degree in 2012. During her time at Yale University, she was head of the Yale Queer-Straight Alliance.[10] Selbst was a coach and executive producer for DeucesCracked, an online poker training site.[11][12]
World Series of Poker bracelets
edit| Year | Event | Prize money |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha | $227,933 |
| 2012 | $2,500 10-Game Six Handed | $244,259 |
| 2014 | $25,000 Mixed-Max No-Limit Hold'em | $871,148 |
Other poker results
editSelbst has 21 live poker tournament results equaling six figure paydays or above.[13]
Selbst has made five Main Event final tables of various poker tours and gone on to capture three titles. She attended her first World Series at Las Vegas in 2006.[14] She won the 2010 North American Poker Tour $5,000 Mohegan Sun Main Event, earning $750,000[4] and returned the following year to successfully defend her title. She earned $450,000 for her 2011 1st-place finish and became the first and only person to win two consecutive NAPT Main Events.[5] To date, Selbst's biggest purse was when she won €1,300,000 ($1.82 million) for her first-place finish at the 2010 Partouche Poker Tour.[15]
She has made four High Roller final tables, winning the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure High Roller in January 2013. She is the first woman to ever play[16] in a Super High Roller event, taking third place at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 buy in tournament in January 2014.[17]
As of 2018, Selbst's total live tournament winnings exceed $11,850,000.[13][2]
One year after her official retirement from poker in 2018, she played the WPT Borgata $3,500 event, ending in 14th place for a payday of $40,000. Not long after, she participated in WPT Fallsview Main Event, where she finished 22nd.[18]
References
edit- ^ "Vanessa Selbst's profile on GPI". GlobalPokerIndex.com. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
- ^ a b Grant, Nico (January 9, 2018). "Player Joins the World's Biggest Hedge Fund". Bloomberg News. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
- ^ Fast, Erik (May 30, 2014). "Vanessa Selbst Wins Third World Series of Poker Gold Bracelet In $25,000 Mixed-Max No-Limit Hold'Em". CardPlayer.com. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
- ^ a b "2010 PokerStars.net NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Event – 2010 PokerStars.net NAPT Mohegan Sun". PokerNews.com. April 11, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ a b "Main Event – 2011 North American Poker Tour Mohegan Sun". PokerNews.com. April 13, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ "2013 PCA: Vanessa Selbst becomes top-earning female tournament player - PokerStarsBlog.com". www.pokerstarsblog.com. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- ^ Peckaitis, Tadas (March 7, 2021). "What Ever Happened To Vanessa Selbst?". Casino.org. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- ^ a b "Vanessa Selbst Wins $1 Million Prize At Super High Roller Celebrity Shootout". Jewish Business News. May 20, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ Habib, Daniel G. (May 30, 2005). "Online And Obsessed". SI.com. sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ^ "Vanessa Selbst biography". epicpoker.com. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ^ Dalla, Nolan. "Event #19: Pot-Limit Omaha championship – Vanessa Selbst from Brooklyn, NY Wins!". AOL.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved June 16, 2008.
- ^ "Vanessa Selbst Performs Ultimate Double-Range Merge". PokerStarsBlog. September 12, 2013. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
- ^ a b "Vanessa Selbst's profile on The Hendon Mob". The Hendon Mob Poker Database. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- ^ "Vanessa Selbst's Tournament History". OnlinePokerAmerica.com. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
- ^ "♣ Poker en Ligne Gratuit – La Communauté Poker France – Poker Internet". thats-poker.fr. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- ^ Price, Sadonna (March 8, 2019). "Famous Female Gamblers That Have Made History". OnlineUnitedStatesCasinos.com. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
- ^ "2014 PCA Super High Roller: The Final Table is Set!". BankrollMob.com. January 7, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- ^ "Vanessa Selbst – Best Female Poker Player of All Time". CasinoReviews.Net. Retrieved September 5, 2022.