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]
Quick Facts Born, Alma mater ...
Vanessa Selbst |
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| Born | (1984-07-09) July 9, 1984 (age 39) |
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| Alma mater | Yale University (BA, JD) |
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| Occupation | Trader |
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| Bracelet(s) | 3 |
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| Final table(s) | 8 |
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| Money finish(es) | 20 |
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Highest ITM
Main Event finish | 73rd, 2012 |
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| Title(s) | None |
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| Final table(s) | 2 |
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| Money finish(es) | 3 |
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| Title(s) | None |
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| Final table(s) | None |
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| Money finish(es) | 4 |
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| Information accurate as of 16 July 2014. |
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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]
Selbst 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 in a Super High Roller event, taking third place at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 buy in tournament in January 2014.[16]
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.[17]
