Gaming
Industry Herald

When discussing the greatest poker players of all time, one woman's name belongs in every conversation: Vanessa Selbst. Not the greatest female player—the greatest player, period. With over $11.9 million in live tournament earnings, she's the highest-earning female poker player in history casinotopbrand.com and was ranked #1 on the Global Poker Index in 2014.

Selbst's dominance wasn't subtle. She won three World Series of Poker bracelets, crushing fields full of the world's best players. Her aggressive style and mathematical precision made her feared at every table. Male pros who dismissed women quickly learned a painful lesson when facing Selbst—she would destroy them and take their chips without hesitation.

What made Selbst particularly remarkable was her refusal to be categorized as a "female poker player." She insisted on being evaluated purely on results. And those results spoke volumes. She won the 2010 North American Poker Tour Mohegan Sun Main Event for $750,000, defeating 1,040 players. She took down the 2013 PCA High Roller for $1.4 million.

Her most famous hand came in 2014 at the Epic Poker League. Facing Igor Kurganov, she pulled off an audacious bluff, representing a flush she didn't have. The psychology, the timing, the execution—it was textbook perfect. Kurganov, one of the world's best, folded what was later revealed to be the winning hand. The hand became legendary, studied in poker schools worldwide.

But Selbst's impact extended beyond wins. She was openly gay in an industry where machismo dominated. She spoke out against sexism in poker, calling out inappropriate behavior and demanding respect for female players. She proved that women could compete at the highest levels without conforming to industry stereotypes.

In 2018, Selbst retired from professional poker to focus on her career as a hedge fund manager. She left having earned more money than 99.9% of professional poker players ever will, male or female. Her legacy? Proving that gender is irrelevant when you have the skills to win.

Liv Boeree shattered every stereotype about female poker players. With a degree in astrophysics from the University of Manchester, she brought intellectual firepower that few could match. Her journey into poker began almost accidentally—she appeared on a reality TV show about poker in 2005 and fell in love with the game's mathematical complexity.

What happened next shocked the poker world. This astrophysicist who barely knew the rules became one of the game's most feared competitors. She studied Game Theory Optimal (GTO) strategy with scientific rigor, approaching poker like physics—a series of mathematical problems to solve.

In 2010, Boeree won the European Poker Tour San Remo for €1.25 million, one of the largest wins by a female player. The victory wasn't luck—it was the culmination of years studying probability theory, applying scientific methodology to poker strategy, and outthinking opponents who underestimated her.

Her crowning achievement came in 2017 when she won a World Series of Poker bracelet in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em event, defeating 1,108 players and earning $130,000. The bracelet, poker's most coveted prize, proved what she'd been saying all along: given equal opportunity and serious study, women compete equally with men.

But Boeree never let poker define her entirely. She became an ambassador for Raising for Effective Charities, using her poker winnings to support evidence-based philanthropy. She hosted science and rationality podcasts, wrote about game theory and decision-making, and became a voice for rational thinking in poker and beyond.

Her relationship with fellow poker pro Igor Kurganov became one of poker's most famous couples. Together they've donated millions to charity and become advocates for rational altruism. Boeree retired from professional poker in 2019 with over $3.8 million in lifetime earnings 1win, but her influence continues through her advocacy and educational work.

Before Selbst, before Boeree, there was Kathy Liebert—the original queen of poker. In 2002, she became the first woman to win an open World Poker Tour event, taking down the Party Poker Million tournament for $1 million. The win wasn't just personally significant; it proved women could compete in and win the biggest tournaments in the world.

Liebert's career spanned decades of consistent success. She accumulated over $6 million in live tournament earnings, competed in every major event, and earned the respect of male pros through sheer skill and tenacity. She faced sexism regularly—men assuming she was an easy target, dealers treating her dismissively, opponents making inappropriate comments.

Her response? Win their money. Again and again. She developed a tight-aggressive style that punished loose players and forced respect from skilled ones. She studied endlessly, analyzing hands, discussing strategy with top players, and constantly improving her game.

One of her most famous moments came during the 2004 WSOP Main Event. Deep in the tournament with millions in the prize pool, she faced a tough decision against a male pro who had been needling her all day. He made a large bet on the river, trying to push her off the pot. Liebert thought for several minutes, then called with just ace-high. He had been bluffing. The call became legendary—a master read against a player who thought he could intimidate her.

Liebert blazed the trail that later players like Selbst and Boeree would follow. She proved it was possible, endured the worst of poker's sexism, and never backed down. Her legacy is measured not just in millions won but in doors opened for every woman who followed.

Maria Ho took a different path to poker stardom—through the lens. She became one of the most recognizable faces in poker not just through tournament success (over $4 million in live earnings) but through her work as a commentator and TV personality.

Ho's breakthrough came during the 2007 WSOP Main Event, where she finished 38th out of 6,358 players, earning $237,865. As one of the final women standing in the world's biggest poker tournament, she attracted significant media attention. But rather than treating it as a one-time achievement, she used it as a platform.

She became a regular on televised poker shows, providing expert commentary alongside male legends. Her analysis was sharp, her personality engaging, and her credibility unquestionable. She proved women could be authorities on poker, not just participants.

But Ho never stopped competing. She consistently cashed in major tournaments, made final tables, and earned respect through results. In 2016, she finished runner-up in the WPT Maryland Live Main Event for $377,900. She's reached multiple World Series of Poker final tables and remains an active tournament grinder.

Ho's dual success as player and commentator opened doors for women in poker media. She proved that expertise at the table translates to expertise behind the microphone. Today, she's one of poker's most sought-after personalities, hosting shows, providing analysis, and continuing to compete at the highest levels.

Some poker stories are so improbable they sound fictional. Annette Obrestad's is one of them. In 2007, at just 18 years old—the youngest legal age to play in most jurisdictions—she won the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe Main Event, defeating 362 players and earning £1 million.

The win would have been remarkable for any player. For an 18-year-old playing in her first major live tournament, it was extraordinary. But what made Obrestad truly legendary was her online poker success before that. She had turned zero dollars into over $200,000 online without ever depositing money, playing freerolls and micro-stakes until building a massive bankroll.

Even more astonishing were the stories of her playing entire tournaments without looking at her hole cards. She would minimize the windows showing her cards and play purely based on position, betting patterns, and opponent tendencies. And she would win. It was both a demonstration of supreme skill and a middle finger to anyone who thought poker was just about cards.

Obrestad's aggressive style terrified opponents. She bluffed relentlessly, applied maximum pressure, and seemed to have an uncanny ability to sense weakness. Male pros who thought they could outplay the teenager found themselves outmaneuvered and outclassed.

Her career after the WSOPE win was successful if not legendary. She accumulated over $3.9 million in live tournament earnings, won multiple titles, and remained a feared cash game player. But perhaps her biggest achievement was proving that poker skill has nothing to do with age, gender, or experience—only with how well you understand the game.

For all their success, these women faced constant sexism. Inappropriate comments at tables. Dealers assuming male partners were the players and women were just watching. Tournament directors questioning whether women belonged in high-stakes games. Media focusing on appearance rather than skill.

Maria Konnikova, a psychologist who became a professional poker player, documented this extensively. Men would explain basic poker concepts to her despite her being a successful pro. They would hit on her during hands. They would assume she was an easy target and play too aggressively against her, creating exploitable patterns she would ruthlessly punish.

Jennifer Harman, one of the few women in the legendary "Big Game" at Bellagio—the highest-stakes cash game in the world—faced it for decades. She played regularly against billionaires and legendary pros, holding her own in games where a single night could swing millions. Yet media coverage often focused on her being "the woman at the table" rather than one of the best cash game players alive.

The stories are endless and depressing. Women being groped at tables. Male players making sexual comments. Tournament officials not taking harassment complaints seriously. An industry that claimed to be meritocratic while tolerating rampant sexism.

But these women refused to be driven out. They formed support networks, called out inappropriate behavior, and most importantly, kept winning. Every bracelet, every million-dollar score, every televised final table was a rebuke to those who said they didn't belong.

Today's female poker players stand on the shoulders of giants. Players like Kristen Bicknell, with over $5 million in live earnings and a WSOP bracelet. Jessica Dawley, who won a bracelet in 2019. Katie Stone, Sarah Herring, and countless others who compete regularly in major tournaments.

The percentage of women in poker remains low—around 5% of tournament fields—but the absolute numbers are growing. More importantly, the stigma is fading. Young women entering poker today find role models, support systems, and proof that they can succeed.

Online poker has been particularly important. Without the physical intimidation and harassment of live games, women have thrived online. Many of the top online players are women, crushing games under gender-neutral screen names, their results speaking louder than any words.

Organizations like Poker Power, founded by Jenny Just, teach poker to women specifically as a tool for business and life skills. They frame poker not as gambling but as decision-making under uncertainty—a critical skill for any professional.

The women profiled here didn't just succeed in poker—they changed it. They proved that poker skill has nothing to do with gender. They showed that women can compete at the highest levels, win the biggest tournaments, and earn millions doing it.

More importantly, they made it possible for the next generation. Every young woman who walks into a poker room today does so because pioneers like Selbst, Liebert, and Boeree proved it was possible. They endured the sexism, fought the stereotypes, and won anyway.

Poker still has work to do. The gender imbalance remains severe. Sexism hasn't disappeared. But the trajectory is clear. The queens of the felt proved that poker is a game of skill, strategy, and mental toughness—qualities that have nothing to do with gender.

As Vanessa Selbst once said, "I'm not a great female poker player. I'm a great poker player." That's the legacy these women built—one where gender becomes irrelevant and only results matter. And by that measure, they are among the greatest players poker has ever seen.