Vanessa Selbst

Vanessa Selbst
Selbst after winning the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event at the 2008 World Series of Poker
Born (1984-07-09) July 9, 1984 (age 40)
Alma materYale University (BA, JD)
OccupationTrader
EmployerJane 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
Information last updated on 16 July 2014.

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]

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]

  1. ^ "Vanessa Selbst's profile on GPI". GlobalPokerIndex.com. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bloomberg was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "2010 PokerStars.net NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Event – 2010 PokerStars.net NAPT Mohegan Sun". PokerNews.com. April 11, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  5. ^ "Main Event – 2011 North American Poker Tour Mohegan Sun". PokerNews.com. April 13, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  6. ^ "2013 PCA: Vanessa Selbst becomes top-earning female tournament player - PokerStarsBlog.com". www.pokerstarsblog.com. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  7. ^ Peckaitis, Tadas (March 7, 2021). "What Ever Happened To Vanessa Selbst?". Casino.org. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Vanessa Selbst Wins $1 Million Prize At Super High Roller Celebrity Shootout". Jewish Business News. May 20, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "Vanessa Selbst biography". epicpoker.com. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "Vanessa Selbst Performs Ultimate Double-Range Merge". PokerStarsBlog. September 12, 2013. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2014.