Vanessa Selbst has done it again! The 27-year-old part-time law student at Yale managed to oust a field of 420 other players over a period of three days in the $2,500 Ten Game Mix Six-Handed event to claim her second career piece of jewelry at the World Series of Poker. Selbst also scored a hefty payday of approximately $250,000 for her win, in which she became the second woman to win a WSOP bracelet this year – after Allyn Jaffrey Shulman took down the Seniors Event.
A Thoroughly Impressive Run
Selbst picked up her first bracelet back in 2008, when she topped the field in a $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event. Since then, she has notched some pretty impressive victories, notably at the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event (2010), LA Poker Classic (2011), and NAPT Mohegan Sun (2010 and 2011).
These wins, as well as a series of other deeps runs in prestigious poker tournament over the last couple years, have garnered Selbst tremendous respect and recognition from her fellow professional poker players, many of whom wrote congratulatory messages to her on Twitter.
Her solid performances have also helped earn her well over $5 million in prize monies as well as helped her net a sponsorship deal with PokerStars as a Team Pro.
The Best Female Poker Player of All Time?
Selbst’s latest win saw her emerge victorious from a talented field of players, only 48 of whom cashed in the event. She literally dismantled the final table, where she picked up all but one of the eliminations. Among the notable players who made the money were Chris Bjorin (3rd), Scott Clements (who bubbled final table in 8th), Jeff Madsen (35th), Mike Matusow (43rd), and Maria Ho (44th).
In the span of just a few years, Selbst has become one of the winningest female poker players of all time. She becomes the sixth woman to ever win more than one bracelet, joining the likes of Jennifer Harman, Barbara Enright, Susie Isaacs, Nani Dollison, and Starla Brodie (who once won one in a “mixed doubles” event with Doyle Brunson).
Whether measured in titles, bracelets, or money won, Selbst has certainly posted more top results in recent memory than any of the other top female “name” pros, like Harman, Annie Duke, Kathy Leibert, Annette Obrestaad, or Liv Boeree.
One thing’s clear though: Selbst isn’t satisfied just being the top woman in poker; she wants to be the best player, period.
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