Men have traditionally dominated the game of poker. However, things are changing, with many women bringing their skills to the table – and often outperforming their male counterparts. While a woman has yet to win the World Series of Poker Main Event, many observers believe it is only a matter of time. This page features ten of the most famous female poker players. Some excel at cash games, while others excel on the international tournament circuit. I am confident that many more women can be added to this list and that even more are currently navigating the stakes.
- Vanessa Selbst – Selbst may have retired from significant tournament poker, but she is still the most successful female player in history, having won $11.9 million in live tournaments. She is also the only female player on the Top 100 All-Time Money Players list. In addition, Selbst, 35, has three World Series of Poker bracelets, back-to-back NAPT titles at Mohegan Sun in 2010 and 2011 for a total of $1.2 million, and the 2010 Partouche Poker Tour Cannes championship for $1.8 million. Selbst has also appeared on television and in live cash games.
- Kathy Liebert – Liebert has been a regular at the World Series of Poker for nearly two decades, reaching her first WSOP final table in 1997. Her World Poker Tour results include four separate cashes for more than $250,000, while her $1 million first prize in the Party Poker Million in 2002 was the pinnacle of an illustrious career.
- Cyndy Violette – Violette won a poker tournament in Lake Tahoe in 1984 and used the money to launch a professional poker career. She later won $74,000 in a seven-card stud tournament at the Golden Nugget, the largest tournament prize ever won by a woman at the time.
- Kristen Bicknell – Kristen Bicknell, born in Ontario, Canada, in 1986, began playing online poker during her first year of college. She refers to herself as the Ultimate Grinder during her formative years. She told a reporter about her online poker learning experience: “I was still attending university, and it was easy to play online poker sessions from my own home.” It was also an excellent way to play many hands and gain valuable experience. She has three WSOP bracelets so far.
- Vanessa Rousso – On the internet, she is known as Lady Maverick. Vanessa Rousso is a top female poker player with a live earnings record of over $3.5 million and an impressive online resume. Her biggest win was a €25,000 European Poker Tour High Roller event in Monte Carlo, which she won for €532,500. However, she is best known for finishing second in the National Heads-Up Championship for $250,000 and third in the WCOOP Main Event.
- Liv Boeree – Liv Boeree has been a top performer at many poker tables, with her most significant win on the European Poker Tour being €1,25 million. This victory made her the third woman in EPT history to win. In addition, Boeree received a World Series of Poker bracelet in 2017 after winning the US$10,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em Championship.
- Annette Obrestad – This Norwegian poker pro has built a global online poker brand that reaches millions of people. You can find her by searching for ‘Annette 15.’ She won a gold bracelet in the Poker Europe World Series in 2007. She was the tournament’s youngest winner.
- Jennifer Harman – Harman has won over $2.7 million in live tournaments. But, on the other hand, her true calling has always been cash game poker. The Reno, Nevada native was a regular at Bellagio’s “Bobby’s Room.” For many years, she participated in the highest-stakes games in Las Vegas. As a result, Harman has long been regarded as the greatest female poker player of all time by Daniel Negreanu. But, of course, he could be biased because they’ve been friends for years.
- Joanne Liu – Joanne Liu, also known as ‘JJ,’ is well-known for her distinctive hats and poker results. This professional is now based in Palo Alto, California, but she was born and raised in Taiwan. After finishing second in the World Poker Tour Bay 101 tournament in 2004, she became the highest placed finisher in WPT history.
- Barbara Freer – Barbara Freer was one of the first women to make history in poker. She competed in the $400 Ladies Limit Seven Card Stud tournament in 1979, along with 52 other players. She went on to win the tournament, earning nearly $13,000 at the time. Ladies’ events had been introduced a few years before, so she wasn’t the first woman to win a bracelet. She was, however, the first female player to compete in a general WSOP tournament alongside male competitors.
