Just days after securing a sponsorship deal with Americas Cardroom, Vanessa Kade won the Sunday Million 15th anniversary event on PokerStars for $1.5 million. This win put Kade among the top 10 female pros with the biggest single wins in poker history, ranking above more prominent players such as Maria Ho and Kristen Bicknell.
Here is a look at the top 5 female poker players with the biggest single win in poker history.
5. Liv Boeree
Liv Boeree is one of the world’s most accomplished female poker players.
Her poker journey began back in 2005 when she was chosen as one of the contestants for the reality TV show Ultimatepoker.com, where she was coached by top poker pros Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke and Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott. In the years after that, Boeree began to crush the tables, winning multiple events.
Boeree’s biggest live cash came in 2010 when she won the European Poker Tour Main Event in San Remo for a massive $1,698,300.
4. Kathy Lehne
Kathy Lehne is the founder of Sun Coast Resources, one of the biggest woman-owned companies in Texas. Lehne only plays poker as a pastime, taking part in high-stakes games.
Despite being a recreational player, Lehne managed to outclass some of the world’s top poker pros during the 2019 Super High Roller Bowl when she finished third in the event for $1,785,000.
3. Vanessa Selbst
With nearly $12 million in total live earnings, Vanessa Selbst who recently returned to the world of poker has won more cashes than any other female player in poker history. Throughout her career, she has won multiple titles, including three WSOP gold bracelets.
Her biggest victory took place in 2010 when she took down the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event in Cannes for $1,823,430.
2. Annie Duke
Annie Duke made a name for herself during the poker boom era. She built a reputation as one of the best female poker players in the world when she topped the first-ever WSOP Tournament of Champions in 2004 for an astonishing $2 million, outclassing poker legend Phil Hellmuth during heads-up play.
She also defeated her brother, Howard “The Professor” Lederer, who finished third in the event.
1. Annette Obrestad
The female player who scooped the biggest single win in poker history is Annette Obrestad.
Obrestad started playing poker at a young age, and within a year after winning her first live cash, the Norwegian poker star triumphed in the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event, beating the likes of Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen and Annie Duke, to secure the title and the massive top prize of $2,013,733.
