Retired Vanessa Selbst Returns To The Tables, Reconnects With WPT

Vanessa Selbst was one of the most successful female poker pros who surprised the poker world when she announced her retirement in 2017. The three-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner who has over $11.9 million in prize money is returning to the World Poker Tour (WPT), both as a professional player and an instructor at LearnWPT, the brand’s official education platform.

Selbst decided to retire from the game citing a lot of factors, including a change in priorities and focusing more on building a stable home and nurturing a family. But the poker pro also hinted that her passion for poker slowly declined, partly because of how the game has evolved through the years, admitting that poker has now become tougher for amateurs.

Selbst was among PokerStars’ long-time ambassadors, and still represented the brand even after Black Friday in 2011. Following her retirement, the New York native tried her hand in hedge fund management, and worked for a leading investment management firm.

Soon after starting a family, Selbst thought it’s about time to return to the tables with more flexibility in her schedule. Her initial comeback was marked by deep runs, cashing in the WPT Borgata Poker Open in September 2019, followed by another ITM finish at the WPT FallsView Main Event earlier this year.

Teaching At LearnWPT

With the coronavirus pandemic shutting the live poker scene, Selbst has been playing online and is excited to return to live action as soon as possible. Right now, she is keeping herself busy with strategy episodes on LearnWPT.

With more than a decade of teaching experience, and being a pioneer in creating poker training videos, Selbst’s will be a great asset for LearnWPT and will definitely help a lot of aspiring poker pros hone their skills and elevate their gameplay using the increasingly popular Game Theory Optimal (GTO) strategy.

Apart from winning three WSOP gold bracelets, Selbst also scored multiple WPT final tables throughout her career and is currently the highest-earning female player in poker history, with almost $12 million in live tournament earnings. Her initial results at the tables during her comeback also show that the 35-year-old still got it, and her old tricks still work.

We can expect more of her as soon as live poker returns. For the meantime, if you are a member of LearnWPT, Vanessa’s first episode is already up. You may check out the video and learn from one of the world’s most successful female poker pros.