A Guide to Poker's Top Women - 3 Super Smart Ladies That Win Big



Poker is not a game usually linked with women's success, but that is changing...

In the 2022 World Series of Poker, only one winner was a woman, which was in the female-only category. Despite poker not typically being split in terms of the sexes, female players are still few and far between.

 

There have been exceptions in the past though; Vanessa Selbst is a pioneer of the poker industry, topping the all-time money list for women. She is the only woman to ever reach the number one ranking in the world on the Global Poker Index and has amassed more than $11m in prize money throughout her illustrious career.



Unfortunately, even those accolades don't see her ranked as one of the 5 greatest poker players of all time; instead, it is all men taking up the top slots. Selbst has made something of a comeback in recent months, but will she ascend to the ranks of top player? Or will one of these other extremely sharp women finally make poker an attractive prospect for female players? We aren't just talking about the likes Shannon Elizabeth, who already has a public persona and disposable income to burn. We are looking at the up and coming top ladies of the game.

1. Liv Boeree



Liv Boeree is beyond impressive when it comes to her tournament record; she is the only woman to win major events on both the World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour. She's also a World Series of Poker bracelet holder, having picked one up in the 2017 10k Tag-Team event.



Like Selbst, the Brit is also incredibly well-educated, putting her cognitive skills to profitable use. She picked up a degree in Astrophysics at university and has appeared on the BBC breakfast show in her home country and The Mind Control Freaks on Discovery.

2. Lara Eisenberg



Eisenberg is another female role model who combines a fascinating life with her poker skills. She was the winner of the $10,000/$1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship in Vegas this year, beating out 643 other competitors to bag a prize of just over $115k. It's a huge win for Eisenberg, but she vowed not to give up her day job as a radiologist in Maryland.



Her life away from the felt is also exciting; she is a world-record-holding skydiver. She picked up her skydiving record as part of a 400-person formation team in Thailand in 2006.

3. Joanne Liu



Known as JJ, Joanne Liu was also around the poker tables at the 2021 World Series of Poker, making the final cut in the tournament that Eisenberg won. She ranks seventh in all-time live tournament earnings among female players (behind Selbst and Boree) but is still active and picking up the wins. Her haul from the World Series of Poker was a modest $26,458, a drop in the ocean compared to her career total of more than $3m.



Liu has been inaugurated into the Women's Poker Hall of Fame and is a prominent character around the felt, known for her flamboyant fashion, including a selection of impressive hats. Like the other females on the list, Liu is an intelligent and motivated woman outside of poker, boasting a master's degree in computer engineering.



All of these woman possess an intellectual edge that puts them ahead of their competition, in both women's and men's arenas of poker.

So we are definitely curious to see how much more they can win, and how many more women they can inspire to play the game. Because the female player base grows more and more every day.

For more women's lifestyle articles, be sure to pay regular visits to our blog page. We are always on the lookout to showcase fantastic women doing things they were told they could not do, but did anyway, with huge impact😎.

See you again soon babe 💋❤️!

- The Wicked Tender Team