In the poker world, female professional players are few and far between. The industry is dominated by men and it can be hard to find a tournament where a multitude of women are taking part. Because of the low number of professional poker women, it was sad to hear that Vanessa Selbst is planning on retiring from the game. As a longtime member of Team PokerStars Pro, Selbst has had a career in the game for twelve years now. Selbst now has plans to move on from the game and focus on a new career.
The announcement of her retirement was made on Facebook, via Selbst’s page. Letting her followers know of her plans, Vanessa Selbst stated that poker has given her so much over the years, from being intellectually challenging to fun, but she must now move on to something new. The poker pro stated that several factors contributed to her decision.
Big Factor To The Decision
A big factor to the decision is the legalities of the game. Commenting on Black Friday, Selbst stated that in order to play professionally, one had to move out of the country or travel the majority of the time. This was fun for some time, but as Selbst aged, she found that her priorities changed, with the drive to create a stable home life and start a family. Constant travel would no longer be a viable option.
The poker pro’s new career plans involve a hedge fund. She plans on researching the trading industry and learning strategies. She has already been working in this area for a few months now and says the environment feels a lot like poker did years ago. While she will be taking a break from the professional poker world, Selbst does not plan on stepping away from the felt fully.
Earnings Surpassing $11 Millions
With her retirement, Selbst leaves the game as one of the greatest female players of all time. With careers earnings surpassing the $11m mark, she is a top performing female professional and sits in 41st on the all-time tournament earnings list.