Vanessa Selbst

Selbst learned poker while playing with friends in high school, but Yale graduate decided to get serious about poker in 2006, making her first final table at the WSOP $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event. Since her first final table appearance Selbst has gone on to become one of the best poker players in the game, period. She can boast 2 WPT final tables, 3 WSOP bracelets, and over $10 million in winnings. She is also the only female player ever to top the rankings at the site Global Poker Index, which tracks and ranks poker players worldwide.

While Selbst has had astounding success, she isn’t completely convinced that her future is in poker. So in 2012 she returned to her undergraduate alma mater, Yale, and earned a law degree. Whatever field she ultimately ends up in, Selbst has already achieved poker history and doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.