The world where men are considered as the breadwinners of the family is long gone and the same can be said about the typically male dominated field of poker.
Female poker players have always been present but with the rise of the internet and the introduction of online and live casinos, their numbers are increasing as is their recognition.
Take a look at the list of the top 10 highest-earning female poker players on the scene at the moment based on their all-time earnings rankings;
10th highest earning female poker player: Joanne Liu ‘JJ’
With an all-time earning of $3,340,860, JJ currently stands as the tenth best female poker player in the world. Yet, she is conquering the Taiwanese all-time earning charts, standing at 2nd place in the list. JJ was born in Taiwan but moved to the USA where she studied computer science at masters level and worked as a software engineer. This is also where JJ started her poker career, conquering numerous tournaments since the early 2000s with a best live cash of $600,000 for finishing in second place at the 2007 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Stars event.
9th highest earning female poker player: Maria Constanza Lamprópulos
This Argentinian poker player ranks 3rd in Argentina’s all-time money list (1st in the female player category) with a total earnings of $3,377,912. She started as a poker player in 2014 after shadowing her then boyfriend Iván Lucá; the highest ranking Argentinian poker player. Lamprópulos won her first poker tournament in 2015 with a humble prize of $13,000, but quickly started to rake in more cash over the years with a best live cash win of $1,255,004.
8th highest earning female poker player: Vanessa Rousso
Vanessa Rousso is a born and raised American with a colourful career inside and outside of the poker scene, marking her as one of the most successful female poker players out there. She is an American attorney, DJ and television personality, and as a professional poker player where she has earned an overall sum of $3,554,328 from a wide range of tournaments. Rousso’s most impressive and valuable win was in October of 2007 where she received $700,000 as a second place prize in the largest online poker tournament in history; the World Championship of Online Poker Main Event.
7th highest earning female poker player: Liv Boerre
Nicknamed the Iron Maiden, Liv Boerre is exemplary of the manner in which female poker players are breaking the stereotypes on what women can and cannot do. She quit professional poker in 2019, yet she still holds the title of a top highest-earning female poker player with a total of $3,852,996. Her best live cash prize amounts to $1,698,300 and she has three Global Poker Index European Female of the Year wins under her belt. Boerre is quite popular for being one of the most good-looking female poker players but her academic achievements and work experience as a TV presenter show that she never let this define her success.
6th highest earning female poker player: Annette Obrestad
Obrestad is a prime example of the upcoming generation of poker players being the youngest poker player in this list. As her online nickname, Annette_15, implies, she started her poker career at the age of 15. While she is known for being one of the best female poker players, she is most famous for her World Series of Poker bracelet win at the age of 18, marking her as the youngest poker player to win the tournament. With a total earning of $3,943,233 and a best live cash win of $2,013,733 – the highest win in this list – Obrestad has already established a name for herself, as her second place ranking in the Norway All-Time Money list implies.
5th highest earning female poker player: Maria Ho
Ho is one of the most well known female faces in poker due to her celebrity appearances in a number of primetime television shows like The Amazing Race. This Taiwansese-American legend has earned a place in the Women in Poker Hall of Fame with her commendable $4,074,271 all-time earnings. Nonetheless, her best live earning is one of the lowest among all female poker players mentioned in this list – $540,020.
4th highest earning female poker player: Annie Duke
Duke’s is undeniably a female poker player to look out for with a successful poker career that can be attributed to her being raised in a family of card players. In fact, her career started with a push from her well-known brother Howard Lederer who encouraged her to participate in the World Series of Poker in 1994, a decision he later regretted as she pushed him out of play. Duke has the second highest best live cash win on this list, $2,000,000, and a total all-time earning of $4,270,548.
3rd highest earning female poker player: Kristen Bicknell
Bicknell currently stands as the top ranking female poker player in the Global Poker index and in 21st place in the overall poker player base ranking. Her all-time earnings of $5,098,014 are a testament to this despite her best live cash win being the lowest among all female poker players mentioned in this list ($408,000). Her start in the poker scene was inspired by another successful female poker player, Jennifer Harman who watched on Poker After Dark which she has also appeared on since then.
2nd highest earning female poker player: Kathy Liebert
Liebert is a full blooded American who has quite the history as a female poker player ever since she started in the early 2000s, winning her first tournament in 2002 which is coincidentally her best cash win to date ($1,000,000). She is currently the overall highest earning female poker player in her state (Tennessee) and is considered to be an expert in tournaments as her 2017 WSOP win shows, with a total of $6,337,998 live earnings.
Highest earning female poker player: Vanessa Selbst
Vanessa Selbst is currently the best female poker player there is in the world, standing in 69th place among all-time earning ratings which puts her at a higher rank than any other female player today. He has a total live earnings of $11,906,246 with a best live cash win of $1,823,430 which won when getting first place in the Partouche Poker Tour of 2010. Nonetheless, it was not until 2013 that Selbst became the highest-earning female poker player in history with a $1,400,000 win at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure tournament of 2013. She is also the first and only woman to win three World Series of Poker bracelets.
