Women in Poker: Top 5 Most Successful Female Players

Kristen Foxen/Bicknell

This Canadian poker player ranks first in career earnings among women. As of February 10, 2026, Kristen has won $13,416,462. Foxen also holds the women's record for the number of World Series of Poker bracelets. She has claimed 5 WSOP titles. The Canadian's biggest payday came in a high roller tournament at the Triton Poker series in 2025. She was paid $1,104,000 for third place. 

In recent years, Kristen Foxen has hit incredible form. In 2025 she earned $4,653,003. A third of all her career earnings.

Kristen Bicknell started her poker career in 2006. She was inspired to make card playing her profession by Jennifer Harman. In the mid-2000s, Harman was the only woman playing on equal terms with Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, and other stars of the era. A solid grasp of mathematics made Foxen's path in poker much easier. She quickly broke through to NL200-NL400. From 2011 to 2013, the Canadian earned Supernova Elite on PokerStars three years in a row. To reach the top status in the loyalty program, she played 2,500,000 hands annually. A monthly volume of 200,000 hands points to Kristen's fantastic work ethic and stamina.

Let's highlight Foxen's performances at WSOP series tournaments separately. Here's what her successes at the most prestigious festival look like:

Kristen won her last 3 bracelets online. In 2024, she came within a few steps of the WSOP Main Event final table. A painful bust-out in 13th place was somewhat softened by a $600,000 prize.

Over the past 8 years, Foxen has been named the strongest female poker player in the world by the Global Poker Index 5 times. GPI ranking spots are distributed based on points. Points are awarded according to a player's results at live tournament series. Her collection of Global Poker Index awards underscores Foxen's consistently high level of play.

In 2022, Kristen married another industry professional — Alex Foxen. His career earnings are even more impressive: in total, the player has won $54,357,572. They are considered the strongest player couple in the world.

Vanessa Selbst

An industry legend. She ended her active career in 2016 but only gave up first place in earnings in 2025. In total, Vanessa won $11,928,957. She has 3 WSOP bracelets to her name. Selbst's biggest payday came from winning the Main Event of the Partouche Poker Tour. The champion was paid $1,823,430. Vanessa has another seven-figure success too — $1,424,420 for winning the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in 2013. In 2015, she received $1,000,000 for first place at a stars' tournament in Las Vegas. Selbst is the only woman to have held first place in the overall Global Poker Index standings.

Vanessa left professional play in 2016, but she occasionally drops by the World Series of Poker

Vanessa started her poker career in the 2000s. Selbst's first significant achievement was $101,285 for seventh place at a WSOP tournament in 2006. A year later, the American poker player set a new earnings best. She was paid $128,968 for third place at the WSOP in 2007. Vanessa showed the highest level of skill in 2010. That year, she not only took a title with record earnings in France but also won the North American Poker Tour. The champion's earnings totaled $750,000. In 2010, Vanessa Selbst joined Team PokerStars Pro. The player promoted the PS brand for seven years.

The chronicle of Vanessa's WSOP wins looks like this:

Let's note Selbst's versatility: the player won two tournaments in mixed formats. Wins in those are considered more valuable than in regular No Limit Holdem events. The reason is the increased difficulty of mixed games. Her best achievement in the WSOP Main Event is 73rd place in 2012. 

In 2014, Vanessa received the GPI title of strongest female poker player in the world. 

In 2016, Selbst focused on family life and cut back on poker. Between 2017 and 2025, she cashed 5 times. Her best result was 14th place at a WPT and $39,950 in earnings.

Kathy Liebert

The first woman in poker history to win $1,000,000 in a tournament. Her total career earnings equal $7,224,793. In 2004 she won a WSOP bracelet. Let's note Liebert's incredible work capacity: since 1994, she has cashed in poker tournaments more than 500 times. Alongside card games, Kathy invests in the stock market.

Kathy Liebert is the top grinder of tournament poker among women: in the first 45 days of 2026 she has already cashed 11 times

At the start of her career, Liebert worked as a business analyst at a financial company. Over time, Kathy grew tired of the office and started investing on her own. Successful results gave Liebert the opportunity to travel. In 1994, she came to Las Vegas and decided to try poker. Kathy started with regular cash games. Soon she was hired on salary by a casino with the task of keeping the game going at the table. Later, Liebert tried tournaments. In her very first MTT, she took second place and received $9,046. A week later, Liebert registered for a more expensive tournament and again finished second. She was paid $14,091. 

Kathy's top 5 best results look like this:

The player rarely wins tournaments but regularly cashes. Of her top 15 biggest wins, only 3 are payouts for first place. Liebert's best result at the WSOP Main Event is 17th place. 

Kathy has been playing poker professionally for over 30 years and has no plans to stop. For example, a month ago she won a ring in a World Series of Poker Circuit tournament with a $300 buy-in.

Liv Boeree

One of the most recognizable faces of modern poker. She ranks fourth in earnings among women. By February 2026, she had won $6,699,290. Liv's collection of awards includes a WSOP bracelet and an EPT champion's trophy. Boeree's biggest payday came in 2024. She was paid $2,800,000 for 4th place at the WSOP Paradise Super Main Event. A record prize for female poker players. 

Liv Boeree made a huge contribution to popularizing poker and the PokerStars brand

She got acquainted with the game in 2005. Liv's first significant success came in 2008. She was awarded $42,000 for first place in the Ladbrokes Poker European Ladies Championship. Boeree became famous worldwide with her win at the European Poker Tour in 2010. The champion's trophy was complemented by earnings of $1,698,300. The leap from $42,000 to $1,698,300 particularly impressed PokerStars. The world's leading room offered Liv a professional contract. The player was part of PokerStars Pro for 9 years. 

Boeree's biggest wins are collected in the table:

Liv won her only WSOP bracelet in the Tag Team Championship. Her partner was Igor Kurganov. The player's best achievement at the WSOP ME is 314th place and $35,267.

Since 2020, Boeree has slowed down in poker. Liv focused on developing the charity organization Raising for Effective Giving. In 2018, she gave a talk at a TED conference. Liv's academic degree in astrophysics played no small role in her poker success.

Sosia Jiang

This New Zealand poker player broke into the top 5 of the women's standings thanks to her successes over the past two years. Her total earnings amount to $6,118,237. Sosia has no WSOP, WPT, or EPT trophies to her name. Her main triumph is winning the PokerStars Championship in Macau. The champion's title was nicely complemented by earnings of $498,073. Jiang received her largest payout — $1,605,000 — for 8th place at the World Series of Poker. The impressiveness of the success is blurred by the tournament's buy-in: entry cost $525,000. It turns out that Sosia tripled the astronomical entry fee.

By day, Sosia Jiang teaches children at school; by evening — she dominates poker tournaments

Jiang got her first taste of poker in 2008. At the time, she worked at the investment group CLSA in Hong Kong. Later, her brother introduced Sosia to online poker. Four years later, Jiang took sixth place at the Asia Pacific Poker Tour. The tournament finalist was paid $14,915. In 2017, the New Zealander won the PokerStars Championship. Since 2018, Sosia has regularly shown good results and earned six-figure paydays.

Here's what Sosia Jiang's top 5 scores look like:

Compared to her top-5 rivals, the New Zealand player stands out for the size of her buy-ins. Neither Kristen Foxen, nor Vanessa Selbst, nor Liv Boeree took part in tournaments with entry fees of $200,000 and up. Any win at a major Triton Poker event would pave her way into the top 3 in career earnings. The player's best result at the WSOP ME is 521st place in 2019 and a payout of $27,390.

Solid winnings haven't changed Jiang's life. She stayed in New Zealand. Sosia works as a teacher and devotes her free time to poker.

Worthy of mention: Okamoto, Obrestad, Margets, Nikitina

Career earnings are not the only criterion of skill in poker. Let's look at four players with unique achievements in the industry.

Shiina Okamoto. The Japanese poker player won the same World Series of Poker tournament twice in a row, in 2024 and 2025. Both times Shiina triumphed in the Ladies Championship. 

Shiina Okamoto

Born in 1989. Age: 36. Okamoto debuted at the WSOP in 2023. That year, she finished the Ladies Championship tournament in second place. Shiina's successes are even more striking when you learn that she only began studying poker that same year, 2023. As of February 2026, Shiina's career earnings have reached $1,153,205.

Annette Obrestad. One of the first stars of online poker. She started her career at 15 on PokerStars. 

Annette Obrestad

To play, she had to break PokerStars' rules. The room does not allow people under 18 to create accounts. So Annette registered an account in a friend's name. She built up her starting bankroll in freerolls. She burst into the elite of world poker in 2007, when she won the World Series of Poker Europe tournament and received $2,013,733. Funnily enough, Obrestad was only able to take part in the main WSOP festival a couple of years later. Players under 21 are not allowed at the tables in Las Vegas.

Leo Margets. The Spanish professional made poker history in 2025.

Leo Margets

She became the first woman at the WSOP ME final table in modern history. The previous achievement belonged to Barbara Enright. However, Barbara took part in a 273-person tournament, whereas Leo got through a field of 9,735 players. For seventh place at the 2025 WSOP, Margets received $1,500,000. The Spaniard also has a WSOP bracelet in her collection. She received it and $376,850 for a win in 2021. The consistency of Leo's success is confirmed by the 2009 WSOP ME. In it, she busted out in 27th place. 

Natalia Nikitina. The leader in career earnings among Russian female poker players.

Natalia Nikitina

Her total earnings amount to $776,231. The main success of her career is a win at a World Poker Tour tournament in 2021. The champion received $332,624. Among the Russian's other achievements, let's note third place at the EPT in Sochi and $128,872 in earnings. In recent years, Natalia has been actively playing tournament series in Cyprus. 

Where a poker beginner should start

Shiina Okamoto went from a beginner to second place at the WSOP in six months. It was all thanks to intensive work on theory. In an interview, the player noted: a key role in her learning was played by discussing hands with other players on Discord. However, you can raise your skill level in different ways. Among them: reading books, watching videos, analyzing hands in software, working with a coach, and watching pros' streams. Let's discuss them in more detail.

Books. Good for learning the rules and getting acquainted with basic concepts. We don't recommend adopting specific techniques — by the time a book is published, most of the information is outdated. With the psychology and mathematics of poker, the situation is different: they will never lose relevance. So we recommend studying: 

• ‌Jared Tendler's works. Both volumes of "The Mental Game" will help you withstand tilt, maintain psychological balance, and keep a high level of play for longer. The books are fully translated into Russian.

• ‌Roy Rounder's "Easy Poker Math". This short guide will teach you to quickly count outs and pot odds. A large number of illustrative examples will bring your counting skill to the point of automaticity.

We covered the topic in more detail in the article "Top 5 poker books for beginners and professionals".

Videos. Poker is popular all over the world: there is a huge amount of content about the game. YouTube is full of fresh material. There are videos for players of any level — from beginners to professionals. The language barrier has lost its relevance too: the browser translates and voices videos itself. We recommend starting your content study with FunFarm's YouTube channel. There we publish: themed videos on theory, analysis of useful software, and interviews with industry professionals.

Programs. Many poker stars reached an astronomical level thanks to working in poker software. Trackers save hand history and point out mistakes. Calculators teach you to think in ranges and let you break down specific blunders. Solvers introduce you to balanced strategy and help implement it. Trainers give you the chance to hone your push/fold game. Multi-tabling programs make playing poker at several tables easier.

The "FF Start" program is free and suitable for beginner players. "Player Path" will let you reach a professional level and decent earnings

Discussion and hand reviews. Analyzing your own hands is useful. Reviewing them with someone is even more useful. A different perspective will help you spot hidden flaws and see the play from a new angle. You can discuss hands in Telegram chats or on poker sites — they often have sections with hand reviews.

Pros' streams. Many strong players run live broadcasts on Twitch or Kick. You can not just watch the game but also ask questions. FunFarm coaches stream too — drop by.

Coach. The fastest way to reach a new level. A mentor will look at your game, find weak spots, and give you a recipe for fixing them. Finding a good coach is not easy. How strong is he? Does his style suit you? Does he give up-to-date information? We also factor in the cost of lessons: a good specialist charges serious money per hour.

When there are many learning methods, it's easy to get confused. Beginners often work on strategy without a system, which doesn't benefit the process. A structured approach is offered by the free FF Start training course. There all the information is laid out neatly. No fluff and no jumping from topic to topic. In the course we cover: the mathematics of poker, adjusting to different opponents, ICM, short-stack play, and strategy for final tables. The trainer lets you hone specific techniques.

Once you've mastered the basic part, pay attention to the next stage — the "Player Path" program. It was developed for more experienced poker players. The main goal is to help you get off the ground and structure your learning. A clear system and regular training will let you progress and understand the game better. Along with your skills, your income will grow too. If you plan to become a poker professional — join the "Player Path" program.

FAQ

Which female poker player holds the record for poker earnings?

First place, with total winnings of $13,416,462, belongs to Kristen Foxen. Second is Vanessa Selbst with $11,928,957, and third is Kathy Liebert with $7,224,793. 

What is the maximum amount a woman has received for a single tournament?

The record, with earnings of $2,800,000 for fourth place at the WSOP Paradise Super Main Event, is held by Liv Boeree. In second place is Annette Obrestad with $2,013,733 for winning the World Series of Poker Europe. Rounding out the top three record holders is Annie Duke with $2,000,000 for her triumph at the 2004 WSOP Tournament of Champions.

Which woman has won the most WSOP bracelets?

First place belongs to Kristen Foxen with five WSOP wins, second to Vanessa Selbst and Barbara Enright. Both players have claimed 3 bracelets each. In third place with two bracelets each are: Loni Harwood, Jennifer Harman, and Shiina Okamoto. 

Have women won the WSOP Main Event?

No, the series' main tournament has not yet been conquered by female poker players. The closest to success was Barbara Enright in 1995. She finished fifth. In 2025, Leo Margets finished the Main Event in 7th place.