Annette Obrestad made history by winning the main event of the inaugural World Series of Poker at the age of 18. In a game dominated by male players, Obrestad rose to fame to become one of the most popular female poker players. And she then left the game for a new passion. In this report, we will delve into Annette Obrestad’s early life, poker career, winnings, and YouTube journey.
Annette Obrestad’s Early Life and Introduction to Poker
Annette Obrestad was born on 18th September 1988 in Sandnes, Norway. As she said, Obrestad’s parents got divorced when she was 4. Despite this, she had a playful childhood, where she would spend time with both of her parents every week.
Her father introduced her to poker, and they used to play the card game during summer vacations. Obrestad has always enjoyed playing games since childhood, and even after retiring from professional poker, she continues to make a noise by playing the board game ‘Scrabble.’
While watching a bowling game on TV, she saw an advertisement for an online poker platform and decided to register on the platform with a username called Annette_15.
She was 15 and couldn’t deposit money, as she was underage. But she chose a different way. Rather than depositing money, she started playing freerolls. She earned $9 from a freeroll and used it to buy-in other events. By 2024, she has over $2.7 million from online poker winnings.
By the time she was 17, her monthly poker winnings were more than her mother used to make from her job. Obrestad revealed to her mother her decision to abandon school for poker. Her mother said ‘yes’ after seeing her achievements in the game.
Annette Obrestad Live Poker Career and Achievements
One week after turning 18, Obrestad competed in her first live poker event, which was a $5,200 Championship Event, finishing in 37th place for $12,415.
2007 was the pinnacle year for Obrestad, the year that changed her life forever. After finding success online, she traveled to Monte Carlo to compete in the €550 NLHE event at the European Poker Tour. Making her first live final table, she finished in 5th place for a $21,112 in prize money.
That same year, on 10 September, 3 days before turning 19, she emerged victorious in the inaugural WSOP Europe Main Event. She became the youngest player to win a WSOP Bracelet and to become a Main Event champion.
The Main Event top prize has always been over millions, and Obrestad earned a staggering $2 million for her win.
Obrestad didn’t stop there. The next month, she made a runner-up finish in the €10k EPT Main Event, banking her first six-figure score of $492,181.
In 2008, she moved her focus to playing in televised games, such as PartyPoker’s Premier League Season 3 and European Open. She played against some top pros, like Phil Hellmuth, Tony G, and Andy Black, during that period. She won Heat 10 in the Premier League by defeating Andy Black in the heads-up, earning $20k.
In 2009, she juggled between poker game shows and live poker tournaments. She made an impressive 13th place finish in the €10k EPT Grand Final, earning $101,244, and a 3rd place finish in the Late Night Poker final table for $65,000.
She further took her career to new heights in 2010, with many 1st-place finishes in live tournaments as well as televised poker games.
Obrestad began 2010 with a 1st-place finish in an A$1K PLO Event at the Aussie Millions, for which she earned $36,918.
That same year, in the 6th Annual Heads-Up Poker Championship, she eliminated Phil Hellmuth after he missed a straight draw. She went on to finish in 9th for $25k.
In August 2010, Obrestad scored another six-figure sum of $120,000 in The Poker Lounge Episode 8 by defeating Tony G in the heads-up. The next month, she won the £5k NLHE Heads-up Event at the European Poker Tour for $187,788.
In 2011, Obrestad slowed down a bit as she competed in only 4 poker events, with one 2nd place finish in the $5k Wynn Classic Main Event for $215,922.
It was in 2012 when Annette Obrestad started playing in a handful of live events and televised poker series. She left the game in 2018 and never returned.
But what happened? Why did Annette Obrestad leave the poker game?
New Passion For Obrestad
Despite being a content creator, Obrestad doesn’t reveal anything about her personal life. Obrestad lives in Las Vegas with her husband, and they occasionally play poker with friends. She said all this in a Q&A video over four years ago, so we don’t know anything about her current life.
In one of his Q&As, Obrestad revealed that she doesn’t think about her poker career at all. It was in the past, and she has completely moved forward from it.
Obrestad founded a new hobby by competing in a Scrabble competition, in which she finished 4th, earning $750.
She competed in the 2024 Crescent City Cup, where she beat the North American champion, Josh Sokol, but eventually lost against Jackson Smylie.Annette Obrestad’s path in fitness was not a smooth ride like poker, which once looked enjoyable to her. It turned into hell after long-term injuries. Her initial plan was to become a personal trainer, but she soon realized it wasn’t possible.
Transitioning into a YouTuber
After the struggle, Obrestad found a new passion in makeup. In May 2018, she created a channel named “Annette’s Makeup Corner” and uploaded her first video.
As of now, her YouTube channel has over 48.3k subscribers, with 6.7 million total views.
Annette Obrestad’s Net Worth
Annette Obrestad earned $3.9 million from live poker tournaments, with her highest payout being the $2 million top prize from the 2007 WSOP Europe. She also had sponsorship from poker platforms like Betfair, Full Tilt Poker, and Lock Poker.
As per reports, Obrestad’s Net Worth is $4 million. While she has now stopped playing poker, her primary income comes from YouTube, as she is a fashion YouTuber. And fashion YouTubers get a lot of money to promote.
Annette Obrestad’s Personal Life
Despite being a content creator, Obrestad doesn’t reveal anything about her personal life. Obrestad lives in Las Vegas with her husband, and they occasionally play poker with friends.
In one of his Q&As, Obrestad revealed that she doesn’t think about her poker career at all. It was in the past, and she has completely moved forward from it.
Obrestad founded a new hobby by competing in a Scrabble competition, in which she finished 4th, earning $750.
She competed in the 2024 Crescent City Cup, where she beat the North American champion, Josh Sokol, but eventually lost against Jackson Smylie.
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