Vanessa Bids Adieu to Poker

Vanessa Selbst has left the world of professional poker the same way she came in -- with a splash.

The brash Brooklynite stunned the more conservative members of the poker circuit when she announced her engagement and marriage to her female partner last August. She even wore a tux for the wedding photos.

She took on the male players with relish, winning three World Series of Poker bracelets and adding about $12 million in cash to her bank account.

As good a poker player as Vanessa is, she admits that lately she has had trouble winning. She blames it on her aging and the caliber of the competition she faces.

If you want to know, Selbst is 33.

She revealed to an editor at Card Player Magazine in Las Vegas that she is leaving poker to pursue a career as a hedge fund manager.

Before Black Friday, she was an avid Internet player, winning a lot of money on line. But after Black Friday, she said her poker schedule required her to do a lot of traveling and threw a wrench into her lifestyle.

Vanessa is not one of the more gracious winners on the poker circuit. She had a derogatory remark about her opponents when she announced her retirement. She said, 'So long and thanks for all the fish.'

No wonder some of my Las Vegas friends who have played against Selbst didn't find many complimentary things to say about her.

She said poker has turned into a 'real job' for her and that she is looking forward to her new life as a hedge fund manager. She reportedly joined Bridgewater Associates, reputed to be the world's largest hedge fund managing over $160 billion in investments.

She said she will always love poker and the people she met as a player. Especially the fish.

You were a strange one, Vanessa. Good luck managing other people's money.

I worked as a staff writer for Card Player Magazine when June and Phil Fields published it. The job was fun

and I traveled with June Fields and some of the other columnists like Suzie Isaacs to card rooms and casinos in Southern California to cover stories and appear in poker tournaments. It calls itself 'The Poker Authority' and does a great job of keeping global readers up to date on what is happening in the poker world.

Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).