Teenage Kicks
gambling.com met up with the teen poker sensation that is Annette Obrestad.
Poker players seem to be getting younger and younger by the day. Pretty soon you’re going to find Harry Potter and the Book of Tells in your gambling bookshop, or perhaps a Charlie & Lola strategy book entitled I Will Not Never Ever Go All-In Pre-Flop With K-8, top poker strategy for your pre-school tots.
But at the moment, we have a teenage World Series of Poker champion in the form of 18 (now 19) year-old Annette Obrestad, who became the youngest bracelet winner in history and the first woman to win a main event in history when she bagged the WSOPE main event in London. Annette cut her teeth playing online under the moniker Annette_15 (presumably referring to her age at the time that she was playing–not that we’re in any way advocating underage gambling of course). It may not have gone down too well in some circles (US pro Mike ‘The Mouth’ Matusow had certain reservations about the state of poker when ‘a teenage girl is winning the World Series’) but make no mistake–this is great news for the European poker scene and an incredible boost for the game in general.
Congratulations on the World Series win Annette! Has it finally sunk in?
Thanks! Yeah it’s been a while since I won now and I’m starting to realize how big this really is. I never in my wildest dreams expected to win one of these as early as I did. It’s unbelievable.
How does it feel to be the first female Main Event winner and the youngest World Series bracelet winner?
It’s very hard to describe. I’m honoured to be a part of such a small and strong group of bracelet winners, and I hope my win shows that the new generation is about to take over. I think we’ll be seeing more and more internet pros doing well live over the next couple of years.
Do you think this will help attract more women to the game?
I sure hope so. It would be nice if we could show the boys once and for all the females can play poker just as good, if not better, than the boys.
At what point did you think you could go on and win the World Series?
I never thought it’d be before I could play in Vegas, and I certainly didn’t expect it to be in the main event.
You seemed totally composed from Day 1. Were you determined to assert your authority over the other players from the start?
Well, against such a crazy field of players, you’re never going to get an easy table, so showing them that you are not afraid and won’t let them run over you is important. Also showing that you’re serious about the game and not sitting there joking around definitely gains you more respect.
Who did you fear most during the tournament?
[laughs] No-one!
Have you always been a card player?
Yes, since I was a kid. I’ve always enjoyed playing games and I’ve always been competitive.
What tips would you give anyone considering becoming a professional poker player?
Don’t make any hasty decisions; don’t quit your day job before you know that you have what it takes to make it. Work hard on your game and never give up. There will be rough times and it’s an emotional challenge. If you can handle the ups and downs of poker, you’ll be successful.
Your background is mainly in internet play. Which do you prefer, live or online?
I used to say online, but live is too much fun to pass down.
What now for the future? Will we see you play a lot more live events or is internet play your main concern?
I’ll be in all the upcoming live events that don’t clash with each other [laughs]. You probably won’t see me a lot online anymore, that’s for sure.
That seems pretty definite! So, any plans for the prize money? I believe you’ve bought a house in your home town.
I haven’t bought a house yet, but that’s the plan. I’m considering buying a place with my mother.
What has the reaction of your friends and family been?
I think most of them saw it coming—possibly not as big a win as this, but something special. I’ve been telling them that it was just a matter of time until I won a live event. I’m not sure if they believed it or not, but at least I proved I was right [laughs].
Why do Scandinavians make such good poker players?
I guess we’re just aggressive by nature. You’ve seen Scandinavian players winning big all over the world and you’ll see that trend continuing for some time to come.
Annette’s Dream Poker Table
Daniel Negreanu
Phil Ivey
Gus Hansen
Erik Lindgren
Patrik Antonius
Young Guns
Annette Obrestad became the youngest ever WSOP bracelet winner after her momentous win. Here we trace the other young sensations who previously laid claim to the title of ‘youngest ever bracelet winner’.
Gavin Griffin
Eric Froehlich beat Gavin Griffin’s record a year later, but in the summer of 2004 it was Griffin who was making all the headlines when he took down the $3000 Pot Limit event, aged 22. That same summer, he finished 3rd in the $2000 No Limit Hold ‘em event at the ’10 Days of Hold ‘em’ in Las Vegas. Earlier this year, Griffin went on to win $2.4 million in the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo.
Eric Froehlich
Eric won the $1500 Limit Hold ‘em event in 2005. He barely qualified for the tournament as he’d turned 21 just before the event kicked off. After an eight-hour final table, Froehlich beat Jason Steihorn heads-up to win the title and $361,000 in cash. When asked at the final table when he’d graduated from college, Froehlich replied: “Ha, that’s a good question. I dropped out a couple of months ago!”
Jeff Madsen
In 2006, Jeff Madsen (who went to the same school as Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson), came from seemingly nowhere to smash Froehlich’s record, winning 2 bracelets in the process. First he took down the $2000 No Limit Hold ‘em event, bagging nearly $700,000. Then shortly afterwards, he won the No Limit Hold ‘em short-handed event, winning another $700,000 prize. Just for good measure, Jeff bagged two 3rd-place finishes at the same year’s WSOP. How about that for a roll?
Be the first to comment on this
If you are a Gambling.com member, please login at the top left of this page.
If you are not a Gambling.com member, please complete our sign up form—membership is free and it takes just a minute or two to sign up.
Bookmark this page: (What are these?)