Vanessa Selbst Discusses Her Tournament Selection Criteria

US pro Vanessa Selbst is currently the second highest earning female tournament player on the circuit with $4,911,583 in life time earnings, including a recent win at the $5,100 L.A. Poker Classic for $140,295.
Incredibly, the 27 year-old’s success has come about while continuing her studies at Yale Law School and choosing only a limited amount of tournaments in which to compete. Talking recently to ‘Pokerstars Women,’ Vanessa gave an insight into what factors determine her choice of competitions, and explained:
“I’m not a crazy grinder so I take a lot of time off for sightseeing and relaxing, and I just play when I feel like playing. I think that helps me stay sane and focused.If I come out to play it’s because I want to be there.”
This year Vanessa Selbst’s says geography has been a major influence on her decision where to compete, as her girlfriend is currently travelling with her and they are trying to visit the most “interesting and fun places.” These include her upcoming travels to Vienna, Berlin, and Monaco for the PokerStars EPT Grand Finale.
One factor that has stayed constant, however, is the size of the buy-ins she is willing to spend, choosing rather to play in smaller buy-in tournaments with large amateur fields over small, elite high-roller competitions.
“I’m basically a bankroll nit, and I don’t love variance. While the high rollers are fun because they’re a much greater challenge and you can hit a big score, I think they’re fun to play on occasion only. The key to a successful career is about finding the best value whenever I can.”
Unfortunately, this may exclude Vanessa from entering the 2012 WSOP Million Dollar One Drop event, but she was also keen to point out she considered it a great charity event, and would enjoy taking part in it if she could raise the money.