Featuring the buy-in of \u00a310,000, the first World\nSeries of Poker Main Event on European soil attracted 362 participants. The\nyoung Norwegian managed to outlast every single one of them, becoming the\nyoungest player ever to win a WSOP bracelet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Annette Obrestad played the final hand of the\nWSOPE main event one day before her 19th<\/sup> birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The victory hit the headlines all over the\nworld, and it wasn’t just the poker media writing about the Norwegian poker\nphenomenon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To win such a prestigious title at such a young\nage – and especially as a female in a male-dominated sport – was quite a story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was the beginning of what was looking like a\ntruly promising career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And, for several years, Annette kept the grind\ngoing, doing well on the live and virtual felt alike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, after a few years, she almost completely\ndisappeared from the poker scene, playing an odd tournament here and there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what happened?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Annette discovered and fell in love with poker\nat a very young age. However, it wasn\u2019t until she turned 15 that she decided to\ngive the game a proper try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although she was still legally not allowed to play online poker<\/a>, this didn\u2019t stop her from opening her \u201cAnnette_15\u201d account with PokerStars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She had to lie about her age during the\nregistration process, and she knew she wouldn\u2019t be able to withdraw any money\nfrom the site until she actually turned 18, but Obrestad wasn\u2019t overly\nconcerned about this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She was eager to play and develop her poker skills<\/a>, initially playing freerolls and building a small bankroll to work with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As it turned out, Annette was naturally\ntalented at poker, and her love for the game meant she didn’t mind working hard\nto get better. These two factors combined would make the young Norwegian a\nforce to be reckoned with in a few years’ time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By the time she turned 18, Obrestad had managed\nto build a big bankroll on PokerStars and several other sites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She was now ready to take the poker world by storm, having spent several years studying the game and gathering the money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s interesting to note that Annette was\nactually able to access her winnings and withdraw them, which would most likely\nbe confiscated in today\u2019s poker world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One particular story show just how talented of\na player Obrestad was. She was able to win a 180-man sit and go tournament on\nPokerStars without looking at her cards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She did this to demonstrate the importance of position\nin poker, and it was an impressive feat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It probably took Obrestad quite a few attempts\nto accomplish this, but that doesn\u2019t take away her success. If anything, it\nshows how determined and iron-willed she is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Funnily enough, she said that more players knew\nher for this feat than for the fact she won the WSOP bracelet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But, to be fair, it was such a wild story back\nin the day that poker forums were buzzing about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n People win major tournaments all the time as\nsomeone has to win eventually, but who plays an entire tournament without\nlooking at their cards and wins?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Obrestad uploaded her tournament history to a\npoker forum to show she was telling the truth and the story checks out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She was folding huge hands out of position and playing all sorts of trash when in position. It was a pure demonstration of just how important skill is in poker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With a bankroll north of $500,000 and finally legally allowed inside the casinos in Europe<\/a>, Obrestad decided to test her skills on the live poker circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her first notable appearance was at UB’s Aruba\nPoker Classic, where she made it to the last few tables, eventually busting out\nin 37th<\/sup> and banking $12,000 for her efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Almost exactly a year later, Obrestad came to\nLondon to compete in the World Series of Poker’s first-ever European leg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although every poker player hopes to win every\ntournament they enter, Annette probably couldn\u2019t have dreamt just how big of an\nimpact that decision would have on her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The young Norwegian took everyone in the\ntournament by surprise. Annette\u2019s aggressive and fearless playing style wasn\u2019t\nsomething they expected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A few days and many big pots later, Obrestad\nwas the last player standing, claiming the golden bracelet and the \u00a31,000,000 first\nprize, which was around $2,000,000 according to the exchange rate at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her great run continued in October of the same\nyear when Annette got to the EPT Dublin Main Event heads up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although she fell just short of the title,\nlosing the final battle to Reuben Peters, Annette took home close to $430,000\nfor her performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After this, Obrestad became quite a celebrity,\nappearing in different poker shows over the next few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although she kept playing in tournaments around\nEurope, Annette could never replicate the results from 2008. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She was doing well for herself playing as\n\u201cAnnette_15\u201d on major online rooms, but her live career hit a bit of a dry\nspell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In January of 2010, she came close to another\nbig score but fell short in the end, busting out in 7th<\/sup> place in the\nAussie Millions Main Event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later that year, she did manage to take the win in the EPT London Heads Up Event, banking close to $190,000 for her efforts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Annette Obrestad\u2019s current live tournament\nwinnings stand at $3.9 million, and that number isn’t likely to change in the\nnear future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After 2014, the Norwegian became a rare sight\non the tournament circuit, only appearing for a few selected tournaments every\nyear. According to Hendon Mob, her last recorded live cash was in June of 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The world had big expectations for Annette\nObrestad, and she had several sponsorship deals with major rooms that allowed\nher to travel the world and play the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, despite all of it, it seems her drive for\npoker has subsided over the years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There was no big exit that we\u2019ve become used to with poker celebrities<\/a> these days, who love to announce their \u201cretirement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Norwegian phenom somehow faded away; all of\na sudden, she was nowhere to be seen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what happened to Annette\n“Annette_15” Obrestad and what is she up to now?<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Story Of Making \u201cAnnette_15\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Annette](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Annette-Obrestad-2.jpg\")
\u201cAnnette_15\u201d Wins A Tournament \u201cBlindfolded\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Annette](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Annette-Obrestad-Winning-Blindfolded.jpg\")
Annette Obrestad Taking On The Live Circuit<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Annette](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Annette-Obrestad-HU.jpg\")
From Poker, To Fitness, To Makeup<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n