This Week in Poker: Starting Anew, 2017's Best, and More

With non-stop action around the globe, there are sure to be story lines and news that slips through the cracks. Poker Central’s “This Week in Poker” fills those cracks though, highlighting headlines, news, and big events with quick-hitting recaps of the biggest stories from around the poker world.

Selbst No Longer a Pro, Always a Star

There was a point in time when Vanessa Selbst was one of the most feared players on the planet. Selbst won over $6 million from 2013-2015 and is by far the most successful female player in poker history. It’s been a few years since Selbst dominated, or even played full-time if we are being honest, and this week, she officially announced that she was transitioning from poker professional to a career working for a New York City hedge fund. She also announced that she will no longer be a sponsored PokerStars Team Pro, but her poker star should shine bright enough to be a Hall of Famer when it is all said and done.

If “Kid Poker” Isn’t Profitable, Who Is?

For the last few years, Daniel Negreanu has been beginning and ending each year with a review of his “Annual Poker Goals” via his Full Contact Poker blog. Those reviews give a glimpse into how competitive “Kid Poker” is, he regularly sets out to win more bracelets in a given summer than most could expect to win throughout their career, but also how open Negreanu is about the world of high stakes poker. In 2017, Negreanu cashed for over $2.7 million, besting his goal of $2.5 million, but he still booked a small loss when it was all said and done. That may come as a surprise to most, but with $100,000 events and High Rollers running on a weekly basis, it is understandable. It also begs the question, if Negreanu isn’t profitable, who is?

Adrian Mateos, The Best of 2017

While we don’t have access to the Spaniard’s records, like we do with Negreanu, we are just going to assume that the GPI #1 turned a profit in 2017. “The Conquistador” cashed for nearly $5.9 million this year, including winning his third WSOP bracelet. At 23 years young, Mateos has already amassed over $12 million in career tournament earnings and if that career continues for another ten years, which seems likely, the question won’t be “Will Mateos break into the top-ten of poker’s all-time money list?” but instead, “When will Mateos break into the top-ten of poker’s all-time money list?”