Poker's Three female Musketeers

They are nothing alike except for one thing: all three of them are champion poker players.

I am referring to Vanessa Selbst, Jennifer Harman, and Annie Duke.

All three of them have been strong competitors in the World Series of Poker and other major tournaments. All of them have won gold bracelets along with millions of dollars to fill their bank accounts.

Selbst is active in civil rights organizations and revealed she was gay before marrying her partner. Harman is divorced and has twin sons. Annie, who is divorced, has four children.

The biggest money winner is Selbst, with over $10 million in tournament winnings. She is the recipient of three World Series of Poker gold bracelets. Her biggest tournament win was $1.4 million in a $25,000 PC High Roller tournament in 2013.

Harman was the first female to win two WSOP gold bracelets, a no-limit deuce to seven lowball event in 2000 and a $5,000 buy-in limit hold'em tournament in 2002.

Harman inherited a kidney disease problem from her mother who died of the disease when she was 17. She has undergone two kidney transplants.

A native of Reno, NV., the 52-year-old Harman was tutored by poker professional Howard Lederer. Because of her kidney problems, she is generous with her time and has hosted several charity poker tournaments in Las Vegas. Her former husband, Marco Traniello, is professional poker player.

Selbst was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. and attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She transferred to Yale where she won a law degree as well as a Fulbright Scholarship that enabled her to spend a year in Spain.

She has won 21 six-figure tournaments.

Vanessa enjoys teaching other people how to play poker. She charges $650 per hour and offers one to four day teaching seminars that cost from $4,000 to $12,000. She doesn't call herself a poker teacher. 'I am a mentor,' she says. 'I love it when my students do well.'

Duke appeared on Donald Trump's 'Celebrity Apprentie' television show, finishing second to Joan Rivers. Her favorite hobbies are playing backgammon and the stock market.

Her parents both play poker and Duke's father is a writer who teaches English Literature. Fellow poker players nicknamed her 'The Duchess of Poker.'

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 ).