Annette Obrestad

By Poker Pages

You know you've made it in the poker world when people can refer to you simply by your first name. Years in the spotlight have made Doyle, Daniel, Scotty and Gus household names. In what can only be considered a sign of her arrival, you need only mention the first name Annette at the poker table and somebody would begin to describe the 19 year-old, Norwegian girl with the grown up resume.

Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad has spent the better part of her teenage years making a name for herself in the world of online poker. While most girls in her class were worrying about rides to the mall, young Annette was proving that a 15 year-old girl could not only survive on the virtual felt, but she could dominate.

Her recent success in live tournament play didn't seem to surprise anyone in the poker world. After all, this is the same "Annette_15" that took down a 180 player sit-and-go, allowing herself just one single peek at her whole cards for the whole tournament. The same "Annette_15" that claims to have never made a deposit online, instead building her bankroll from freeroll winnings into a small fortune.

In September, Annette captured the inaugural Main Event title at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE). Not only did the win make the 19 year-old the youngest WSOP bracelet winner of all time, but the £1 million-sterling ($2.1 million U.S.) prize helped to dethrone Annie Duke as record holder of the largest single-event payout to a female poker player in history.

It wasn't long before Annette was in the hunt for her second major victory, as she found herself at the final table of the 2007 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Dublin event, just two months after being fitted for a bracelet. After remaining at the top of the leaderboard for large portions of the EPT Dublin Championship, Annette would leave disappointed, forced to settle for a runner-up finish that most 19 year-olds would die for.

Although she claims that her life hasn't changed much since her World Series of Poker Europe win, her presence at the table is now obvious to everyone in the poker world. If you didn't know who Annette was before the bracelet, chances are, you know about her now. It's just a matter of time before she's on a first name basis with the rest of the world.

Annette was kind enough to take time out of her tournament schedule to speak with Poker Pages about her budding poker career.

Poker Pages: Congratulations on your WSOP-E Main Event win and all of your EPT success. I understand you won the bracelet on the eve of your 19th birthday. How did you celebrate?

Annette: Hmmm, well, there wasn't much time to celebrate. I had tons of interviews to do after the tournament was over and I was exhausted. When they were all done with the questions, I just went back to my hotel room and got some well deserved sleep. I'm not much of a party girl, so getting drunk wasn't on top of my list.

Poker Pages: Do you feel that opponents are playing you differently since your WSPOE win?

Annette: Online players had started to play back at me a lot before London, so I was already busy adjusting to that.

When playing live, you don't get to play with as many different people as you do online. You don't get placed at the same tables very often, so it takes longer for people to pick up on your style. Everybody knows that I'm pretty aggressive, but not everyone is as good at adapting as the best players are, so I'm not too worried about that.

Poker Pages: Do you feel that you are now able to use your age as an advantage while at the table?

Annette: I wouldn't say I have an advantage, just because I'm young. I guess I feel that I can play longer than older players can. I also have more time to show people what I can do. To be honest, being under the age of 21 sucks, big time. I can't wait till I can play in the states.

Poker Pages: How would you describe your style at the table?

Annette: If you ask people who don't know me, they'd probably say that I'm a hyper-aggressive-spewy player. In my opinion, it's calculated aggression. Knowing when to apply pressure is the key. I look stupid when I get caught, but I always have a reason behind doing what I do.

Poker Pages: Does that style vary, depending on whether you're playing live or online?

Annette: I've had to tighten up quite a bit online over the last six months, but when playing live, I feel like players still haven't found a way to deal with my style and they're making tons of mistakes against me.

Poker Pages: As a player who came to prominence online, how has the transition to live play been?

Annette: It's been easier than I thought it would be. I still have a long way to go as a live player and I'm working on my game, all of the time. As my confidence has improved, so has my game. When I first started playing live, I was a little intimidated by everything, but I think I've managed to get over that part now. I've been able to play my online game live, which was my goal.

Poker Pages: Now that you're participating in such major tournaments, you're facing added live tournament factors; such as hotels, travel, media and other distractions. What adjustments have you made in your play and preparation?

Annette: I always make sure to get plenty of sleep before tourneys and get rid of all jetlag. I don't mind travelling, at all. It's cool to get to see all the new places that I've never been to before. If I bust early, there's always online poker. :) I don't play any differently just because I've travelled far to get there.

Poker Pages: Is there anyone you have molded your game after, whether it be online pros or those in live play?

Annette: What I have learned has come through personal experience and learning from my own mistakes. I've never had a mentor anything like that, but all of the training sites out there have definitely helped my game.

Poker Pages: Who has impressed you the most in your live tournament experiences?

Annette: As far as people who have impressed me, I think both John Tabatabai and Theo Jorgensen played great at WSOPE. Greg Raymer also impressed me.

As for the pros I played against, they played solid, for the most part. It's hard to judge after playing with them for just a couple of hours. I have to admit... some of the big named pros didn't impress me all that much.

Poker Pages: You are part of the development team for the poker player tool PokerManager. Would you be willing to describe the benefits of PokerManager and what has it done to benefit your own game?

Annette: It just makes everything a lot easier. The PokerManager tournament schedule displays tournaments from all poker sites in the same place, so that you can see what tourneys you want to play without having to open and log on to each individual site. There are hand calculators, blogs and a lot of other tools available. There will also be training videos soon, so if you haven't already checked it out, be sure to do so!

Poker Pages: Would you say that your experience as a member of Team Betfair has changed your poker career?

Annette: Honestly, I think that my deal with Betfair is the best thing that has happened to me in my 'short' poker career. It will really allow me to grow as a player and it opens up a lot of doors for me. All of the new people I've met, and now work with, are absolutely amazing. They are taking very good care of me and always do what's best for me. They're also very flexible, which makes our relationship more relaxed than most

Poker Pages: How would you describe the state of poker in your home country of Norway?

Annette: Poker is still growing over here, but there's kind of a negative attitude towards the game. People don't understand that it's a game of skill. The mainstream media is making it look that way, twisting and turning all good things into bad, just to get headlines and stories.

I'm personally trying my best to convince everyone, but it's hard when nobody seems to be willing to give it a second chance and hear what we, real poker players, have to say about the game. I'm sure things will get better in time. Especially now that we (Norwegians) are proving ourselves as tough competitors in every tourney we play.

Poker Pages: What does your upcoming tournament schedule look like?

Annette: After the EPT PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in the Bahamas, I'm heading straight to Aussie millions (assuming I don't make the final table of the PCA). I'm not really sure what's next after that, but I think it might be the EPT Copenhagen, Dortmund and Warsaw.

Poker Pages: Where do you see your poker career taking you in the not-so-near future, maybe 5 to 10 years down the road?

Annette: I don't know. I'll just take it as it comes. I definitely have plans to travel the U.S. circuit, as well as keep playing here in Europe. No plans about quitting poker, that's for sure. You'll be seeing me around for a long time!

Poker Pages: I know that your 21st birthday is a couple years away, but do you have any plans yet? I'm guessing that a Vegas trip might be part of it.

Annette: Yup. Vegas for sure. I've already been there twice and I must admit, as much as I Loved hanging out with everyone this summer during the WSOP, it sucked not being able to play. My time will come. :)

Poker Pages: Is there anything else that you'd like to tell your fans out there?

Annette: I'd just like to advertise my tourney that I have on www.betfair.com. It takes place every Tuesday and Friday at 7:30 pm, UK time. There is a $200 buy-in for the 20k Guaranteed tourney. I'll be playing, every week. There's even a bounty for knocking me out! Also check out my blog.

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