Things you might not know:
- Obrestad's father had taught her how to play 5-card and 7-card Stud at a young age.
- Obrestad studied bowling as a teen, and it was a poker commercial during a TV bowling show that piqued her interest to try online poker.
- Obrestad started playing poker at 15, coming up with the online screen-name "Annette_15."
- Obrestad states she never had to deposit money on any online poker site, having made money in freeroll poker tournaments and building it into hundreds of thousands of dollars in winnings.
- Obrestad, for instance, won over $836k on just three sites playing tournaments in 6 months starting in September 2006.
- Obrestad was once ranked the number one online tournament player in the world by pocketfives.
- Obrestad started traveling to live tournaments when she was 18, always traveling with a family member.
- Obrestad won a $4 buy-in 180 person sit-and-go where she played the tournament without looking at her online cards in July 2007.
- Obrestad, on March 2, 2008, won $20k in a $11 buy-in tournament with 20,000 players.
- Obrestad holds first place among Norwegian poker players in the all-time money list in live tournaments.
- Obrestad has a hyper competitive streak and is known for her loose aggressive style of play, often the most aggressive player at a table full of men.
- Obrestad is currently dating former November 9'er tournament pro Scott Montgomery.
- Obrestad played but didn't cash in the 2011 Aussie Millions $250k buy-in Super High Roller event when her backer called her the night before and said she was in.
According to Annie Duke, who played against her in the 2007 WSOPE "She is not even 20 and is already a terrifying player and one of the most talented I have ever seen. In 5 to 10 years holy crap! I don’t ever want her on my left again because I will get outplayed. That I know for sure."
Annette's advice on playing tournaments: "I think in order to really become a good tournament player, you need a lot of patience and stamina, and also be mentally very strong. The variance in tournament poker can be very frustrating, and bad runs can last a long time. If you can play through those streaks without tilting and still play your best, then you're ready to take on any tournament you want."
Annette's advice on playing freerolls: "Just because it's a freeroll doesn't mean you should take the tournament lightly. On the other hand, it allows you to experiment with new things for free against some decent players. Take some risks, try stuff you normally wouldn't do, and learn by your mistakes. Oh, and have fun!
Obrestad interview and two hands where she makes nice laydowns where others would go broke:
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