Who Is the Youngest Poker Player?

In 2004, a then 18-year-old medical student by the name of Annette Obrestad made history by becoming the youngest person ever to win a World Series of Poker bracelet. She accomplished this feat by taking down the $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament, besting a field of 359 other players.

Her victory earned her $273,944, and she has gone on to have a very successful poker career.

Obrestad’s win was not only impressive because of her age, but also because she had never even played in a live poker tournament before. She learned how to play online, and honed her skills by playing in online freerolls – tournaments with no entry fee.

When she decided to take the plunge and play in her first live tournament, she had only been playing poker for about a year.

PRO TIP:The youngest poker player is typically determined by the age of the players at a particular table. The legal age to play poker in most parts of the world is 18, and some casinos may even have an even higher age requirement. To find out who the youngest poker player at a given table is, ask around or check with the casino’s management staff.

Since her historic win in 2007, Obrestad has gone on to have many more successes in both live and online poker. She has won multiple tournaments and has made several final tables at prestigious events like the European Poker Tour and the World Poker Tour.

As of 2019, her total live tournament earnings exceed $3 million.

While Annette Obrestad is the youngest person ever to win a World Series of Poker bracelet, she is not the youngest person to ever win a major poker tournament. That distinction belongs to another Norwegian prodigy by the name of Jonny Hector.

In 2002, at just 16 years old, Hector won the Sweden Poker Championship for $85,000. He also has numerous other big wins and final tables on his resume.

So who is the youngest poker player? While Annette Obrestad holds the record for being the youngest person to ever win a World Series of Poker bracelet, Jonny Hector is technically the youngest person to ever win a major poker tournament.