Learn, Chat and Play with Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad at Full Tilt Poker.

Annette Obrestad, best known by her online poker handle “Annette_15”, is a living legend of online poker. Starting from scratch, she has built a huge bankroll and won millions of dollars by dominating the games with her fiercely aggressive style of play.

From Zero to Hero

Born and raised in Stavanger, Norway, Obrestad was originally a student of a much different game – bowling. While watching a bowling tournament on TV, an ad for an online poker site appeared above one of the lanes. She immediately signed up for an account, and the rest is history.

Starting with zero money in her account, Obrestad played Freeroll tournaments in hope of building a bankroll. Eventually she won a Freeroll for $9, more than enough to start her career as a poker player. From there, she played her way up the levels, starting with $1 Sit & Go tournaments and eventually moving on to larger Multi-Table Tournaments.

Soon enough, what started out as nothing was a bankroll worth millions, with five and six figure tournament scores becoming the rule rather than the exception. One of the most prolific and successful players in online poker history, Obrestad has taken down many notable online tournaments, including a $1K Monday tournament and the Sunday Mulligan at Full Tilt Poker.

Playing Blind

Despite her numerous big scores, Annette_15 is most famous for her play in a $4, 180-player Sit & Go tournament.

Wanting to truly test her skills at the table, Annette Obrestad challenged herself by playing blind. With the exception of one hand where she was all in, she did not look at her hole cards for the entire tournament – and she won. Although accomplished many years back, this legendary feat continues to be fodder for online poker forums worldwide.

WSOP-E Main Event Champion

While she continues to dominate the online poker world, Obrestad has only recently begun her conquest of the live poker scene, with some extremely impressive results.

In just her fourth live event, Annette_15 took down the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe Main Event in September 2007. Unfazed by the glitz and glamour of her first major tournament, she stormed through a field of more than 360 world-class players to make history in two ways: she became the youngest bracelet winner in history, along with claiming the 1st place prize of more than $2 million – the largest score ever by a female.

From Online to Live

While her attention was once solely focused on online poker play, it has recently shifted more towards the live game.

In addition to her WSOP-E Main Event victory, Obrestad has been very successful on the European Poker Tour, finishing 2nd at the 2007 EPT Dublin stop for more than $425K and 13th at the 2009 EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo for better than $100K. More recently, she was seen tearing up the felt Down Under at the 2010 Aussie Millions, winning the AU$1K Pot Limit Omaha event and making the final table of the Main Event, taking home a combined total of over $200K.

Obrestad recently got her first taste of the Las Vegas poker scene when she filmed an episode of the hit poker TV show Poker After Dark. She will be in Vegas this summer for the 2010 World Series of Poker, looking to dominate the action at her first WSOP on American soil.

For the Beginners

If you’re just getting started off in poker, Annette_15 offers this advice: “Take it slow in the beginning… Read books, articles, watch training videos and everything else you can do off the tables to improve your game. Then try to incorporate the stuff you’ve learned when you’re playing. That’s how to become a good poker player.”

When she’s not playing poker, Annette_15 likes to relax and spend time with her friends and family.

Look for Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad playing online at Full Tilt Poker.