#10 – Amanda Musumeci, $208,675

Previously pretty much an online sensation, Amanda used 2011 to make a significant impact on the tournament poker scene. The Bodog sponsored pro earned an impressive ten cashes throughout the 2011 poker season, with some notable highlights along the way.

Amanda got the year off by driving deep at the World Poker Tour’s Hollywood Poker Open in April, finishing in eleventh place for a nice $22,157 score (interestingly, also her first career live tournament cash). Amanda would go on to perform exceptionally at the World Series of Poker, where she would earn four of those 2011 cashes. Topping off her 2011 WSOP was a deep run in the Championship Event, where Amanda finished in 62^nd place for a tidy $130,997 payday.

The highlight for Amanda this year, however, arguably could be her performance at the Borgata Fall Poker Open. In a preliminary event, Amanda was able to vanquish a 480 player field in a rebuy event, taking down the trophy and the $30,925 first place prize. Although it was a smaller payout than what she received from the WSOP, I am sure that Amanda was more proud of “breaking the duck” with her first live tournament win.

#9 – Ana Marquez, $212,760

She may be a mystery to some poker fans in the United States, but Spain’s Ana Marquez made a solid statement on the international stage that indicates she may be in the game for the long haul.

Out of the gate in 2011, Ana demonstrated her skills in deep field tournaments at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January. Driving deep in the massive 1580 player field, the Team PokerStars Spain pro would finish in tenth place in the Main Event (two spots from the final table) for a nifty $155,000 take. During the summer, she would earn three more cashes at preliminary events on the European Poker Tour and at the WSOP.

Ana would wrap up her 2011 season by heading back to the EPT, earning two more cashes at the London Main Event and a preliminary tournament in San Remo. If you’re counting, that makes for a total of six cashes for the year; with some fortune in 2012, Ana may be in the winner’s circle in an event, potentially a major.

#8 – Cecilia Pescaglini, $214,523

Preferring to stay around her home country of Italy, Cecilia is making inroads in the tournament poker world that, if she sticks with it, mark her as a player to watch for the coming year.

Cecilia didn’t make her first cash in a tournament (her first ever) until August when she won a small event on the Italian Poker Tour. That tournament, and its $52,178 payday, would allow her to move on to the World Poker Tour event in Malta in September, where Cecilia would take the tournament poker world by storm.

Driving deep in the 240 player field, it was only 2011 WSOP Championship Event November Niner Matt Giannetti who kept her from winning. For her efforts, however, Cecilia did take down a $161,313 bankroll boost. Stepping away from Italy late in the year, Cecilia has seen some success. Two final table finishes in preliminary events on the EPT stage have boosted her notoriety.

With these four cashes marking her debut on the tournament poker world, Cecilia may have snuck up on some people; she won’t have that same advantage in 2012!

#7 – Annette Obrestad, $216,911

For some reason, I have the impression that Annette isn’t really happy with her performance this year on the international tournament scene. After earning almost $640,000 last year, the amount she won in 2011 might barely cover her travel expenses!

For “Annette_15” in 2011, there was only one highlight. At the Wynn Classic in March, she would outlast a field that included Eric Froehlich, Zachary King, Phil Hellmuth and Men “The Master” Nguyen to reach heads up play against Tim West. Unfortunately, Annette was not able to defeat Tim, settling for the second place prize of $215,922.

Annette would have no cashes on the major stages of the tournament poker scene…no WSOP cashes, no EPT cashes, no WPT cashes. THAT will be something that you won’t see happen to Annette in 2012…or possibly ever again.

#6 – Erika Moutinho, $244,648

While she was known previously as poker pro David “Doc” Sands’ paramour, Erika proved to have some poker chops of her own as she made her debut in the tournament poker arena.

This summer, Erika seemed to be working on her game before making a big splash in the biggest pool around. A small cash at the Binion’s Poker Classic in June led up to another minor score during one of the multitude of $1000 No Limit events at this year’s WSOP. It was during the Championship Event, however, where Erika would truly shine.

Everyone witnessed her growth as a player as she lasted until the next to last day of the tournament. With David at her table for much of the action shown on ESPN, Erika displayed the confidence and abilities that allowed her to take down 29^th place, good for $242,636 and some bragging rights over Sands and his 30^th place finish.

Although she hasn’t scored since then, we can only hope that Erika makes her return to the tournament poker battleground soon!

OK, five down, five to go. In the final part of this series, we’ll examine those women who truly were head and shoulders above their competition – be it male or female!

#5 – Natalya Nikitina, $334,077

There is considerable debate over whether a woman has won a World Poker Tour event in its ten year history. Van Nguyen’s victory at the 2008 WPT Invitational isn’t considered, as it wasn’t in an “open” event. Natalya’s achievement in 2011 might be considered that breakthrough moment, however.

During the WPT Regional Series event at the Aviation Club in Paris, Natalya fought her way through a 188 player field to take down that title and its €243,830 payday. Technically, the victory doesn’t count as the first woman to win – because it was in a Regional event rather than the main schedule – but it was impressive in that Natalya was able to defeat noted pros Sam Trickett and Benjamin Pollak on her way to the title.

Although she would only make one other cash during the 2011, season, Natalya has to earn accolades for her performance in France in February. Whether it “counts” as the first WPT win for a lady is open for discussion.

#4 – Vanessa Rousso, $519,317

Doing most of her damage in High Roller tournaments, Vanessa was able to get into the fourth place slot on our list with two major six figure cashes.

In May’s $25,000 High Roller event at the European Poker Tour’s Grand Final, Vanessa would drive deep in the 58 player field to finish fifth for a €100,000 score. She would nearly take the championship of the Six Max High Roller at the EPT London, beating everyone in the 66 player field save for Thomas Wahlroos. That finish would be Vanessa’s high score for 2011, £142,300.

What makes Vanessa’s achievements even more impressive is what her and her husband, fellow poker pro Chad Brown, had to battle through in 2011. Diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in February, Chad had to put much of his poker pursuits on hold. Vanessa, while dealing with Chad’s condition, surgery and recovery, admirably performed on the biggest stages of the tournament poker world while standing by Chad’s side.

As Chad continues on his road to recovery, Vanessa will constantly be there for him. He will have to share her with the poker world, however, when the big events of 2012 come around!

#3 – Xuan Liu, $567,271

If there is an award for “breakout” player of the year, there wouldn’t be much discussion beyond the name of Canada’s Xuan Liu.

Although she had a few cashes in tournaments prior to 2011, over the course of the year Xuan proved that she could play on the big stage. Her third place finish at the EPT San Remo in April garnered her a €360,000 payday then, to prove it wasn’t a fluke, she drove deep at the EPT Grand Final. Add in two cashes during the World Series of Poker and it could be said that Xuan did “pretty well” during 2011.

The bankroll boost provided by her 2011 performance should catapult Xuan into many of the major tournaments worldwide in 2012. It will be a joy to see if she can top herself in the coming year.

#2 – Maria Ho, $659,900

Maria’s 2011 was very nearly the performance of the year, as she came up just short of cracking a barrier that has been in place for a few years.

Known for her appearance on “The Amazing Race” with friend Tiffany Michelle, Maria’s poker game took center stage in 2011. After a nice $69,232 score during the Aussie Millions Eight Game tournament, Maria stepped it up early during the WSOP. In the $5000 No Limit Hold’em tournament, Maria came back from the short stack at the final table to battle Allen Bari for the championship and the WSOP bracelet. Although she would eventually fall to Bari, her stirring run to second had many in the poker world buzzing about her play.

Maria’s earnings in 2011 were a high water mark for her career; previous to this year, Maria’s top season was 2007, where she “only” earned $252K! 2012 should be another year to watch Maria as she looks for that breakthrough major title.

#1 – Vanessa Selbst, $974,424

If there was someone who was omnipresent on the worldwide poker stage in 2011, it would have to be Vanessa Selbst. On virtually every major tournament circuit, Vanessa was in the mix for the title.

Her year started off with a run to the Elite Eight during the NBC National Heads Up Championship, then she was off to the Mohegan Sun to defend her title on the North American Poker Tour. In an age when repeat champions are almost unheard of, Vanessa was able to do the impossible, winning her second NAPT title and defending her championship by defeating Dan Shak in heads up play.

That wouldn’t be the final highlight for Vanessa’s 2011 tournament season, however. At the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic in December, Vanessa would make the final table against some of the most difficult competition in the game. After outlasting Antonio Esfandiari and Andrew Lichtenberger, Vanessa would eventually fall in third place, earning $338,351 for her efforts.

Although her 2011 performance is a drop from 2010 (she won nearly $3 million that year), there was a reason for the decline. Vanessa is wrapping up studies for her law degree; imagine what kind of year she would have had if she could just concentrate on poker! We might be seeing Vanessa on this list again next year with her schedule cleared.

There you have it . . . the Top Ten Women Money Winners of 2011. Every one of the ladies mentioned here deserve accolades for their performances and we here at Woman Poker Player magazine wish all ladies the best of luck (and a few championships!) during the coming year.

PS: Woman Poker Player magazine would love to see your name on this list next year!