Successful poker players are known for their cunning, strategic thinking, focused aggression and downright manipulation at the tables. Those same skills can be just as useful in a variety of situations, from the negotiating table to stock market investing. They might also prove helpful to French-American poker pro Vanessa Rousso, who has been chosen to appear in the CBS hit reality show, Big Brother, and live in a house with 13 housemates while vying for a $500,000 prize.

Rousso will face off against an eclectic group of competitors, all of whom will be filmed 24 hours a day for just over two months. During their stay, houseguests will complete challenges and compete against each other before voting off unlucky members of the cast. The last player remaining in the house will be crowned the winner and pocket the six-figure prize.

With $3.5 million in live tournament winnings, Rousso’s poker accomplishments are undeniable. After graduating from Duke University in 2003, the 32-year-old parlayed a small poker stake into a sizable bankroll. In 2005, Rousso made the decision to play poker full-time and was quickly offered a spot as a sponsored pro on Team PokerStars. Since then, she has appeared in a variety of media, including the late-night TV show Poker After Dark, ESPN, the Travel Channel, and even inside the pages of the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

This year the cashes have come less frequently, with the exception of her first-place win at the WPT National Johannesburg for $13,155, and a small win at the Colossus tournament at the WSOP.

In her Big Brother profile on the CBS website, Rousso describes herself as “eclectic, maverick, and adaptable,” skills which she will certainly need to best her fellow housemates. Some of her favorite activities include DJing, solving riddles, traveling and training her dogs (they know 20 commands by the way).

She feels that the most difficult part of her life inside the Big Brother house will be the lack of access to the Internet and other communication devices with which to speak to her girlfriend. “We are very, very close and I rely on her as a teammate in life,” she said. “I know I will miss her terribly.”

She’ll also be deprived of what she describes as her favorite stress relieving activity: making music. “Not being able to use a computer to produce music or be able to browse the Internet will be insanely difficult,” she added.

Rousso lists her favorite character from past Big Brother episodes as Dan Gheesling (pictured), whom she describes as “not afraid to make big moves,” with a “great social game to complement his strategic prowess.”

And what will the 32-year-old poker pro bring with her into the house? “First will be my iPod… because music greatly impacts my emotions and can help me keep a level head when I’m stressed,” she wrote. The second? Hair bleach. “I highlight my hair and three months is a hella long time to go without doing my roots!”

Big Brother season 17 kicked off Wednesday on CBS with the introduction of some of Rousso’s competitors. The mix is eclectic, and features a Los Angeles poker dealer, a professional wrestler with a master’s degree in medieval romance literature, a former college football player and a Venice Beach personal trainer, amongst others.

On her profile, the poker pro summed up her life’s motto in a blog post she wrote in her early 20s. “I find my calm not at the finish line, looking back at the distance I’ve traveled, but in the moment, on the run, out of breath, looking forward,” she said.

Big Brother Season 17 episodes are scheduled to air on CBS Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays starting at 8:00pm ET.

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