In 2007, Annette Annette_15 Obrestad (pictured) won a World Series of Poker bracelet in her first ever WSOP cash. The tournament, the WSOP Europe Main Event, resulted in a payout of £1 million. Since then, she has been one of the top female players in the game, but has yet to make a second WSOP final table. On PocketFives, Obrestad, who calls Norway home, has over $2.4 million in tracked online MTT cashes.

We wanted to publish a WSOP primer and thought an interview with the internet whiz kid would be a unique way to do so. With that in mind, let’s get onto it!

PocketFives: Thanks for joining us. What are you most looking forward to about the 2013 WSOPand why?

Annette Obrestad: I’m really just looking forward to playing poker. I’ve been a lot more motivated to play lately, so I think I’ll be putting in more volume this year.

PocketFives: Will we be seeing you in the non-bracelet $5,000 Open Face Chinese Poker tournament?

Annette Obrestad: I’m not sure. I just got introduced to it, so I’m not very confident in my OFC game yet. I’ve played maybe 100 hands, so I’d rate my OFC game probably a 5 or a 6. I’m not stupid, so I feel like I “get it,” but I still make mistakes because I don’t pay enough attention and just act too fast.

PocketFives: Will you be sticking to the higher buy-in WSOP tournaments or also entering some of the lower-stakes ones?

Annette Obrestad: I’ll probably be playing most of the $5,000 and lower events and trying to grind more and just putting in volume rather than take days off. That way, I won’t miss the good events like I have been doing the last couple of years. It hasn’t really been working and I’ve been running badly, so when you only play the big events, it gets expensive when you don’t have any deep runs or final tables.

I think I’ll focus on playing as many events as I can and play poker every day. If I miss events because I’m deep in a $1K, oh well. I’ll probably play most of the $10K Hold’em and PLO events. I’m not sure about the $25K Six-Handed event; that’s a tough field.

PocketFives: Where does this renewed passion for grinding come from?

Annette Obrestad: I’m not really sure. I just kind of woke up one morning and had the urge to play and it hasn’t worn off yet. Maybe because I had been taking some time off enjoying life and so poker became more fun again when I didn’t just play to play, but played because I wanted to play. I have kind of been on a health kick in the last year or so too. I have been spending some time in the gym, eating better, etc.

PocketFives: When you’re in Las Vegas for the WSOP, have you found it better to stay at the Rio or away from the Rio? What about with friends or without friends?

Annette Obrestad: I think for convenience, the Rio is probably better, but I like to be away from all of the madness when I can, so the first couple of years, I stayed at the Wynn or Palazzo. The last two years, I’ve had an apartment, so I’ve been at Turnberry or Veer, which I definitely prefer. It’s nice to be able to make breakfast in the morning and just wake up before heading to the Rio. I could never live in a house with other poker players though; I need my privacy.

Want the latest poker headlines and interviews? Follow PocketFives on Twitterand Like PocketFives on Facebook. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed.