Annie Duke

With nicknames like The Duchess of Poker and Annie Legend, Annie Duke certainly has made her presence felt on the poker scene. But that's no surprise. The lady is simply one of the best poker players around, men included.

Witness: Duke won $2 million playing in the inaugural World Series of Poker (WSOP) Tournament of Champions in 2004, a winner-take-all event that featured 10 of the best poker players in the world. It was a feat that rated a guesting on the David Letterman show and praise from a national audience.

And if the Letterman guesting wasn't enough, Duke also soared to mainstream popularity as the poker coach of actor Ben Affleck, especially after her star pupil went on to win the 2004 California State Poker Championship against seasoned poker pros.

Duke has also authored a book on poker, entitled "How I Raised, Folded, Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed, and Won Millions at the World Series of Poker." She has also released six poker tutorial DVDs, including "Girl's Guide & Advanced Secrets" and "Annie Duke's Beginner's Guide to Texas Hold'em."

Aside from her book and DVDs, Duke has also been the spokesman for Ultimate Bet online poker website since 2000 and has written many articles for them.

 

In 2006, Duke competed in the WSOP main event, finishing 88th among 8,773 players and winning $51,129. She was the second highest-placing woman in that tournament, behind 56th placer Sabyl Cohen.

In 2007, her career live tournament winnings exceeded the $3.4 million mark.

Duke was born in Concord, New Hampshire on 13 September 1965. She graduated from Columbia University with degrees in English and Psychology. She also took up cognitive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania graduate school on a NSF Fellowship.

Duke's brother is the professional poker player, Howard Lederer. Her sister, Katy Lederer, an author and poet, penned a book about Annie and Howard, "Poker Face: A Girlhood Among Gamblers."

Duke has a friendly yet intense sibling rivalry with brother Howard, who is also her former coach. In 2004, she succeeded in eliminating Howard in four WSOP events, and Howard hasn't heard the last of that yet. The good-natured ribbing continues to this day. 

In 1992, after five years of graduate school and one month to go to defend her Ph. D, Duke left academics to join her husband Ben Duke in relocating to Columbus, Montana. That's where she started her poker career. Brother Howard, then already a poker pro, provided funds to jump-start her career.

When Duke and her husband relocated to Las Vegas in 1994, a career in poker certainly looked like it was in the cards. She began to play poker full time and gained fame on the poker scene in 2000 when she captured 10th place in the WSOP main event despite being eight months pregnant with her third child.

Today, Duke is widely regarded as one of poker's best players. She declines to participate in women’s only tournaments. "Poker is one of the few sports where a woman can compete on a totally equal footing with a man, so I don't understand why there's a ladies only tournament," she said.