Annie Duke is the sister of famous poker professional Howard Lederer. Whether she is the better online poker player or her brother, is debatable, but she is certainly one of the best known female poker professionals in the world.
Hailing from a family for which gambling was a way of life, she attempted an academic career at which she was successful up until her marriage with Ben Duke, when she moved to Billings, CO, and left everything behind only a couple of days shy of her Ph.D. defense.
Struggling with a dire financial situation, she first started playing poker in the card-rooms of Billings, in order to eek out some funds for mortgage payments. Her Brother, Howard, already an established Titan poker player, came to her aid by financing her play and providing advice and guidance.
It was at his suggestion that Annie decided to buy into a WSOP event. She finished in 13th place in her very first tournament and knocked her brother out on the way. Her first month as a pro yielded a superb financial result, which prompted her to once again pack up and move to Las Vegas, where she could be closer to the core of high-stakes action. In 2000, she almost clinched a final tables spot at the WSOP main event while 8 months pregnant. She eventually finished 10th, but she still cashed in nicely.
Her first WSOP bracelet came in 2004, when she won the $2,000 Omaha Hi/Lo event and beat 234 of the World’s best players in the process. That same year, she knocked her brother out of 4 separate WSOP events, and won $2 million in the WSOP Tournament of Champions, in August.
She has been known to speak up against women’s only tournaments, arguing that poker is one of the games where women and men could compete from absolutely equal footings. Since 2007, she holds the record of being the woman with the most ITM finishes in WSOP events.
All in all, her career achievements include a WSOP bracelet (the one mentioned above), some impressive 33 WSOP money finishes, and a 10th place in the 2000 WSOP main event.
She doesn’t have any WPT titles yet, but she did finish ITM twice, and her total career poker earnings amount to about 3,5 million dollars.
She’s had several television appearances, (Annie Duke takes on the world, The Colbert Report, Ultimate Blackjack Tour) and she even played in NBC’s Poker After Dark.
In 2006 she strung together a spectacular streak in NBC’s 1 vs 100.
Currently, she works as a consultant for Ultimate Bet poker, where she basically makes sure the games offered online are 100% in compliance with Las Vegas rules and standards of quality.
She also writes about poker (she’s the author of How I raised, folded, bluffed, flirted, cursed and won millions at the World Series of Poker – a very successful book about her life) and lobbies for online poker and gambling regaining a legally controlled status in the U.S.
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