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Real Casinos > Poker Player Profiles > Annie Duke
Annie Duke
Annie Duke, born September
13, 1965 in Concord, New Hampshire, is the daughter of a writer and sibling to
poker great Howard Lederer. Judging from
her level of education it is hard to see how she made the turn to full time
poker, but the journey is very interesting.
She was taught poker by her famous brother while she was living in Montana with her husband
and children. Nearby Billings, Montana features a host of legal card rooms where Annie would sharpen her skills. In 1994 she began to play poker full time
after moving to Las Vegas. In 2000 she would make the first step towards
a highly prolific career when she achieved tenth place in the World Series of
Poker, just one spot from the final table.
Along the way she knocked out her brother in the tournament.
To help the fame along she
became the tutor for actor Ben Affleck who would go on to win the California
State Poker Championship under her tutelage.
This helped to garner her already impressive image in the poker world as
she continue to gain notoriety and win piles of money.
2004 brought even more fame
and fortune for Duke as she won the first ever World Series of Poker Tournament
of Champions. This winner take all event
is played with ten people until only one man (or woman) stands alone as the
winner. This impressive win got her an
appearance on the David Letterman Show as well as scores of news articles in
her favor.
Annie Duke has but one World
Series of Poker bracelet to her name, in the Omaha HiLo tournament. Besides being one of the best female poker
players alive, she is an outspoken advocate for women in the sport as well as
the restrictions that are placed on players in the live tournaments.
As a woman, she refuses to
play in the ladies only tournaments as she considers them to be rather
demeaning. She considers herself to be
on the same level as all the male participants in the sport and will not allow
herself to be intimidated. This is coupled
with the fact that she is a rather emotional player while at the tables, the
complete opposite of her brother.
At 40 years old, Annie Duke
is married and the proud mother of three children. She resides in Las Vegas with her children and husband Ben.
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