2. Annie Duke
The Duchess of Poker

3. Annie Duke was born in Concord, New Hampshire. Her
brother Howard Lederer is also a professional poker player;
her sister Katy Lederer is an author and poet.
Annie went to Columbia University where she double
majored in English and psychology. Annie Duke was
awarded a NSF Fellowship to attend graduate school at the
University of Pennsylvania to study cognitive psychology,
specifically psycholinguistics. Her intention was to become
a professor but she left school in 1992, after five years of
graduate school and one month before defending her Ph.D.
work. She left academia to pursue family life with her
husband, Ben Duke, and moved to Columbus, Montana.

4. While living in Montana, Annie Duke began playing poker
in the legal card rooms in Billings. Her brother Howard was
already a professional and he both coached and helped
finance her play. In 1994, she and her husband moved to
Las Vegas so she could start playing poker full time. Prior to
2004, her main claim to poker fame was her 10th place
finish in the 2000 World Series of Poker main event (one
position short of the final table) while eight months
pregnant with her third child.

5. In early 2004, Annie Duke received considerable publicity
because she tutored actor Ben Affleck, who then went on to
win the 2004 California State Poker Championship. In
September 2004 Duke won $2,000,000 in the inaugural
World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, a 10-
player, winner-take-all invitational event. She subsequently
appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman.

6. As of 2006, Annie Duke has won one World Series of Poker
bracelet, in Omaha HiLo and more than $3.1 million in
tournament play. Nowadays she refuses to play in women's
only tournaments, saying that "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." Annie Duke is one of many poker
players that take issue with the restrictions placed on
players during televised tournaments.

7. Although the players pay mandatory entry fees to enter
tournaments, some venues do not allow players to wear
sponsorship logos. Duke raised some controversy when she
made a statement in a news article regarding this issue:
"We [poker players] are not even slaves. We're people
paying to pick the cotton."

8. In the 2004 World Series of Poker she eliminated her
brother Howard Lederer from four separate events,
including the aforementioned Tournament of Champions.
Unlike her brother, Duke is known for being somewhat
emotional at the poker table. As of 2007, her total live
tournament winnings exceed $3,200,000. Annie Duke has
been a spokesperson for Ultimate Bet since 2000 and has
written many articles for the online poker website, mainly
on Omaha HiLo.

9. She has several nicknames including "Annie Legend", "The
Duke", and "The Duchess of Poker". Her sister, Katy
Lederer, wrote a book about the Lederer family, titled
Poker Face: A Girlhood Among Gamblers. She also has her
own biography, called Annie Duke: How I Raised, Folded,
Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed, and Won Millions at The World
Series of Poker .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Duke

10. She has several nicknames including "Annie Legend", "The
Duke", and "The Duchess of Poker". Her sister, Katy
Lederer, wrote a book about the Lederer family, titled
Poker Face: A Girlhood Among Gamblers. She also has her
own biography, called Annie Duke: How I Raised, Folded,
Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed, and Won Millions at The World
Series of Poker .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Duke