Annie Duke Autobiography

Annie Duke is the all-time money winner of female professional poker players and has recently gained fame in her appearance in Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice. In her self-titled autobiography, Annie talks about the trials and tribulations that carried her on her miraculous journey to poker superstardom.

Woven in throughout her chapters of tournament play is a chronological timeline of Annie's life, explaining how and why she became the player that she is today. She is completely and unabashedly honest about her family dysfunctions (and later her own struggles with anxiety issues and panic disorders).

From a very early age Annie played an assortment of sophisticated card games like hearts, gin, oh hell, and bridge, and she learned to play to win. Children weren't automatically allowed to win in her home; they had to earn every point, and that competitive drive surged throughout her family. Card playing was the vehicle for teaching Annie how to think, and in her household nothing mattered more.

A card game in the kitchen or on the floor of her father's study quickly became the safety zone in her tumultuous (and unhappy) family life. It was a separate universe, where they were momentarily happy: even if it was the only time they did anything as a family.

Later, Annie will describe some of the first poker rooms she played in as having their "own warmth, and playing there was almost like playing in someone's kitchen." For her, some of the best times in her family were around cards, and that image stuck with her. Playing cards professionally was something that she had unknowingly been gearing up for her whole life.

In 1992, amid a promising career in academics, Annie suffers her first in a long series of panic attacks. As her attacks become more serious, Annie felt the need to flee from her life in academia, before falling into a career that she had no passion for but felt was expected of her to please her demanding parents.

Later, Annie states that her panic disorder and hospital admittance made her prolific at hiding her feelings of despair. This was a great tool for future poker playing. "I had been honing that skill every day for most of my life."

Literally running away, Annie moved from Pennsylvania to Montana and married Ben Duke, a good friend whom she had as of yet never dated. At first, life on Ben's small inheritance check was exciting and romantic with no pressures or expectations, but Annie quickly became bored. Her brother Howard began playing poker seriously and invited and encouraged Annie to do the same.

Howard believed in her so much that he was willing to back her (be her financial support for a 50 percentage of her winnings). He sent her a check for $2,400 and in her first year Annie turned that into $15,000. Even after keeping her cut of $7,500, Annie never thought this was something she would be a professional at. Poker was just the way she paid the bills.

For the next few years Annie sought to find her place in the poker world. She and her husband moved to Las Vegas and did well enough in that years World Series Of Poker (WSOP) to cover their budget for the next 2 years. Later Annie moved back to Montana to appease her husband and raise her two kids, Maud and Leo, and played poker online, commuting to Las Vegas once a month.

At the WSOP in 2000, Annie was 38 weeks pregnant with their 3^rd child, Lucy. However, that didn't stop her from finishing 10^th place in the main event, making her the highest ranking woman ever at the World Series (and cashing in for $52,000).

After the birth of her fourth child, Nelly, Annie had an epiphany about poker. After winning $300,000 and losing it in a single week, she decided to stop playing with such huge amounts of money and go down to lower levels to even out the stress in her life. She didn't need the huge money swings; she was able to leverage her success into other areas that took pressure off her game. One such area was UltimateBet.com, a new poker website where Annie signed on as a consultant and played as one of their "celebrities." When they asked her to move closer to their headquarters in Portland, Oregon, she quickly agreed and moved to a safer, greener place to raise her children. However, this move couldn't undo years of stress and turbulence in her relationship with Ben, and in 2003 her marriage ended.

This catches up to where Annie begins her story at the 2004 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Nevada. Already a seasoned pro and considered by most as one of the top female poker players in the world, Annie has suffered through a tough run of cards (and luck). Her self confidence is down since she has yet to win an elusive WSOP bracelet, given away to those first place winners of all WSOP events (tournaments). Without this title, she is just "one of" the best players, not a true champion, even though she has made money in 22 tournaments and had 12 final table appearances (more than any other female player).

Annie decides to play in an Omaha Hi-lo split tournament. This game, while similar to Texas Holdem, is a better game for Annie and therefore (theoretically) a better chance of her winning. The problem is this tournament is held at the same time as the Ladies Only Tournament, which ESPN executives have been trying to convince her to play in for days. They will televise that Ladies tournament, not the Omaha, and want her recognizable celebrity name on camera. Omaha is a better game for Annie and the prize pool (amount of money she can win) is higher, so she chooses to play in this tournament instead.

Because of the significance of this tournament, Annie describes as much of the play as she possibly can. Describing this tournament in detail is important because she wants the bracelet so much. She felt she needed this win as much for the cash as for the confidence. When the tournament gets down to four players, Annie knows she will make enough money (regardless of what position she gets knocked out it) to regain her ranking as the all-time ladies money winner. With this confidence booster, Annie continues on to win the entire event!

Her win did more than just propel her to the top of the list of female players; it solidified her as one of the best poker players in the world, regardless of gender (something that winning the Ladies Tournament could not have done).

In August 2004, ESPN and Harrah's Entertainment invited ten top professional poker players to play in "the Tournament of Champions," a game of winner take all No Limit Holdem. Annie Duke culminates in the telling of this tournament, the lows (knocking out her brother) and the highs (making a couple of great reads, folds, and calls) and ultimately winning- taking down the title and the $2 million first prize!

Annie Duke is a great read for anyone interested in the game of poker. It honestly depicts how your family and situations can influence your life, and gives a poignant look into the lives of one of the best all-time players in the world.