Annie Duke

Hailing from Concord, New Hampshire, Annie Duke is the product of a family of card players and gamblers. She grew up playing poker and other card games at her house. Her brother, Howard Lederer, also grew up to become a famous poker player.

She doubled majored in English and Psychology at Columbia University and entered graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania.  In 1991 she married Ben Duke, dropped out of graduate school and moved to Colorado with her new husband.

The times in Colorado were tough for the new couple.  They struggled just to pay a $125 mortgage on their $11,000 starter home.  The tough times and lack of money motivated her to try her hand at the game of poker.

Annie's Poker Career

Annie began her poker career playing at local card rooms for extra income.  Howard started her out with a $2,400 bankroll so she could play $3/$6 limit in the Colorado card rooms.  In these games she honed her skills and eventually brought in enough money to pay off the mortgage and live a more comfortable life.

In 1994, Howard convinced her to enter several World Series of Poker events.  It ended up being a good suggestion; she placed 13th in the Main Event and earned a $70,000 payday.  After the big score, Annie and her husband moved to Las Vegas so she could further pursue her poker career.

At the 2000 World Series of Poker Main Event, Annie again showed her dedication to the game.  While 8 months pregnant, she played the event and took 10th place, one place short of the final table.  Although she would have liked to have advanced to the final table, the $53,000 10th place prize served as a nice consolation.

In Vegas Annie continued working on her poker game while making money in local cash games.  For the next ten years she played cash games and made very little noise outside of the poker world.  In 2004, that would all change with her first major tournament win.

Annie's First WSOP Win

It was in the 2004 $2,000 buy-in WSOP Omaha Hi/Lo event that Annie Duke won her first WSOP bracelet.  Later that year, she played in the invitation-only WSOP Tournament of Champions and won it for $2 million.  Her tournament winnings to date exceed $3 million.  She even coached Ben Affleck for a while and helped him win the 2004 California State Poker Championship.

Annie and her husband Ben divorced in 2004.  She now lives in Las Angeles with her four children and boyfriend Joe Reitman.  Annie now represents Ultimate Bet as a tournament consultant.  In addition to providing her celebrity-status endorsement, she makes sure that the tournaments of Ultimate Bet properly reflect live tournaments in Vegas.

She also has an autobiography titled Annie Duke: How I raised, folded, bluffed, flirted, cursed, and won millions at the World Series of Poker.  In it she describes the challenges she faced growing up and being one of the first great female poker players.

Play Against Annie Duke

If you're a big Annie Duke fan, you should try playing at UltimateBet.com. You can often find her online there playing against her fans. Plus, when you signup today, we can offer a special 111% up to $1100 deposit bonus if you use bonus code CF1100. For more details on Ultimate Bet, read our full Ultimate Bet Review.

LAST: John Juanda | NEXT: Howard Lederer