Annie Duke may not have attained her first WSOP Bracelet until 2004 but Annie is one of the most powerful poker players around the ring games at The Bellagio in Las Vegas. Annie’s long-awaited WSOP win came with success at the "forgotten game" of Omaha Hi-Lo.
While competitors from the "younger generation" of poker go crazy after a huge success at the tables, Annie goes home to be "mum" to her 4 children. She was born in New Hampshire and grew up in a family of card players. If you don’t accept that, observe her sibling, Howard Lederer, when he plays, Howard taught her the correct way to compete in poker.
However, Annie Duke is not a small-potatoes girl and has won her share of challenging games, which includes knocking out Howard a few times on several occasions.
Winning over $3 million in tournament play, Annie branched out to become a advisor to both UltimateBet.com and actor Ben Affleck, who wanted to develop his abilities to become a big player in poker.
You might run into her at the Bellagio, you will catch her on TV and you might just even play with her in a web-based poker match, but don’t count on an easy win. Unless you are a rising star, you’ll not defeat her. However, it is likely to be cool to say you played at the same table as "The Duke".