Annie Duke

Annie began playing poker with her family when she was very young. Her older brother, Howard Lederer, suggested she should try tournament poker after she dropped out of a Ph.D. candidate program in cognitive psychology.

After a few lessons from Howard and having read every poker book available she begin playing tournaments and hasn’t looked back. In 2000, Annie finished 10th in the WSOP Championship event while nine months pregnant. 2004 saw her defeat the nine male champions at the WSOP Invitational Championship and take home the $2 million dollar winner-take-all prize.

As of 2005, her total live tournament winnings exceed $3,100,000.

In her own words:

“Poker is one of the only 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.”

Career Highlights:

• Leading WSOP money winner for women
• More WSOP money finishes than any other female.