Annie Duke, born Anne LaBarr Lederer, is a former professional poker player and accomplished author in cognitive-behavioral decision science and decision education. Throughout her career, she achieved remarkable success in the world of poker, including winning a World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet in 2004 and earning recognition as one of the leading female money winners in WSOP history.
Early Life and Family
Annie Duke was born on September 13, 1965, as Anne LaBarr Lederer. She grew up in Concord, New Hampshire, in an intellectual family. Her father, Richard Lederer, was a writer and linguist, while her mother, Rhoda S. Lederer, came from a family with a legal background. Card games were a part of her upbringing, with both her parents being avid card players.
Annie Duke has two notable siblings: her brother, Howard Lederer, who is a professional poker player, and her sister, Katy Lederer, an author and poet who wrote a memoir about the Lederer family. While her father is Jewish, Annie was not raised in the Jewish faith.
Education and Early Career
Annie Duke attended St. Paul’s School and later enrolled at Columbia University, becoming part of its first co-ed class in its long history. She pursued a double major in English and psychology. After completing her undergraduate degree, she embarked on a Ph.D. program in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on cognitive linguistics. Her research involved a hypothesis on how children learn their first language called “syntactic bootstrapping,” and she received a National Science Foundation fellowship to support her graduate studies.
However, one month before defending her doctoral dissertation, Annie Duke decided to leave academia and explore other opportunities outside of traditional education.
Entry into Professional Poker
Annie Duke’s journey into professional poker began when she started playing Texas hold’em in a casino at the age of 22. During her graduate school years in Las Vegas, she played poker for fun while visiting her brother, Howard Lederer. In 1992, her brother encouraged her to pursue a career in poker, providing her with financial support, poker instruction books, and remote lessons.
Her professional poker career took off in 1994 when she entered tournaments at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas. In her first two WSOP events, she secured impressive placements. Subsequently, she moved to Las Vegas to focus on poker professionally.
Live Poker Career
Throughout the late 1990s and into the 2000s, Annie Duke achieved significant success as a professional poker player. She participated in various WSOP events, achieving multiple in-the-money finishes. In the 2000 WSOP World Championship event, even while nine months pregnant with her third child, she finished 10th out of 512 players, marking the second-highest finish by a woman in the event’s history.
Duke earned her WSOP gold bracelet in 2004 by winning an Omaha Hi-Lo Split tournament, solidifying her status as the top female money winner in WSOP history at that time. She continued to excel in poker and, in 2004, triumphed in the inaugural WSOP Tournament of Champions, winning $2 million by defeating her brother and other former world champions.
In 2010, Annie Duke made history by winning the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, becoming the first and only female champion of the event.
Retirement from Poker and Career Transition
Annie Duke officially retired from professional poker and had not played since 2012, as she mentioned in a 2020 interview. Despite her retirement, she remains among the top female money earners in WSOP history.
Transitioning to a new career, Annie Duke focused on cognitive-behavioral decision science and education. She authored books on decision-making, including “Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts” and “How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices.” Her expertise in decision science has led to her involvement in various advocacy efforts, including the promotion of online gambling legality and players’ rights concerning image control.
Additionally, Annie Duke co-founded the non-profit organization Ante Up for Africa with actor Don Cheadle in 2007, raising funds for charities working in African nations. She has also participated in and hosted charitable poker tournaments to support various causes.
Annie Duke’s journey from a childhood influenced by card games to a successful career as a professional poker player and decision scientist is a testament to her multifaceted talents. Her achievements in poker, particularly her WSOP bracelet and National Heads-Up Poker Championship victory, have left an indelible mark on the poker community. Her transition to decision science and advocacy work demonstrates her commitment to making informed and rational choices, both in poker and in life.