Annie Duke says poker isn't luck

Professional poker player Annie Duke never regrets her decision to quit college to gamble on a new life.

Ms. Duke -- already a graduate of Columbia University with a major in English and psychology -- went on to University of Pennsylvania to study psycholinguistics, a field within cognitive psychology. She stayed for five years and was close to finishing her PhD when she dropped out to become a professional poker player.

It was a lucrative decision. She's won millions since turning pro, including $2 million in 2004 at the inaugural World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions. She's one of the most recognizable female poker players, and divides her time between raising four children in Los Angeles with boyfriend/actor Joe Reitman, writing books on poker and, of course, playing poker.

"I think I found what I'm supposed to be doing and I'm very lucky to have done that," said Ms. Duke, 43, in an interview this week from New York, where she was attending a charity event. "I'm extremely happy with the way my life has gone."

She also leads poker seminars, and that's what brings her to Ottawa today. Ms. Duke will lead a poker seminar (1o a.m., $300 fee) at the Marriott Hotel on Kent Street in an event sponsored by ultimatebet.net, an online poker site. She enjoys teaching novice and experienced players about the finer points of poker. But the seminars, books (How I Raised, Folded, Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed and Won Millions at the World Series of Poker), and caring for a young family takes considerable time, so she's not playing as much as before.

But don't count her out: Ms. Duke still loves the thrill of the game.

"Poker is really the best game out there," said Ms. Duke, who as a young girl played board games and Scrabble with her family in Concord, New Hampshire. Her brother, Howard Lederer, is also a leading professional poker player. "It's a game that gets more complex as you play it more ... You see the complexities, and they reveal themselves to you as you become better at the game. It's a game that you don't get bored with."

She said poker appeals to people looking for something that is "intellectually stimulating" because it gives them the freedom to make their own choices and take responsibility for their actions. In her case, playing poker in a way has meant coming full-circle.

"When I started playing it was very much like coming home to me because I had played games all my life. And somehow I figured out how to make a living at what I used to do when I was six years old," she said.

She rejects the notion that luck has anything to do with winning at poker.

"There's no luck in poker, not even in a single-hand," she said. "All that poker is is a decision-making exercise. If you're a better decision-maker than your opponents on whether to bet, raise, or fold or call, or how much you're supposed to raise, that's what it's about. ... If I'm better in making those decisions than you are then I'm going to win."

Ms. Duke prefers to play against men, even though she's faced many chauvinistic players.

"I've tended to encourage whatever their behaviour was because I figured it would be my advantage," she said.

"If someone was flirting with me I'd be perfectly happy to flirt back and give them encouragement. Mind you, I've never as so much held the hand of another poker player, so it's not like they got anything when I walked away from the table. ... I guess you can call me a poker tease."

As of Friday, 150 people had registered for the seminar.

News Added: 16 March, 2008

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