Annie Duke was born on September 13, 1965 in Concord, New Hampshire. She studied at Columbia University, where she double majored in English and psychology. After graduation, she was awarded a scholarship from the National Science Foundation to pursue postgraduate studies in psycholinguistics. In 1992, five years after graduating, and one month shy of defending her dissertation, she left school. She then pursued a career in professional poker, upon the encouragement of her brother Howard Lederer, who was also known in the game.
With the support of her brother and husband, Duke decided to play poker full-time in 1994, when she moved to Las Vegas. She rose among the ranks of her fellow players, at one point taking 10th place in the 2000 World Series of Poker while pregnant with her third child. In the 2004 WSOP, she won her first event, taking the gold bracelet in Omaha Hi-Lo Poker, being one of only three women to win events in the said competition. As of 2008, she carried the record among female players for the most “in the money” finishes, taking in at least $3,600,000.
Now carrying the title “The Duchess of Poker”, Duke became a sought-after poker coach, looking after celebrities such as Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Ashton Kutcher and Charles Barkley. With poker’s rising popularity, she became one of the game’s most known faces, appearing as a guest on game shows Deal or No Deal and 1 vs. 100, as well as on NBC’s Poker After Dark. She later took a slot on the second season of The Celebrity Apprentice, in which she became a finalist. She competed against Joan Rivers to the end. She also writes and speaks extensively about the game, mainly as a spokesperson for poker website UltimateBet.