Annie Duke | Author, Decision Strategist, & Former Professional Poker Player

Annie Duke

Author, Decision Strategist, & Former Professional Poker Player

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Annie Duke
Biography

Annie Duke speaks about a range of subjects involving decision behavior and strategy. She regularly delivers keynote speeches, addresses corporate meetings and retreats, and speaks before business and professional organizations.

Annie Duke has leveraged her expertise in the science of smart decision making to excel at pursuits as varied as championship poker to public speaking. For two decades, Annie was one of the top poker players in the world. In
2004, she bested a field of 234 players to win her first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. The same year, she triumphed in the $2 million winner-take-all, invitation-only WSOP Tournament of Champions. In 2010, she won the prestigious NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Prior to becoming a professional poker player, Annie was awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship to study Cognitive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Marrying her academic studies in cognitive psychology with decision making lessons gained through her experience at the poker table, Annie now spends her time writing, coaching and speaking on a range of topics such as decision fitness, emotional control, productive decision groups and embracing uncertainty. She is a regularly sought-after public speaker, addressing thousands in keynote remarks at conferences for organizations from the Investment Management Consultants Association to the Big Ten Conference. She has been brought in to speak to the executive teams or sales forces of organizations like Marriott, Gaylord Resorts and Ultimate Software, among others. She is a sought-after speaker in the financial sector, with clients such as Susqehanna International Group and CitiBank. Annie regularly shares her observations on decision making and critical thinking skills on her blog, Annie's Analysis, and has shared her poker knowledge through a series of best-selling poker instruction and theory books, including Decide to Play Great Poker and The Middle Zone: Mastering the Most difficult Hands in Hold'em Poker (both co-authored with John Vorhaus). Annie is currently working on her next book on strategies for great decision-making, which is due in early 2018.

Annie is a master storyteller, having performed three times for The Moth, an organization that preserves the art of spoken word storytelling. One of her stories was selected by The Moth as one of their top 50 stories and featured in
the organization's first-ever book. Her passion for making a difference has helped raise millions for charitable causes. In 2006, she founded Ante Up for Africa along with actor Don Cheadle and Norman Epstein, which has raised more than $4,000,000 for Africans in need. She has also served on the board of The Decision Education
Foundation. In 2009, she appeared on The Celebrity Apprentice, and raised $730,000 for Refugees International, a charity that advocates for refugees around the world. In October 2013, Annie became a national board member for After School All-Stars.

In 2014, Annie co-founded How I Decide, a nonprofit with the goal of helping young people develop the essential life skills of critical thinking and decision making. In 2015, she became a member of the NationSwell Council. In 2016, she began serving on the board of directors of The Franklin Institute, one of America's oldest and greatest museums.

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Workplace Culture

At work, we learn through experience. Whether those lessons stick depends on overcoming irrational thinking patterns with a constructive workplace culture.

Decision Fitness

During the moments when we make decisions or experience outcomes, we can easily be influenced by emotions connected with winning and losing. Setting up "best practices" in advance can minimize that influence.

Facts, Beliefs, and Probabilities

Our brains developed for quickness, but they lack the accuracy and completeness of computers. There are, however, several ways we can improve how we process and interpret information.

Long-Term Thinking

Humans have the unique ability to imagine and contemplate the future. Our short-term and long-term goals frequently conflict, however, and when they do, our instinct is to sacrifice the future for the present.

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Annie Duke

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