Annie Duke
Annie Duke Speaker, Decision Strategist, and Former Professional Poker Player at The Wharton School
Schools
- The Wharton School
Expertise
Links
Biography
The Wharton School
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. Annie’s latest book, How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices, is from Portfolio, a Penguin Random House imprint. Her previous book, Thinking in Bets, is a national bestseller. In the book, Annie reveals to readers the lessons she regularly shares with her corporate audiences, which have been cultivated by combining her academic studies in cognitive psychology with real-life decision-making experiences at the poker table.
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. She retired from the game in 2012. Prior to becoming a professional poker player, Annie was awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship to study cognitive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her master’s degree.
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 ranging 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 Susquehanna 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 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 million 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 the Alliance for Decision Education to build a national movement that empowers teachers, school administrators, and policymakers to bring decision education to every middle and high school student. In 2016, she began serving on the board of directors of The Franklin Institute, one of America’s oldest and greatest science museums. In 2020, she joined the board of the Renew Democracy Initiative.
Read about executive education
Other experts
Popular Courses
Leading People and Teams
ESMT
Berlin, Germany
May 28
Private Equity: Investing and Creating Value
The Wharton School
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Sep 8
Leading Digital Transformation
ESMT
Berlin, Germany
May 28
Leading Strategic Growth and Change
Columbia Business School
New York, New York, United States
Jun 10
The Positive Leader: Deep Change and Organizational Transformation
Stephen M. Ross School of Business
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Jun 23
The Manchester Leadership Development Programme
Alliance Manchester Business School
Manchester, United Kingdom
Jul 1
Looking for an expert?
Contact us and we'll find the best option for you.