Duke plans poker camp

[PokerGoddess]

SAN MANUEL RESERVATION - Poker star Annie Duke chose her profession because she sought a life on the fringe, allowing her to work on her own terms in relative anonymity.

Fortunately for Duke, her ability to get a read on her opponents - essentially determining how strong their hand is - has been immeasurably better than getting a read on her future.
"All of a sudden, nine years after I started this profession, someone came up to me and asked for my autograph," Duke said. "I said to them, `Who paid you to ask?"'
She has since become a media darling of the poker community, a talented player whose name recognition rates with the likes of Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth.
Over the past year, Duke has worked closely with San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino, lending her name to give tournaments there more prominence and attention.
On Wednesday, Duke will also host a Poker Boot Camp titled "Advanced Hold `Em Training," a $500 course at the San Manuel casino.
And, of course, she and actor Don Cheadle teamed up earlier this week with the San Manuel tribe for an invite-only tournament to raise funds and awareness about the crisis in Darfur.
The tribe provided $500,000 for the nonprofit Ante Up for Africa, which takes advantage of the interest paid to poker to further attention to the 400,000 lives lost in Darfur's humanitarian crisis. "This issue is something that gets no attention at all," said Duke, who plans to visit Darfur next year. "It's the largest humanitarian crisis that we've seen in this century, and yet, no one knows anything about it."

James Ramos, chairman of the tribe, said it just made sense to team up with Duke's organization. Tribal leaders likened the crisis in Darfur to the treatment American Indians have received.
Giving so significantly to the cause, Ramos said, will bring more attention to it.
"Humanity will stand up and say, `This isn't right,"' Ramos said.
Duke remains amazed at the prominence she has attained from her skills at the poker table.
She also remains appreciative, especially because with the advent of Internet poker, she can play from her home in Los Angeles and be close to her four children.
It also means that while she has to give up on an anonymous life, she can exert some influence.
She has found working with the San Manuel casino to be perfect for her.
"It's really kind of homey here," Duke said. "None seem like the slick casino owners you find elsewhere. I generally like the people I work with."
Just as she tries to provide attention to Darfur, Duke is using her name and skills to teach others how to play poker.
"Teaching is a really big thing for me," Duke said. "I feel like I can give something back to the poker community."
Anyone interested in signing up for the poker boot camp should call (800) 359-2464. Duke's camp, which runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes a continental breakfast and a lunch, will focus on pre- and post-flop strategy, setting up a table image, determining pot odds and managing money. Attendees must be 21 or older.