Annie Duke is well-known in poker circles as one of the top women in the game, but she's reaching a whole new audience now as one of the boardroom battlers on NBC's Celebrity Apprentice.
And so far, Duke hasn't been in any danger of Donald Trump having to say "You're fired."
The season is six episodes in and Duke has managed to make a big impression while helping her team win four out of the six challenges.
According to Duke, this isn't by accident.
She understood going in that the hierarchy of the teams were going to be determined by fame, and since she wasn't the most recognizable star in the group, Duke took her game plan straight from the pages of poker strategy.
"It's like all poker strategy," she said. "It's a game, and similar to poker, it's all about the choices you make in that game."
Knowing exactly what they would get from Duke, the show's producers were not surprised.
"Annie was an easy choice since not only is she a star in the poker world, we knew her brilliant gamesmanship would translate well to the boardroom," Executive Producer Eden Gaha told PokerListings.
"In some ways that boardroom table is like one big poker table and Annie is very much at home there."
So far, Duke said her most important choice has been between causing conflict on her team or not.
"It wasn't about choosing to cause conflict just because, but if a project is going badly, you have the choice to step in and do something about it or not to," she said.
During the first couple challenges, Duke said she did make the choice to step in when it was beneficial to the task.
"I pissed some people off, but I righted the ship," she said.
Once she had attracted some attention, Duke said her strategy was to lay low for a bit.
"Just like in poker, it's important to change gears, go against image," she said.
Duke said she had another poker strategy in mind as well.
"At this point I knew my team really well, and I didn't want to get shuffled around," Duke said.
"It was similar to being in a poker game and finally getting to know your opponents at the table. The last thing you want to do at that point is move to a new table full of new opponents."
Part of Duke's strategy was also taking the time to size her opponents up, rather than jump right into being a project manager.
Another day at the office.
"I'm very much one of the big personalities on the team," she said. "But you'll notice I haven't been project manager yet."
Just like in a poker game, Duke said you want to avoid making big decisions early and wait until you know your opponents.
"It's important to learn what they're good at in order to maximize your chance of winning the task," she said.
Once someone is project manager, however, the challenge is not to get fired.
Duke said you need to know who really did fail at their assigned task and should be held accountable in the boardroom.
"You really have to pay attention to Donald Trump in the boardroom," she added. "He makes it pretty obvious who he thinks a project manager should bring into the boardroom with them."
For some of the team members, Duke noticed it can be hard to separate personal feelings from the game.
"I learned that poker players really do an amazing thing," Duke said. "We're in a game and we take for granted that everybody is playing the game as well. We don't let what happens in the game become personal, and we don't let personal feelings affect how we play the game."
Her brother, Howard Lederer, can knock her out of a tournament or win a big pot off her, and Duke said they'll still be able to go to dinner later that day.
Duke said she was surprised that people weren't making the separation. A fact she's finding out more about as the show airs and she gets to see the personal interviews that were not shown during filming.
"It's a game, but it's also a business game," Duke said. "You have to maintain some sort of professionalism to succeed."
It is also a game where it pays to have good, reliable friends to count on in the fundraising challenges and Duke found she has that in spades.
"To a man, my friends came through for me," Duke said. "It was an incredible gift for me to know that I can count on my friends in the poker community."
Duke said that is just one reason Celebrity Apprentice is helping show poker players in a different light.
"Poker players aren't the selfish people they're often thought to be," she said. "They're awesome, generous people, and it was amazing for me to get to showcase that on a national platform."
Celebrity Apprentice airs on NBC Sundays at 9 p.m. Duke's progress can also be followed on her new website at AnnieDuke.com.
- With files from Martin Derbyshire
I think Annie got robbed on Celebrity Apprentice. Joan Rivers behaved horribly.
Annie Duck (sp. intentional) ….Boo Boo!! Manipulator in the minimum, fraud at best!!
Oh, and on the rest of your spiel: “Olso, you seem to know nothing about the planet you are on at this time, pls leave.”…Wow again!
Olso, get a dictionary. The remainder of your rant further demonstrates your inability to cherish human interaction. “pls leave.” Are any of your relationships successful with this approach to dialogue?
You read what someone else says and then ask them to leave…the planet? Why do you read what others say in the first place? Get a grip and enjoy differing opinions ‘cause life’s too short! These negative traits you have hide all of your good characteristics.
BlackDane…now that’s original. Take your ‘opponent’s’ name and create the opposite…well almost the opposite. Wow!
On your simplistic, yet shouted ‘philosophy’ that: IT’S BUSINESS, NOT PERSONAL! Perhaps you are not an actual business person, or even successful. Probably both.
Sure, you can be successful and be ignorant, bitchy, slimy, and share various other traits of people like Annie Duke. Yet most success business people are rather genuine, interested, warm, personable, and community minded…good Americans. If you are like Annie Duke, or in this case the great BlackDane, then you are simply disguising your many weaknesses and shortcomings. An intelligent, skilled, and talented person needs not stoop to those levels…period. Sad, that people like you still don’t get it.
And lastly, how about you “get the fact that” Poker winner does not equal successful business person. And successful business person certainly does not create a winning Poker champion, or basketball player, singer, etc.
WhiteDane, how about you get the fact that IT’S BUSINESS, NOT PERSONAL! Olso, you seem to know nothing about the planet you are on at this time, pls leave.
Annie Duke has no class. She’s a good manipulator, which makes her a good poker player and that’s it. She looks like she can bring in the money because poker players like to throw it around. They are classic examples of “new money”. Does not mean she has more pull or weight in the world than the others, particularly Joan Rivers. Her ego is enormous. Before this show, most people didn’t even know who she was. Listening to her castrate some “friend” (who by all accounts lacked a pair in the first place) was disgusting. Scott Ian (Anthrax) looked like a desperate chump for showing up on her behalf. The headbanger looked like a cheesehead.
Any celebrity friend Annie has takes a real career risk by associating with her. Annie can act like the beast she is, because she can play for money. Her celebrity friends depend on their reputations to further their careers. I wouldn’t own an Anthrax album now if one landed on my doorstep for free. And Phil Hellmuth looked like a chump too. How about demanding some respect people? She’s a poker player with a big mouth. There are literally thousands of poker players with big mouths. Big deal.
Congratulations Annie! You will win Celebrity Apprentice. You have been absolutely amazing, genious! Annie please, crush the evil, jealous, big ego, big mouth River’s! Now, be careful and watch your back; remember this is a competition and no one is your friend.
she has this great strategy of making everyone hate her. isn’t it awesome?
Annie Duke is a winner in life as well as her awesome ‘game playing’ skills. This lady’s persona, energy and approach to every task she undertakes is well calulated and under control. It appears these qualities will keep her in “Donald Trumps” boardroom. You Go Annie, we’re all behind you and very proud you were chosen to be on “The Apprentice”. You are a great ambassador for the Poker Industry. Good Luck
annie makes the game in all areas, she has good skills in poker and in the game, shes the tiger, BET shes the last 2 standing >>>unless Joan and daughter gang up on her, trust Joan will leave if her baby girl gets booted off, now she doesnt have chance (mellisa) GO GO annie
Basically, she is making a move to knock out one of the Rivers.
She set up Joan prior to the board room and puts Melissa on hard tilt in the next task.
Annie is project manager against Joan on the second task of the episode.
Watch for specifics.
To non-poker players, Annie will seem like such a two-face b***h. But to players, it really is amazing how she can transfer her skills into a realty tv competition.
Interesting … your blog is published before the show airs tonight on the West Coast.
What did she do ? What did she do ?
This week.