Annie Duke Featured in Book of The Moth’s Top 50 Stories
Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) October 17, 2013 -- Renowned professional poker player, author, speaker and decision coach Annie Duke is featured in a new book published by the Peabody Award-winning Internet storytelling platform, The Moth. Duke has two stories featured on The Moth website that are available to stream for free. One of these, “The Big Things You Don’t Do,” is included in the newly-released, The Moth Book.
In “The Big Things You Don’t Do,” the celebrity poker player recalls what it was like to play in the most high-stakes poker game of her life; at the two million dollar, winner-take-all, “Tournament of Champions” in 2004.
“Two million dollars is just by far the largest amount of money that I have ever played for in my life,” recounts Duke in the story. “And in fact earlier in the year in 2004 I’d won a World Series of Poker Championship bracelet and I’d only won about $150,000.”
In the story, Duke talks about going up against a table full of the best poker players in the world, including her own brother, Howard Lederer, and Greg “The Fossil Man” Raymer.
Duke would ultimately go on to win the tournament and collect the entire $2 million pot. Notably, the difficult hand wasn’t the winning hand, but an earlier round, in which her confidence was severely tested as she went head-to-head with “The Fossil Man.”
“The great thing about poker is that sometimes the cards save you from yourself, they save you from self-doubt, you just get really good cards,” explains Duke in the story. “That’s actually what happened to me.”
The Moth Book also contains stories by other celebrities including one from rapper Darryl “DMC” McDaniels’ about his obsession with a Sarah McLachlan song; A.E. Hotchner’s death-defying stint in a bullring with Ernest Hemmingway; and former Clinton Press Secretary Joe Lockhart, recounting his panic when he misses Air Force One following a night of hard drinking in Moscow.
Amazon calls the book “a beloved read for existing Moth enthusiasts, fans of the featured storytellers, and all who savor well-told, hilarious and heartbreaking stories.”
The London Guardian called The Moth Book “Passionate . . . brilliant, and quietly addictive.”
Annie Duke’s extensive experience as a professional speaker comes through clearly in the version of “The Big Things You Don’t Do” that’s on The Moth website. However in The Moth Book, the story translates beautifully to the page. Duke after all, has authored several books of her own, including Decide to Play Great Poker; Heads-Up Tournament Poker; The Middle Zone, and her autobiography, How I Raised, Folded, Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed, and Won Millions at the World Series of Poker.
The Moth Book was edited by Catherine Burns, features a preface by Adam Gopnik, and a forward by George Dawes Green. The book is available in Kindle and paperback editions.
About Annie Duke
Annie Duke has a strong track record of success in the world of poker. She first burst onto the scene at the 1994 World Series of Poker, where she cashed in three events including making the final three tables of the Main Event. A decade later, she won her first WSOP bracelet and in 2010 became the NBC National Heads-Up Champion, besting runner-up Erik Seidel. Duke has appeared on Celebrity Apprentice and tutored Hollywood A-listers including Ben Affleck and Matt Damon on the finger points of the game of poker. She has also authored three books on poker and an autobiography.
About The Moth
Launched in 1997, The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organization dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. It is a celebration of both the raconteur, who breathes fire into true tales or ordinary life, and the storytelling novice, who has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it. At the center of each performance is, of course, the story – and The Moth’s directors work with each storyteller to find, shape and present it. To date, The Moth has presented thousands of stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. Since each story is true and every voice authentic, the shows dance between documentary and theater, creating a unique, intimate, and often enlightening experience for the audience. Moth stories dissolve socio-economic barriers, expose vulnerabilities, and quietly suggest ways to overcome challenges and see with new eyes.
For more information, visit http://themoth.org/.
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Jenifer Sarver, Burson Marsteller, http://annieduke.com/, 512-879-0992, [email protected]
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