Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. What has the reaction been to your new iPhone App, the Annie Duke Poker Tutor?
Annie Duke: The response has been good from the people who have seen it. Now, there is a whole Hold’em glossary, which will get filled out as people give me comments. As examples, we have terms like air, all-in, ante, back-raise, bad beat, belly buster, big blind, big slick, bubble, and button. I’m doing all of the definitions myself. As I am writing tips, I’m remembering that I have to define certain terms. I have some words I haven’t seen in other glossaries like “jump the fence,” which means to call a raise when someone else has already called a raise. I haven’t seen that defined in a lot of other places.
There are also freeroll events and other news for App users. The first one is scheduled for UB.net on April 29th. The prize pool is $250 and there is a $50 bounty to the player who knocks me out.
PND: You’ve obviously perfected the art of teaching the game to a mainstream audience.
Annie Duke: I’ve been doing it so often. When you’re in a room and you think you’re being clear, but you see blank stares, then you know you have to come up with a different way to express a thought. Based on feedback, I understand how you can express these concepts to where intermediate players are going to get it.
PND: You recently traveled to Washington, DC for a fundraiser sponsored by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) benefiting Ante Up for Africa. Tell us about the importance of this event.
Annie Duke: Some people are under the impression that we only do the one event at the WSOP for Ante Up for Africa, but we do more than just that. We did events at Monte Carlo and Aruba and hold others throughout the year.
Last year during the summer, the PPA did a huge fly-in. Part of it was a charity event for the USO. At that time, I talked to PPA Executive Director John Pappas and pitched an Ante Up for Africa event. It really benefits both organizations. On the Ante Up for Africa side, it’s extremely important to keep the problems of Africa in front of members of Congress and let them know that people will pay $500 to enter a tournament and donate to the cause. It’s something that our political representatives should be paying attention to. To get this topic in DC in front of members of Congress is invaluable
It’s also important to keep reminding members of Congress that poker is an amazing charity tool. Opponents of poker spend a lot of time vilifying the game and making it seem like it’s some sort of con game, which is crazy. It’s a game of skill, very thoughtful, and has successful, intellectual people playing it. 70 million people in the U.S. play poker. They’re not criminals and lacking morals. They’re upstanding people with families and jobs who really enjoy the game. It’s really in poker’s best interest to continue to show that to members of Congress.
PND: Given that the compliance deadline of June 1st for the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) is rapidly approaching, what are your thoughts on a second six-month delay?
Annie Duke: I hope we get another delay on June 1st. It’s coming up and the review that needs to be done hasn’t happened. There has been delay because of the focus on health care. We’ve had some big issues that have pushed poker to the backburner. If you’re on the House Financial Services Committee, health care and the economy are going to be more important. I just hope the reasons that discussion was delayed have been resolved.
No one has looked to see if the UIGEA is enforceable, if it’s an undo burden on the banks, and if it’s a good piece of legislation. It’s going to create confusion and over-blocking. It’s written to create over-blocking because there aren’t penalties for blocking transactions that should be going through. The fact that nothing has been addressed will hopefully cause it to be delayed.
PND: Tiffany Michelle and Joe Sebok have announced their UB.com pro experiences. When can we expect yours and what will you be offering for UB.com members?
Annie Duke: I won’t skydive like Joe Sebok and I don’t think I’d be as attractive of a date as Tiffany Michelle, so that’s out too. I haven’t thought about it yet. Probably my strong point would be getting a private poker lesson in L.A. in person and then getting to go out to a fancy restaurant. I’ll decide when it’s my turn.
PND: Tell us about your 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) plans.
Annie Duke: I’m not going to be able to play in the $50,000 Player’s Championship because of other commitments. I probably won’t show up to the WSOP until the first week of June. Once I’m there, I’ll be playing every day. It’ll be a lot of $10,000 events. I’m going to be doing more No Limit Hold’em events than in the past because I think I’ve been playing No Limit Hold’em well.
PND: What level of presence of UB.com will we see in Las Vegas this year?
Annie Duke: The satellites have been going well. We’ll be having a bigger presence at the WSOP this year. We’ll have more logos and a bigger budget this year.