Poker News Daily: The 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) will begin airing this week on ESPN. You’ve had a lot of success in the $10,000 buy-in tournament. What are some of your favorite moments?
Duke: I have probably three favorite WSOP Main Event moments. The first one was the very first Main Event I played in, where I got down to three tables. It was incredible. People come in, play for the first time, and they’re nervous. Most poker fans think that the pros have never felt the same way, but we do.
I had been playing for a year at that point, came to WSOP, and did well. I won two seats into the Main Event from satellites. I knocked my brother out on the first day with A-A versus A-K. This was in 1994 and the WSOP Main Event took exactly four days. I was pretty high in chips and was in the top 30 going into Day 2. I woke up and was dry heaving in the sink because of nerves; I was freaking out. ESPN did coverage of the Main Event and they took me aside for an interview, which really freaked me out because I was a little girl.
One of my favorite moments on Day 2 was bluffing a big-name player and being in the top three on the leaderboard. I also took one of the worst beats ever. Getting that deep was awesome, especially without any No Limit Hold’em experience. No Limit Hold’em wasn’t a cash game back then. It wasn’t a game that people played.
PND: Besides your brother, Howard Lederer, do you remember who else you played with in 1994?
Duke: On Day 1, it was the first time I met Humberto Brenes. When I came in for Day 2, John Spadavecchia was at my table. There was a hand where Spadavecchia opened in first position. I had A-Q offsuit and open-fold it. He was a good player and I didn’t want to get involved with A-Q. Another player moved in for a big amount. Then, Spadavecchia called with A-10, which was funny because the other player was tight and turned over kings. I said, “I folded A-Q” and another player said they folded A-4. A ten came on the flop, but the case ace hit on the river. It was a huge reason that Spadavecchia made the final table and finished fourth.
I was moved late in the day to a table with Blair Rodman. There, a guy called “The Pilot” gave me the bad beat. I opened for 5,000 on the button and had 95,000 in chips. He had 65,000 and I was the only player at the table who had him covered. He pushed for 65,000, I snap-called with kings, and he had A-3. He raised to 65,000, his entire stack, with A-3! The ace was the door card, which crippled me.
In 1998, four years later, I was playing a single-table satellite and the same guy was sitting with me. I didn’t say anything about the hand in 1994. This time, I opened for two-fifths of the pot and he moved in on me. I was priced in to call with fives, he had an overpair, and I hit a five. This guy started yelling at me. I screamed, “I’ve been waiting four years to say this to you. You’re yelling at me in a $225 single-table satellite when I was priced in to call! You raised to 65,000 four years ago with A-3!”
PND: That’s quite a story. After 1994, what’s the next Main Event that sticks out in your mind?
Duke: The next Main Event that was memorable for me was in 1997. I actually got knocked out quickly because I flopped set under set. 1997 was the year that Matt Damon and Edward Norton played because they were studying for “Rounders.” The other significant thing about it was that I felt like crap. It was because, unknown to me at the time, I was pregnant with my son. I played fine, but flopped a set of sevens against a set of nines.
At Binion’s, they had a row of tournament tables by the cash game section. It was next to one of the side entry doors. I was playing heads-up with this guy and the tournament officials went on break. Some guy comes off the street, runs into the door, grabs a pile of tournament chips, and runs back outside. He thinks he’s stealing actual chips with cash value, but they were really just tournament chips. There was a huge commotion and the security guards tackled him down the street.
PND: Did you know why Matt Damon and Edward Norton were there?
Duke: I think we knew it had to do with a movie, but we didn’t know what “Rounders” was. If I’m not mistaken, Doyle Brunson knocked out Matt. I met Matt in 2003. I would have never imagined I’d ever meet him for any purpose.
PND: You finished 10th in the 2000 WSOP Main Event. Can you tell us about that tournament?
Duke: In 2000, I was due in two weeks with my third child from when the Main Event began. The very first day, I had a great table. Back then, it was hard to have a great table in the Main Event. They call last hand of the night and I look down to see aces. I’m only at 11,000 chips to start the hand. I thought I’d get knocked out on the last hand of the night with aces. Luckily, I had a guy double me up with K-J. The flop came jack-high and we got our money in. I was one of the chip leaders by Day 3. When it got down to two tables, Chris Ferguson, Hasan Habib, and I all traded 5%. With the 5%, I won another $75,000.
PND: You had another deep run in the 2006 WSOP Main Event and finished 88th out of 8,773 players. Can you tell us about it?
Duke: In 2003, I came in 43rd. That was the year ESPN started filming the WSOP for real. I was the last woman standing, which was a big life-changer for me. I was knocked out with jacks against Jason Lester’s kings and got a lot of coverage on ESPN. That was good timing.
In 2006, the big moment for me was being at the feature table having not slept. We were renting a house and the people next to us were building a pool. At 6:00am, the jackhammers started going, so I came to the feature table on three hours of sleep.
PND: Jamie Gold steamrolled through the 2006 Main Event down the stretch. Did you hear about his run while you were playing?
Duke: On Day 4, I was playing next to Thomas Wahlroos. All I keep hearing is, “All in and a call” over and over again, which wasn’t happening that much at my table. Every time I stand up, it’s Jamie Gold with quads against someone with a full house. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Jamie kept making big hands against someone else with a big hand.
PND: With so many deep runs, it’s no wonder why you love the Main Event.
Duke: The Main Event is a great tournament. I love it. I haven’t made it past Day 1 in three years. This year, I lost two hands to K-6 and didn’t navigate the first day minefield very well. Either you can get a lot of chips or have a disaster happen to you.
PND: What was your take on the triple starting stacks in the 2009 WSOP Main Event?
Duke: I don’t think that changes anything. People play up to the size of their stacks, not down to the size of the blinds. People are willing to make bigger bets after the flop.
PND: Last year’s WSOP festivities aired on ESPN while you were filming “Celebrity Apprentice” in New York. Now that you’ve had a chance to catch up, what stands out the most?
Duke: When the player pushed out his whole stack and then drew it back against Brandon Cantu. Two separate tournament officials ruled that it was OK. It’s one of my favorite WSOP moments. On the East Coast, they have forward motion rules. When someone pulls their stack so far forward and completely across an imaginary betting line – you just can’t do that. If you have chips in your hand, it’s different.
I will bet you that the ruling will never occur again. Tournament Directors need to understand what the possible outcome of a ruling is in the sense of abuse. That’s what Michael Carroll kept pointing out. The Bellagio has a rule that only chips over the betting line count. The issue is that someone can push their stack out, leave a few chips behind, and get that fear factor to see if they can get the person to react.
PND: Liv Boeree moved from Absolute Poker to Ultimate Bet. Can you tell us about the change?
Duke: When Liv signed with Absolute Poker, she was just starting out and didn’t have much poker experience or many notches in her belt. She’s very beautiful and had been a presenter in England. Absolute Poker was looking for a spokeswoman with poker credentials. The site doesn’t have a lot of pros in its marketing campaign. It’s more for recreational players who want to have fun.
Then, Liv started getting serious about poker. She is very smart, has a lot of talent, and had some deep runs in major tournaments. She started to fit the profile of an Ultimate Bet pro. It was a logical thing for the brand to move her to Ultimate Bet. To characterize Liv as a pretty girl who happens to play poker is insulting to what she is a player. Ultimate Bet is trying to build a pro team that deserves it from a poker standpoint. They have the respect of the online poker community, are upstanding, and have good relationships. It’s a lot of people who have built their careers out of online poker.
