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Maryann Guberman has been a writer and editor with many gaming publications, including Sports Form, Card Player, Poker World, Player's Panorama and Systems and Methods. She also has written and edited numerous books on gambling.

Oct. 16, 2004

Victory: Annie Duke Handles It Like A Pro

If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score? - Vince Lombardi

Is it just me or does the current trend seen in poker seem to be emulating the early days of modern TV wrestling?

I make the rounds of Las Vegas' poker rooms, often standing by the rail watching, sometimes playing. I've been in the audience of many World Series tournaments. Aside from the spectacular amount of money represented by chips on the table, the thing that impressed me most was the decorum of the participants.

The players, specifically the high-stakes tournament competitors, came from all walks of life. They were doctors, accountants, waiters, casino dealers and management, housewives, lawyers, millionaires and near paupers. Besides poker they had one thing in common -- propriety.

A pot won was a small victory not a football-spiking personal hurray, a step toward the big prize not an in-your-face grandstand.

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of watching Annie Duke win a $2 million dollar hold'em tournament on ESPN, the sports cable channel. The event pitted 10 specially invited players to the Rio Hotel & Casino specifically to compete in a winner-take-all event. Unfortunately, I missed the beginning when all the players were seated and managed to catch only the competition among the final three players. I don't know if this was representative of the entire event, but I suspect it was, considering the competitors included Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Johnny Chan, T.J. Cloutier, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Greg Raymer, Annie and her big brother Howard Lederer.

Because Phil Hellmuth was involved, I expected to see some of the brat behavior for which he is noted and I was entirely not disappointed. However his comportment was model when cast against some of the actions often seen in other televised events.

Annie is known to be garrulous at times, but on TV she is poised and often taciturn. She's a fierce competitor who understands what it feels like to win and what it feels like not to win. Like the others in this prestigious event, she puts on no airs for the camera, and she doesn't try to turn the contest into her personal showcase.

The fist-pumping, the self-congratulatory hoots, the turning to the rail to embrace a spouse don't belong in these competitions. Can you imagine any of today's players pulling those kind of stunts against James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok? If you remember the TV series, do you ever recall an opponent taunting Maverick (Brett, Bart or Beau) so openly?

Of course not. No more than you would see an Olympic skier press his victory into the runner's-up face, no more than you would expect to see a marathon runner do cartwheels as he passes the leader of the pack.

Poker is about the contest, about the skill and the poetic finesse of solving a mystery without any clues. It's about silent and perhaps even smug victory. For now, all we can say is thank goodness for Annie Duke and the rest of the Harrah's Ten for a class act. Let's hope we see more of it.