Interview : Annie Duke on Formule Poker (english version)

In relation with the book issued recently in France « Decide to play great poker » at MA Editions, signed by Annie Duke and John Vorhaus, Formule Poker asked a few questions to the inescapable little sister of Howard Lederer, owner of a WSOP bracelet and author of 38 ITM WSOP, winner of the the 2010 edition of the National Head’s up Poker Championship, engaged in the charity poker and co-organizer of the Epic Poker League. A very busy life for a poker passionate woman who share with us through her book written in association with John Vorhaus, her winning technique.

*

Formule Poker : Your book « Decide to play great poker » was just issued recently in France. Many books about Poker exist, so can you tell us what yours bring new in addition to the others for the reader intending to improve his game ?

Annie Duke : I would not have written a book unless I thought I had something new to say about poker. This book takes a very different approach than most of the books out there. Most of those books take a very rule driven approach to the game, offering lots of hand charts and prescriptions for how to play. My book has no rules. It teaches you to be a better poker thinker, a better decision maker at the table so that you can create your own rules for any situation you find yourself in.

When reading your book, we find out you can manage to explain very simply concepts and techniques although they are very complicated in poker. Did you manage to become so successful in poker thanks to this intelligence, or did you gain this intelligence thanks to poker ?

I used to be a teacher at the University of Pennsylvania so I think I learned back then how to present complicated concepts in a simple way.

I assumed, according to your book, that you dislike to see some players acting only according to the « rules » imposed by boards and tables because it makes them some kind of mathematic slaves. You prefer players who are able to decide for themselves by having a real and smart reflexion for each situation, with taking the precise context into consideration. According to you, what must be the best qualities of a player in order to succeed ?

I think flexibility is definitely the most important quality. No two games are alike because poker is all about how the players around you are acting. The same opponent will play really differently if he is winning than when he is losing, for example. If you can’t adjust to the game conditions you won’t win.

How can you explain that players who know very well mathematics, probabilities, the rules of the places around the table, etc, are anyway unsuccessful players ? What is missing here ?

These players are two rigid. I think they think they have found the answer to poker and they are unwilling to change the way the play or admit maybe their style isn’t working. These are the players who say they only like to play against good players and always lose to bad players. They say that because they can’t adjust to a game that isn’t the “usual” game described in the poker books.

Who is your book aimed at ?

I would say beginners who have been playing a while all the way up to advanced players. It is about how to be a better decision maker at the table to everyone can benefit.

Appart from yourself, are there any professional and famous players who play poker as you teach it in your book and who are successful thanks to it ? If so, who are they ?

I think most of the successful poker players are pretty flexible thinkers so I would say a lot of them. Certainly players like Erik Seidel are always adjusting to game conditions and his own table image and that is what I am preaching.

Your poker techniques and methods work better for live poker or online poker ? (In France there are many live -EPT, WSOPE, PPT, etc, tournaments and also many online players. Online poker is legal in France.

The techniques work for every kind of poker because the techniques are about paying attention to how your opponents are acting and coming up with a strategy that will crush what they are doing. Since it is all about reacting to your opponents, the strategies are very flexible for both cash and tournaments and for low and high limits.

Many american players participate in major tournaments in France (WSOPE, PPT, EPT), will we have the pleasure to see you present in the next sessions ?

I hope so. I used to be fluent in French and would love to go!

Any last word for the french players who will be reading this interview ?

Don’t use what I say in the book against me if you ever play with me!

Annie Duke, thank you very much for your participation !

URL courte: http://www.formulepoker.info/?p=2666

Publié par Jonathan Brunolier Archivé sous ITW de pros. Vous pouvez suivre les réponses à cet article par le RSS 2.0. Vous pouvez laisser une réponse ou un trackback sur cet article