Annie Duke Takes on Another Cause

Annie Duke has lent her star power to many causes over the years, and this weekend, she added another. A Palo Alto non-profit organization called the Decision Education Fund (DEF) added Duke as its newest board member.

The foundation is committed to help children learn how to make better decisions when it comes to choices that affect their future. Local establishments such as the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University and the East Palo Alto after-school training program called School After School for Successful Youth have benefited from the organization's educational programs. DEF also holds workshops across the country to train teachers and mentors how to implement decision-skills curricula in their classrooms.

DEF welcomed Duke in a formal induction by holding an event called, "An Evening With Annie Duke: Good Decision Making and Other lessons Learned from Poker" on Saturday. She discussed the translation of her decision skills at the poker table to her personal life and how it contributes to her success.

Poker is a game that relies on good decision-making. The best players are the ones who make the right moves at the right times, and Duke understands the similarities. Duke says that she hopes to emphasize to the children the difference between emotional decision-making and using logical consideration.

Duke has four children of her own who range in age from five to 12. She says that when they do something wrong, she stresses the importance of thinking about alternative decisions instead of simply focusing on what not to do. Duke feels this is an important skill that many children need to learn and would like to help assist this by incorporating lessons from poker into the organization's curricula.

For more information on the Decision Education Fund, click here.

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