How To Host A Poker Party.(Annie Duke)(Interview)

Byline: INTERVIEWS BY BROOKE LE POER TRENCH AND DANIELLE PERGAMENT

Tips on hosting a poker party, improving your handwriting, saying you're sorry, and more.

An Interview With Annie Duke

Duke is a professional poker player based in Los Angeles. She won the World Series of Poker and the Tournament of Champions in 2004.

Above all, a poker night should be fun. If you're going to play for real money, choose an amount that's comfortable for everyone. No one should risk her mortgage payments.

Play by the rules. Everyone you invite to a poker night should play at about the same level, so no one is bored--and no one feels like a perpetual loser. Phil Gordon's Little Green Book and my DVD, Masters of Poker (Big Vision), are both good sources if you need to brush up on rules and strategy.

Know what to hold. Standard playing cards get beaten up, so get a pack of plastic Kem cards (you can find them on amazon.com). They won't get trashed or bent--you can put them in the dishwasher if you need to. Look for chips that weigh at least 11.5 grams each, not the eight-gram chips, which feel cheap and crappy. You want them to stack well and have some heft as you throw them in the pot. If you don't have a proper card table, go to a craft store and buy a big piece of felt to lay over your dining-room table. The fabric prevents the cards and chips from sliding ...