Poker pro Annie Duke brought her (and co-founder Don Cheadle’s) Ante Up For Africa charity tournament series to Washington DC last week. Cheadle and Duke founded Ante Up For Africa to assist humanitarian efforts in Africa, chiefly to help stop the genocide in and help rebuild Darfur, Sudan. Cheadle and Duke customarily bring attention to their cause by hosting an annual tournament in conjunction with the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

This writer, who has far too big a man-crush for Don Cheadle than he rightfully should and was introduced to the cause through following Cheadle, plunked down the required $500 donation to participate for a good cause. It also didn’t hurt that the pot at the end of the rainbow included a $10,000 seat in the World Series of Poker Main Event later this summer, donated by Full Tilt Poker.

Of course, this being a charity event that had to be completed during a few hours in one evening, some skill would be removed from the equation by the end of the night as the tournament would no doubt inevitably turn into a shove-fest as the blind structure would surely dictate pushing in all of your chips with any two cards by the end of play. But, it’s also not every week that an event like this comes to town.

By the time all was said and done, there was no Don Cheadle, despite all of the literature that declared the event was to be “hosted by Don Cheadle and Annie Duke.” However, Duke did bring a cast of characters that included Howard Lederer, Victor Ramdin, Andy Bloch and 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion Chris Moneymaker.

How was the tournament? The players included everybody from the guys with backpacks full of books and magazines to be autographed by their favorite poker pros in attendance (it was of no big surprise that these guys were among the first to be eliminated), to the guys who wore sunglasses and iPods as though they were already playing in the WSOP. These are of course the same guys who can quote pot odds and strategy all night long, and can probably tell you which chapter of “Harrington on Hold Em,” Action Dan discusses isolation plays or inflection points. They were largely observing almost as quickly as the autograph hounds. There was also a smattering of players there who cared a lot more about telling their buddies they sat with Moneymaker than they did the entry fee. Some of these guys lasted longer than most would have expected.

The game did of course turn into a shove-fest, as within four hours the blinds accelerated aggressively from 50-100 to 40k-80k during final table play, with an average stack of about 300k. Did the players at the final table survive to that point as a result of skillful play, or a matter of luck when pushing all of their chips in for well-timed double and triple-ups? There was probably a mix of both. Yours truly left in seventh place, as a result of skillful play no doubt (insert sarcastic tone here). Shockingly 4-7 didn’t pull it out vs A-9. But, facing a raise in the 80k big blind with a stack of just less than 300k, I’ll take two live cards when there’s only one real prize to play for, especially with my lucky hand.

How were the pros at the tables?

Annie Duke: She was a very warm and gracious hostess during pregame and breaks. But, during play she seemed more interested in her iPhone than her hands. That being said, the night was a success for her no matter what as she raised a cool $70,000 for her charity.

Her brother, “The Professor” Howard Lederer: He seemed to take play quite seriously. But, as far as I could tell was card-dead for most of the night.

Victor Ramdin: He was the most jovial of the pros at the tables, and was a lot of fun to be around. He also didn’t let me forget a bluff I put on him for most of my chips. Of course, he refused to tell me if he did indeed fold the best hand. In any case, iIf Annie Duke wanted to bring in a pro or two to help spice things up, she chose well with Victor.

Chris Moneymaker: Well, if you’ve witnessed any of his somewhat meek exits from televised tournaments since he became a world champion, you’ve seen his exit from this event. However, that doesn’t entirely tell the tale. He was very cool to the players around him, and took my girlfriend – who played the “I’m just a girl routine,” to a tee, under his wing. She just wanted to look over his shoulder a bit, while pretending not to know who he was. He took it a step further, let her sit with him, showed her his cards, whispered his reads on other players to her, etc. He helped make her night, whether he knew it or not. My opinion of him as a man increased positively regardless of his play at the table.

Andy Bloch: He may be more famous for his involvement in the MIT blackjack ring than he is for finishing 2nd to Chip Reese in the $50K HORSE event at the 2006 World Series. Despite being jet-lagged from having just gotten in from Japan, he was happy to speak with all those who wanted to ask about what he thought of the movie, “21,” or which casinos have banned him from playing their blackjack tables. He was also the highest-placing professional in the tournament. He only fell out in 12th place after being crippled during a hand in which he flopped set-under-set.

Was the tournament worth the price of admission for yours truly? Well, a seventh-place finish in any other event with a $500 entry fee would net a much bigger prize than the Full Tilt prize bag I left with, full of things I’ll likely gift to others – so it’s tough to look at it that way. But, was the night a success? Define success. More than a hundred local players got to toss chips and cards around with some of their favorite poker pros, $70,000 was raised in entrance fees and “continuing donations” for a good cause, and those who cared enough to bring items to be signed left we’re their prized signatures. There have been worse nights in the nation’s capital.

Dave Maiocco, known lovingly as Dave M2, is an avid poker enthusiast. He has written for the Washington Examiner and other publications. Dave is a long-suffering Oakland Raiders fan with the tattoo to prove it. His favorite poker hand is 7-4 offsuit and his favorite quarterback is NOT JaMarcus Russell.