I had the opportunity to interview Maria for The Mojo Radio Show at the time of publication, and not only was it a very informative interview, but Maria is great talent, with valuable insights, and the book and it's content is a strong resource for good decison making. GB

3/5 stars

Thanks for providing this precious arc in regards to the publisher and author!

It was a fine novel. Not too dazzling but fine piece of literature

Wow, what an interesting, engaging book! THE BIGGEST BLUFF: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win by Maria Konnikova caught my attention because someone close to me is really good at poker. So I thought I could read the book to learn more about the game that I don’t know how to play. This book is a fascinating exploration of a woman applying her knowledge decision making & psychology to the world of poker & living life. It’s a non-fiction book that reads like fiction, engaging & interesting. I loved it! What a smart, good book. Thank you to NetGalley for the complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

An interesting perspective! Enjoyed hearing Maria learn from one of the best and how poker really informs our decision making.

I loved the beginning of this book - talking about how we make decisions - and its inclusion of ideas from behavioral economics and game theory. But then there was just too much poker for me! It was well written, but I just personally couldn't sustain that much interest in the world of playing cards and how the games unfold.

This was a can't-put-it-down read, packed full of insights for life and poker. I loved it. Maria Konnikova, a writer for the New Yorker, turned her experience becoming a professional poker player into far more than just a "stunt." It was a rewarding vehicle for a meditation on what we can and can't control in life, particularly apt during a pandemic during which we have to stay focused on what we can control so as not to become mired in despair.

As a fan of poker, data lover, and former psychology student, this poker memoir about a reporter entering the WSOP called out to me. However, this book was pretty basic and patronizing and Maria has about the personality of a wet mop.
Maria explains many things such as chance in a very pretentious way, as if the fact that you can't control everything is a major discovery to share with the world and that children aren't taught the concept of chance in elementary school.
When she describes her foray into poker, she acts as if she's the first one to ever play based on something other than GTO. She is going to use this thing called "psychology" that she studied at HARVARD! Well, Maria, go back to 2000 and ask Doyle Brunson or Daniel Negraunu if they were playing GTO, because they weren't, and playing the "psychological side" is all poker players used to do.
She also keeps referencing poker being a great vessel for psychological concepts as if this is a new discovery and that there isn't a field of study called Behavioral Economics that focuses solely on financial decision making and the influence of psychological factors.

I have never played poker, but this indepth look at the world of Poker and decision making is fascinating. I definitely don't think I would want to play professionally, but with friends would be fun. Like many sports there are tons of life lessons that happen along the way. That is what Maria Konnikova was searching for when she approaches legendary Poker player Erik Seidel. The Biggest Bluff is full of humor, mental skills training, and the science behind how people make decisions. This is a read I will come back to for a refresher as time goes on.

I received this as an ARC in return for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me to read this title.

How much is skill and how much is luck?The author, with a Ph.D in psychology, takes us on her journey through the world of poker as she seeks to answer this question. She is a splendid storyteller endowed with a copious amount of common sense. Her adventures navigating poker tournaments in Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, and Macau will keep you engrossed to the end. After finishing this book, you will have a better understanding both of the mental preparation and the tactical requirements during a poker tournament. But even better, Konnikova’s story is great entertainment.

Psychologist and New Yorker writer Maria Konnikova makes a decision her grandmother thinks is crazy - she'll take a year off to learn how playing poker at the highest levels improves decision making. An engrossing and fun read, even more so if you play poker.

Maria Konnikova who has a psychology degree and is a successful author decides after seeing the scene in the movie "Rounders" where Johnny Chan in the 1988 World Series of Poker main event takes down Erik Seidel by trapping him with the top hand. Even though he finishes second not bad for placing at his first major event. Maria approaches Erik with the ask of being her mentor for a year with the goal to play in the WSOP main event. This is quite an ask as she is unaware if Erik has ever had a student of poker before.

In the process of being a poker student the author has the goal of writing a book along they way. Not only does she get help from Erik but other notables in the poker world you will recognize if you have followed poker for a while such as Paul Magriel. The author shows how the psychology of poker relates to situations in everyday life. I received an ARC from Netgalley and Penguin Press for a fair and honest review

Most poker are interesting when told from the person living and going through the progression of learning the game and this will hold your interest along those lines. The book does lag in my opinion where she is dealing with her therapist to help get her mind and actions back on track for poker but overall a pretty good read.

Maria a scientist takes a chance at poker.A scientist transformed through psychology into a first class player.A memoir that is so real so honest Really enjoyed following the author as she attempted to bluff her way into poker success,#netgalley#penguinpress

THE BIGGEST BLUFF

Can a person go from zero to successful professional poker player within a year?

It’s a tantalizing proposition, to be sure, and one that would make for a heckuva story. The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win is precisely that: journalist Maria Konnikova’s account of the year she devoted to learning to play poker at a high enough level to compete and win at the World Series of Poker.

The fact the book exists is the best spoiler alert that, yes, Konnikova succeeded at playing professionally; after all, who’d want to read a book about someone going through all that effort to fail? The point of stunts like this is the struggle and the payoff—to see the lengths that a person would go to in pursuit of an audacious objective and learn a thing or two about how to do it yourself (or in this case, play poker better). Even if Konnikova had a lot of help to achieve her goal, whether from her graduate training in psychology or the tutelage of various professional players who took her under their wing and were generous with advice, it’s the spectacle of what it takes for a person to become a professional poker player that gives The Biggest Bluff its inherent allure.

That said, as the title suggests, Konnikova didn’t write the book for the purpose of sharing with readers how to become better poker players. “This book isn’t about how to play poker,” she writes, “it’s about how to play the world.” That is to say, The Biggest Bluff is about the mental habits elite poker-playing requires that can help anyone make better decisions in life.

In a sense, this is familar territory and we’ve been here before. Poker ace Annie Duke took a similar approach in her book-about-poker-but-not-about-poker, focusing on the qualities of good decision-making and highlighting the various cognitive biases that often get in the way of that. Konnikova covers similar ground but brings the psychology behind decision-making to the fore, often as it applies in many situations she encountered while learning poker’s nuances. One would think, for instance, studying and spending time with conmen and grifters would have prepared Konnikova for the mind games she would inevitably encounter at the poker table. But by her own admission it hadn’t, at least not entirely, prompting her to conclude that the mentality that makes elite poker players successful—the focus and thought processes for decision-making under conditions of uncertainty—can be useful well outside the tournament floor.

Poker as a metaphor for life is almost cliché; but it’s nonetheless true. As Konnikova’s experiences in The Biggest Bluff illustrate, anyone can learn to be a better poker player, but the real win is when doing so translates to making better decisions about living life.

Play the man, not the cards. It’s an adage that has been circulating in the poker world since there has been a poker world in which it could circulate. But how true is it?

That’s one of the fundamental questions explored in Maria Konnikova’s new book “The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win.” Konnikova is the perfect person to explore such a question, combining a longtime study of psychology and human behavior and a complete lack of knowledge regarding poker. Through answering that question, she sought to get a firmer grasp on the role of chance in the way our worlds operate.

She gained that understanding, to be sure, but that was far from all.

The pitch was simple – go from utter neophyte to the World Series of Poker in one year. But while she achieved her goal, Konnikova also wound up completely changing the trajectory of her life, both personally and professionally. Her voyage through the poker world opened her eyes to a number of truths about herself and her perceptions and proclivities.

It also turned her into a hell of a player. A good player … and a surprisingly successful one.

Maria Konnikova’s idea came from a run of bad luck in her life; that stretch made her question just how much of an impact chance has on our lives. She wanted to learn what she could control and what she could not. But how to judge such a thing? The eureka moment came via the work of legendary game theorist John von Neumann, who viewed poker as perhaps the most elegant and effective real-world example of something striking the balance between skill and luck. The only problem? She didn’t know how to play.

That’s where Eric Seidel came in.

Seidel is one of the legends of poker, someone who has been among the best player in the world for decades. He is also a noted polymath, a man of myriad interests and ideas that extend far beyond the felt of the poker table. Certainly the sort of open-minded freethinker that might consider taking part in such a wild experiment.

And this was wild. Konnikova had literally never played a hand of poker when she first approached Seidel about serving as her poker coach/tutor/guru. Her plan – go from knowing nothing to the World Series of Poker Maine Event in a single year – seemed absurd on its face. But again – Seidel’s thoughtfulness and unconventional outlook made him the perfect candidate to help. Lucky for her, he said yes.

What followed was a months-long quest into the weird and insular world of poker. From learning the basics – what beats what, betting etiquette, that sort of stuff – to gradually climbing the competitive ladder, Konnikova immerses herself in the game, bringing her PhD in psychology and her longtime study of human behavior to the table.

It was never about making money. Rather, this journey was intended to give Konnikova insight into the role that chance plays in our lives and the illusion of control that we as humans tend to project onto the world around us. She had her share of epiphanies about behavior – both her own and that of others.

She also started to win.

The initial year-long commitment led to legitimate success, including a title at one of the circuit’s touring stops. In the space of 12 months, she went from total donkey to full-on poker pro – cashing in tournaments, receiving sponsorships, the whole shebang. In fact, this book’s release was delayed because of her mounting success. All in all, she got a good deal more than she bargained for.

“The Biggest Bluff” is a wonderful read, a piece of engaging experiential nonfiction reminiscent of the participatory work of George Plimpton. Konnikova’s prose gifts are on full display throughout, capturing vivid snapshots of the poker world – moments seedy and sublime alike. She also does incredible work in making her personal journey accessible; anyone who has ever sought to learn something new will see reflections of their own quest in these pages.

We spend lots of time with Seidel, a fascinating dude who becomes invested in Konnikova’s success even as he continues his own work as one of the world’s best players. He’s not the only poker person we meet, though – there’s a wonderfully weird cast of characters sprinkled throughout the book.

Konnikova is also unafraid to introduce autobiographical elements into the mix, giving us a glimpse into how her time at the poker table is impacting her life outside the game. We see her self-awareness and self-worth grow. We meet members of her family, both supportive (her husband) and not-so-much (her frankly hilarious Russian grandmother). And we watch as the journey gradually but firmly alters her perspective on the world.

In terms of poker storytelling, “The Biggest Bluff” is probably the best we’ve seen since James McManus’s incredible “Positively Fifth Street.” Even making the comparison borders on heresy, considering the esteem in which that book is held, but I’d argue that what Konnikova has done here might even be its equal. A different sort of story, but one that is just as compelling.

“The Biggest Bluff” is a hell of a book. Anyone who has ever sat down at a poker table will love this tale of beneficial breaks, bad beats and yes, big bluffs. It’s the literary equivalent of pocket aces with two more on the flop – the absolute nuts.

This book just was not interesting to me, regrettably. The premise sounded really fascinating, but the execution just was not quite there. I could not get sucked into this book and I felt very far away from the subject matter. I did not find her story to be especially compelling.

I was so excited to read this book since Konnikova is my favorite science writer and this book didn't disappoint. It's a blend of memoir and science writing (mostly psychology with some econ thrown in) and even though I barely know anything about poker (but a lot about psychology), I really enjoyed it. She intersperses research, poker tips, and her own experience seamlessly, and I especially liked her analysis of her own decision-making shortfalls and connecting those deficits to things in the research (especially things she had studied herself). It's a solid book to read a chapter at a time, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is looking for science writing or a book about learning poker.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

THE BIGGEST BLUFF is mostly a memoir with psychology, poker wisdom, and life lessons included as a gift with purchase. On the memoir front, the book is top notch. Konnikova chronicles her experience as a journalist taking a deep dive into the world of professional poker for an article and how her immersion into the sport changed her life. As a journalist with a background in psychology, the writing is superb as is her thorough research and commitment thoroughly exploring the subject from every angle. She incorporates many different perspective into concepts related to the game as well as psychological concepts, often going above and beyond to get the inside track.

Poker and psychology are two of my favorite topics and I loved cheering for Konnikova, a woman striving to be the best in a male dominated sport. I recently watched “Poker Queens,” a documentary by Sandra Mohr about the challenges women who play poker face. Along with my own experiences at the poker table, I appreciated Konnikova’s quest and the adversities she needed to overcome to succeed from her grandmother’s concern about her “gambling” to dealing with male machismo and female rivals alike.

Multi-lingual Konnikova has a brilliant mind and is a talented writer. I would have liked the poker and life lessons highlighted more self-help book style, rather than being only interwoven into the narrative. I loved hearing about her experiences with some of my legendary poker players such as Erik Seidel and personal favorite Dan Harrington, whose books are a staple in my home. Also, she mentions Gus Hanson’s book EVERY HAND REVEALED, which is one of my favorite books on the subject of poker. For a poker geek like me, those were Easter Eggs.

A couple of my take always from this book are as follows. I loved how the author compared playing poker to writing. How both are deceptively simple on the surface. Anyone can do either, but to do either well in the long term, a certain mastery is needed. Both are subject to the Dunning-Kruger effect, which means that the more someone knows, the more they realize how much they don’t know on a topic, while someone with little knowledge tends to be falsely confident about their understanding of a topic. In other words, knowledge reveals the complexity. The other big take away was about how poker, Texas Hold ‘Em in particular is a lot like life. Both involve high stakes decision-making based on incomplete information and both are subject to chance.

I really enjoyed THE BIGGEST BLUFF. I plan to check out Konnikova’s other books.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Press for providing an Advance Reader Copy.

While I enjoyed two of Maria's other books, I think this is better because she has "skin in the game." The psychology of poker is fascinating and the life lessons that were in the other books are reinforced. This book was well worth the wait.