The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win
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- Create Date：2021-08-29 01:16:12
- Update Date：2025-09-24
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- Author：Maria Konnikova
- ISBN：0008270872
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Summary
How a New York Times bestselling author and New Yorker contributor parlayed a strong grasp of the science of human decision-making and a woeful ignorance of cards into a life-changing run as a professional poker player， under the wing of a legend of the game Maria Konnikova had never actually played poker before and didn’t even know the rules when she approached Erik Seidel – Poker Hall of Fame inductee， winner of tens of millions of dollars in earnings – and asked him to be her mentor。 She had faced a stretch of personal bad luck， and her reflections on the role of chance in her life had pointed her to poker as the ultimate master class in learning to distinguish what can be controlled and what can’t。 Seidel was in， and soon Konnikova was down the rabbit hole with him， a journey that would lead her to the following year’s World Series of Poker。
Then something extraordinary happened。 Under Seidel’s guidance， Konnikova began to have many epiphanies about life that derived from her new pursuit， including how to better read not just her opponents but far more importantly herself。 She found her way to making better decisions and to a place where she could accept luck for what it is， and what it isn’t。 But she also began to win。 She even learned to like Las Vegas。
In the end， Konnikova is a student of human behaviour， and ultimately the point of her incredible adventure was to render it into a container for its invaluable lessons。 The biggest bluff of all， she learned is that skill is enough。 This is a book that will focus your mind and strengthen your hand。
Then something extraordinary happened。 Under Seidel’s guidance， Konnikova began to have many epiphanies about life that derived from her new pursuit， including how to better read not just her opponents but far more importantly herself。 She found her way to making better decisions and to a place where she could accept luck for what it is， and what it isn’t。 But she also began to win。 She even learned to like Las Vegas。
In the end， Konnikova is a student of human behaviour， and ultimately the point of her incredible adventure was to render it into a container for its invaluable lessons。 The biggest bluff of all， she learned is that skill is enough。 This is a book that will focus your mind and strengthen your hand。
Reviews
Prak
，
LIARS。 Anybody and everybody who has read the book and raving about it and giving it high ratings are LIARS。 I have read 50% and I find it a pathetic piece of trash， it is NOT entertaining or funny， it is not a story， neither is it giving away profound wisdom relating to mind games or body language in the world of poker。 It is NOT giving you any NEW information OR teaching you。All it does， describe all the day to day and boring nuances of she coming in contact with and participating in some poke LIARS。 Anybody and everybody who has read the book and raving about it and giving it high ratings are LIARS。 I have read 50% and I find it a pathetic piece of trash， it is NOT entertaining or funny， it is not a story， neither is it giving away profound wisdom relating to mind games or body language in the world of poker。 It is NOT giving you any NEW information OR teaching you。All it does， describe all the day to day and boring nuances of she coming in contact with and participating in some poker tournament。What a BORING and pathetic display of writing skills to squeeze out a few hundreds of pages and playing POKER with a gullible public， who have been taken in with a good title and the incompetent and compromised sycophants of the media and influencer crowd。 。。。more
Ryan Creed
，
All I wanted was Jennifer Tilly， and I did not get Jennifer Tilly
Todd Wood
，
Despite knowing almost nothing about Poker， I enjoyed this thoroughly！ Maria did a great job interweaving facts and concepts from a variety of disciplines （phycology， behavioral economics， statistics， etc。） with the overall tale of her journey to learn Poker。 Very impressive how quickly she was able to pick it up， though she certainly was lucky to have someone like Eric Seidel to advise her！ Regardless， I found the strategy and thought processes that go into poker fascinating， and definitely con Despite knowing almost nothing about Poker， I enjoyed this thoroughly！ Maria did a great job interweaving facts and concepts from a variety of disciplines （phycology， behavioral economics， statistics， etc。） with the overall tale of her journey to learn Poker。 Very impressive how quickly she was able to pick it up， though she certainly was lucky to have someone like Eric Seidel to advise her！ Regardless， I found the strategy and thought processes that go into poker fascinating， and definitely concur with her thesis that they are applicable to other applications/life。 Perhaps I'll learn to play myself if I ever have free time！ 。。。more
Chris
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Psychology， professional poker and a reasonable dose of profundity。 Great summer read。
Brendan
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Enjoyable。 It isn’t life altering， but it is a well written work by a journeyman author who did a fairly impressive thing （i。e。 winning some large poker tournaments） after a relatively short period of intense training。 A comfortable audiobook listen， no need to put eyes to text for this。The failings come whenever Konnikova realizes that she set out to write a book that was also about psychology。 The analogies come across as clumsy and inessential。 During these short asides， I often felt as if Ko Enjoyable。 It isn’t life altering， but it is a well written work by a journeyman author who did a fairly impressive thing （i。e。 winning some large poker tournaments） after a relatively short period of intense training。 A comfortable audiobook listen， no need to put eyes to text for this。The failings come whenever Konnikova realizes that she set out to write a book that was also about psychology。 The analogies come across as clumsy and inessential。 During these short asides， I often felt as if Konnikova was fulfilling a quota of psychological related ramblings before returning to the excitement of her journey into poker success。 Thankfully， her quota must have been small， because this doesn’t happen enough to ruin an otherwise good book。 。。。more
Kevin
，
An inspiring read which motivated me to learn to play poker。 It included a nice balance of talking about poker， life， and the similarities between the two。 While it didn’t provide the impetus to remodel my view of life， it did give a fresh perspective that led me to compare aspects of my everyday life to poker as they were happening。 I’d especially recommend this book for someone looking to get into poker as it’s a nice motivational story overall， and also those who have an inclination to think An inspiring read which motivated me to learn to play poker。 It included a nice balance of talking about poker， life， and the similarities between the two。 While it didn’t provide the impetus to remodel my view of life， it did give a fresh perspective that led me to compare aspects of my everyday life to poker as they were happening。 I’d especially recommend this book for someone looking to get into poker as it’s a nice motivational story overall， and also those who have an inclination to think about decision making under uncertainty。 。。。more
Theo R-O
，
Nothing is pure chance， there are no hard truths
Julia
，
Review to come
Max Rohde
，
Back in the 18th and 19th century， a popular genre of nonfiction were the accounts of explorers from around the world。 One superstar of this particular kind of literature for instance was Alexander von Humboldt。 To me， The Biggest Biggest Bluff is also an account of a writer going on an adventure， taking us， the readers， along with it， and sharing with us the experiences and learnings that were obtained during the journey。 The journey here though is not to the Amazonas but to the world of profes Back in the 18th and 19th century， a popular genre of nonfiction were the accounts of explorers from around the world。 One superstar of this particular kind of literature for instance was Alexander von Humboldt。 To me， The Biggest Biggest Bluff is also an account of a writer going on an adventure， taking us， the readers， along with it， and sharing with us the experiences and learnings that were obtained during the journey。 The journey here though is not to the Amazonas but to the world of professional poker players。The underlying premise of The Biggest Bluff is that by studying poker， we can learn something about life and some of the deep rules that determine success and failure。 It is difficult to refute that many of the things we do are governed by chance， and thus that our ability to mange risk and our desire to take or avoid risks have a big impact on how things are going in our lives。 Poker， as it so happens， is precisely about understanding， managing and becoming familiar with chance and risk。Some interesting learnings here are:- We are ill equipped to understand the workings of chance。 Our brains are hard-wired to see patterns were they are none。 This leads us to believe in 'hot streaks' of good luck， that， usually， end in catastrophe since we start to underestimate risk。- To play poker well is way more complicated than I imagined。 One needs to have a very good understanding of probabilities emerging from the combination of cards held on hand and open cards visible to everyone （The Biggest Bluff is exclusively about the most popular form of poker today， Texas Hold'em）。 To me， the whole journey described here didn't seem like fun at all， but more like very hard work。Overall， I think this was an interesting account of a unique journey。 I especially liked how concrete experiences were enriched with academic knowledge （even though its stemming from the field of psychology， which is generally a bit suspect to me， due to a poor track record of replication）。 。。。more
Martha Harris
，
Very interesting book but I felt like she never really explained poker。 There were some terms that she defined， and she had a glossary of terms at the back， but I felt like she used a lot of jargon towards the end and because of that there were sections I couldn’t comprehend。 I’m still not sure I understand the goal of poker。 But it was a very worthwhile read。 She smoothly integrated research and made very interesting connections from poker to life。
Matej yangwao
，
What author trying compose was more like learning meta skill， but that's compose out of chunk of other skills where you need to master small ones。 Whenever it's matter of variance， probability distribution， active observation， if one is serious about mastering skill， most likely it will happen even due negative odds on the table。 How have good head start is having stake in the game， so called skin in the game。 That's most likely knocks out to be passive player and loose chips in fear of failure。 What author trying compose was more like learning meta skill， but that's compose out of chunk of other skills where you need to master small ones。 Whenever it's matter of variance， probability distribution， active observation， if one is serious about mastering skill， most likely it will happen even due negative odds on the table。 How have good head start is having stake in the game， so called skin in the game。 That's most likely knocks out to be passive player and loose chips in fear of failure。 Good outcome from various games played should be how you choose interpret your reality， if it's victor or victim。 Great takeaway that you're not lucky because more good things are happening， you're lucky， bc you're alert to them when they do。"less certainty， more inquiry" 。。。more
Ellen
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This is a fascinating subject but I want as drawn in by the writing as I might have liked。
Miles
，
There are parts where it gets a little self-helpy but overall a fun read。 Still thinking of when I missed my Lotus of Siam reservation
Utkarsh Kulkarni
，
A delightful book with priceless lessons on how to assess risk and take decisions！ This book made me realise how important it is to be conscious of our own decisions and have a long term view of career and of life。 I wish there wasn't much of poker jargon all along the way。 The lessons could have been shared in a more succinct manner。 Great learnings throughout the book！ A delightful book with priceless lessons on how to assess risk and take decisions！ This book made me realise how important it is to be conscious of our own decisions and have a long term view of career and of life。 I wish there wasn't much of poker jargon all along the way。 The lessons could have been shared in a more succinct manner。 Great learnings throughout the book！ 。。。more
Sondra
，
Excellent book about lifeI loved her use of psychology， wisdom about the role of chance in our lives， and her ability to be self-disclosing and vulnerable as she learned about life through her poker experiences。
Nazrul Buang
，
Anna Konnikova was down on her luck。 Her mother lost her job， and later so did her husband。 Then her grandmother died in an accident。 Feeling like she has lost grip of her own life， she stumbled upon a book by mathematician John von Neumann and learned about his love for poker。 In particular， Texas Hold'Em。 Soon she found herself immersed into the world of poker that has often been labeled as simply gambling， but learns that poker isn't just a game; it's a philosophy on life。How much in life is Anna Konnikova was down on her luck。 Her mother lost her job， and later so did her husband。 Then her grandmother died in an accident。 Feeling like she has lost grip of her own life， she stumbled upon a book by mathematician John von Neumann and learned about his love for poker。 In particular， Texas Hold'Em。 Soon she found herself immersed into the world of poker that has often been labeled as simply gambling， but learns that poker isn't just a game; it's a philosophy on life。How much in life is within your control， and how much is just pure randomness？ How much can you decide what happens in life？ And most of all， how much do you know about yourself？ Konnikova wanted to know when she reached a low point in her life， and she learned about all that in poker， of all things。 In the game， it's not about being right or wrong; it's about survival。 Hubris ruins， and prudence trumps。 Mistakes are punished， and patience is rewarded。 Knowing yourself is as important （if not， more） than knowing your opponents。 Failure is the better teacher than success， and above all else， paying attention is tantamount。I've avoided psychology books for a long time because 1） a lot of them just parrot each other， and 2） a lot of them are pedantic， explaining human behavior simply based on clinical trials instead of the real world。 Most psychologists do not put their theories to the test， and in the words of Taleb， do not have "skin in the game" for their work。 This book is different。 Only in a game like poker do you incur real risks， where your thoughts are put to the test， and your flaws are magnified。 Not in a lab， but on the poker table where you are pitted against others。It's a nonfiction that reads like a suspenseful novel。 Riveting and refreshing for its genre。 The only setdown for the book is what you can already tell: you need to know poker in order to fully understand Konnikova's journey and appreciate the mental hurdles she has to overcome。 However， Konnikova's fluid and engaging writing style makes up for it， and although I don't play poker， I find myself thoroughly enjoying her eye-opening journey from a journalist to a professional poker player。 Life is full of illusions of control; the key is to simply see through them and know what to do with the cards you are dealt with。 。。。more
Lila Nazarian
，
Finally finished this after a long hiatus （thanks grad school）， and I’m so glad I did。 This is truly an amazing book even if you don’t like poker （I do） and if you’re interested in human behavior and decision making。 There’s a perfect balance of actual theory woven into Maria’s journey with poker。 Riveting and definitely one I will reread。 10/10
Dana Kraft
，
Meh。 It's not the author's fault but I'm officially over reading about how our mental biases impact our decision making。 There's more in here than that but the lessons she learns didn't interest me。 Meh。 It's not the author's fault but I'm officially over reading about how our mental biases impact our decision making。 There's more in here than that but the lessons she learns didn't interest me。 。。。more
Chris
，
I found this book to be a really interesting way to think about how the combination of skill and luck factor into poker （and life）。 Having learned how to play last year， her journey in learning felt familiar to me as well。 I could see it being a tougher read for anyone not familiar with the game。
Timothy Binga
，
MK spoke at a conference I worked for several years ago so I picked up this book。 Not much is related to the conference or talk she gave， but this was a very good look into the world of professional poker， and her learning poker， and about herself。 And， in the process， teaches us all about ourselves。
Michal P。
，
I had previously listened to the author， who had appeared on an episode of The Knowledge Project podcast， in an interview covering some of the topics from the book。 The story sounded really interesting given that she had learned how to play poker from scratch and that her teacher was a world class player， Erik Seidel。 Just like when Luke went to learn from Yoda （however， Luke already knew more than the basics）。The starting point is that the game of poker， specifically Texas Hold'em， is the close I had previously listened to the author， who had appeared on an episode of The Knowledge Project podcast， in an interview covering some of the topics from the book。 The story sounded really interesting given that she had learned how to play poker from scratch and that her teacher was a world class player， Erik Seidel。 Just like when Luke went to learn from Yoda （however， Luke already knew more than the basics）。The starting point is that the game of poker， specifically Texas Hold'em， is the closest game to the game of life。 This is backed by John Von Naumann， the man behind game theory。 So， does being good at the poker table make you a good player in life？ The book takes it from here。Research about learning， decision making， and human behaviours is blended with the personal journey of the author。 This is mixed with her feelings and doubts but also joy and humour。 I really enjoyed this mixture which is unusual for books oriented towards psychology and science-backed content。 。。。more
Lydia Choi
，
If you know/like poker， this is a 5 star book; I didn't - so basically all of the poker discussion went right over my head。 However， it was still a really interesting read， and got better as I read more。 A psychologist by trade， she jumped into the world of Poker as a means to examine the mind’s responses to conditions involving skill， chance and variance。 She intertwines her experience stumbling around the Poker world with her expertise in psychology and makes some pretty insightful points abou If you know/like poker， this is a 5 star book; I didn't - so basically all of the poker discussion went right over my head。 However， it was still a really interesting read， and got better as I read more。 A psychologist by trade， she jumped into the world of Poker as a means to examine the mind’s responses to conditions involving skill， chance and variance。 She intertwines her experience stumbling around the Poker world with her expertise in psychology and makes some pretty insightful points about decision making， biases， human emotion， and chance。 "There’s no skill in birth and death - at the beginning and at the end， luck reigns unchallenged。 Most of the world is noise and we spend most of the lives making sense of it。 We don’t know what the next cards will be。 We don’t even know when we see if it’s good or bad。"“Whatever I may think about God， I believe in randomness。 In the noise of the universe that chugs along caring nothing about us， our plans， our desires， our motivations， our actions。 The noise that will be there regardless of what we choose or don’t choose to do。 Variance。 Chance。 That thing we can’t control no matter how we may try。 But can you really blame us for trying？” 。。。more
Wendy
，
"You can't control what will happen， so it makes no sense to try to guess at it。 Chance is just chance: it is neither good nor bad nor personal。 Without us to supply meaning， it's simple noise。 The most we can do is learn to control what we can。。。" And， if I may add， know when the situation is fine to be left uncontrolled， even if there appears to be a long downward slope ahead。 "Skill can open up new vistas， new choices， allow us to see the chance that others less skilled than us， less observan "You can't control what will happen， so it makes no sense to try to guess at it。 Chance is just chance: it is neither good nor bad nor personal。 Without us to supply meaning， it's simple noise。 The most we can do is learn to control what we can。。。" And， if I may add， know when the situation is fine to be left uncontrolled， even if there appears to be a long downward slope ahead。 "Skill can open up new vistas， new choices， allow us to see the chance that others less skilled than us， less observant or less keen， may miss—but should chance go against us， all our skill can do is mitigate the damage。" Truth。I admit， because of my strong aversion to any sort of gambling （I know， life is a gamble， but I hope you know what I mean）， I scanned parts of the book when the author got into the deep with the poker playing details。 But I read enough of the book to harvest the context， theme， and message。 The author is a good writer。 Actually， exceptional。 I could have ditched the storyline early on due to my vomitous disdain for the gamblers' money chase and the desire to WIN， WIN， WIN， but she kept me engaged when the discussion turned to the psychological and metaphorical。 It was dismaying （although not surprising） to hear yet another story of sexism in a subject that people consider to be a male endeavor （let's not look back to history for the reality on that！）。 I don't doubt for one second her experience of sexism at the tables and in that world in general。 Will the female experience ever change in that regard？ Maybe， with more women showing up to challenge those stereotypes。 I'm glad the author did it since it will never be me （I say gagging at the mere premise of a poker game）！Worth a read as a reminder to see the balance that is important to learn while we pass through life。 Chance， luck， and skill—life's trinity。 。。。more
Jaiprakash
，
Maria takes you through her journey of becoming a professional poker player。 A lot of learnings that can be used in life to improve the quality of decision making， well poker is all about taking decision， and learning from the decision。 Though poker is a kinder environment than real life， a lot of it can be applied in various situations。 Such as knowing the "Why" of any decision， or understanding the behaviour of a person as "if-then" rather than using a standard categorisation。 I would recommen Maria takes you through her journey of becoming a professional poker player。 A lot of learnings that can be used in life to improve the quality of decision making， well poker is all about taking decision， and learning from the decision。 Though poker is a kinder environment than real life， a lot of it can be applied in various situations。 Such as knowing the "Why" of any decision， or understanding the behaviour of a person as "if-then" rather than using a standard categorisation。 I would recommend this for people who are interested in understanding human behaviour。 。。。more
Laura Ghitoi
，
Well， this was a disappointment。There is so much I disliked about this book that I'll just make a list。1。 Unnecessarily long。 （I'm fine with longer books when every word and story is meant to be there。 This is not the case for Konnikova who sometimes introduces poker people only for an anecdote or nugget of obvious wisdom）2。 I read this whole book and I still don't fully comprehend Konnikova's motivations to pursue poker。 3。 The parallels between poker and life lessons made me gag。 I must have r Well， this was a disappointment。There is so much I disliked about this book that I'll just make a list。1。 Unnecessarily long。 （I'm fine with longer books when every word and story is meant to be there。 This is not the case for Konnikova who sometimes introduces poker people only for an anecdote or nugget of obvious wisdom）2。 I read this whole book and I still don't fully comprehend Konnikova's motivations to pursue poker。 3。 The parallels between poker and life lessons made me gag。 I must have rolled my eyes 30 times （at least）。 They were so forced， as if she was struggling to extract something from poker because that's the premise she was starting her investigation with。 4。 I am having a hard time believing she could earn so quickly the trust of well known people in the industry and get advice from them。 Maybe more time could have been spent actually explaining her journalistic career and trajectory and why they chose to trust her。 If I were to see this in a fictional show I'd call it out as BS。5。 Konnikova seems to have watched more mediocre shows than read good books because the ending was written as if it were part of a drama show which left much to be desired。 。。。more
John Licardi
，
As someone who plays poker on a very infrequent basis， but enjoys the tournament games at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas， I thoroughly enjoyed this book。I understood exactly what the author was going through， the feelings， emotions， the bad beats， and the thrills of winning。Reading her perspective with the help of Eric Seidel， as her mentor， was exciting and new。
Julie
，
4。5 stars！
Gmendra Lau
，
LOVE IT。 The novel incorporates the author's own self journey to internationally ranked player。 LOVE IT。 The novel incorporates the author's own self journey to internationally ranked player。 。。。more
Karin
，
It would be difficult to overstate how much I enjoyed this book。 Maria Konnikiva is a Harvard graduate with a doctorate in Psychology from Columbia who endeavored to write a book about decision making in poker having never played the game。 A year later she had mastered not only the game， but her thoughts AND won the 2018 PCA National Championship。 On the most superficial level， it is exciting to read a book about people who have achieved excellence in their field （or fields， in Ms。 Konnikova’s It would be difficult to overstate how much I enjoyed this book。 Maria Konnikiva is a Harvard graduate with a doctorate in Psychology from Columbia who endeavored to write a book about decision making in poker having never played the game。 A year later she had mastered not only the game， but her thoughts AND won the 2018 PCA National Championship。 On the most superficial level， it is exciting to read a book about people who have achieved excellence in their field （or fields， in Ms。 Konnikova’s case）… to understand their struggles and obstacles and ultimately feel the thrill of their triumphant victory。 On a deeper level， her expertise in psychology provided many insights into the way people interact- not only when pit against one another in a poker match- but in our daily interactions。 I was particularly engaged learning how being female in a male-dominated sport was impactful and the strategies she employed to counter the male prototypes she inevitably encountered at the poker table。 Finally， at the deepest level are the philosophical insights - the notion that in every aspect of like there is an element of chance and that the best we can hope for is to maximize our skills for success， and learn acceptance for （and even enjoy） those things out of our control。 When I worked in the Emergency Department and managed multiple patients with multiple acute conditions simultaneously， I used to think of it as surfing 🏄♀️ When the room is popping and you are on top of everything there is a thrill to it… not unlike surfing on a wave of chaos。 Knowing there is a danger of one unexpected change causing the surfer to succumb to the wave need not ruin the thrill… it is integrally part of the joy-ride。 Highly recommend ✨ 。。。more
K Yassin
，