Maria Konnikova is the author of Mastermind and The Confidence Game. She is a regular contributing writer for The New Yorker, and has written for The Atlantic, The New York Times, Slate, The New Republic, The Paris Review, The Wall Street Journal, Salon, The Boston Globe, Scientific American, Wired, and Smithsonian, among many other publications. Her writing has won numerous awards, including the 2019 Excellence in Science Journalism Award from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology. While researching The Biggest Bluff, Maria became an international poker champion and the winner of over $300,000 in tournament earnings. Maria also hosts the podcast The Grift from Panoply Media and is currently a visiting fellow at NYU’s School of Journalism. Her podcasting work earned her a National Magazine Award nomination in 2019. Maria graduated from Harvard University and received her PhD in Psychology from Columbia University.
“Fascinating. . . . [The Biggest Bluff] will inspire readers
as much as it entertains them.” —The Washington Post
“Fascinating. . . . Konnikova is like your smart friend who
instantly contextualizes everything by sharing the latest data and
sharpest insight, whom you come to quote too often. . .
. Konnikova keeps the lines so clean and even, so steady and
unshowy that she might be the Charlie Watts of prose: While the
backbeat never ceases and the narrative propels along, it’s her
curiosity that proliferates. In fact, one of the biggest bluffs of
The Biggest Bluff may be that Konnikova hasn’t written a book about
her success with cards and chips exactly, but bet the house on the
power of her mind to synthesize big philosophical ideas and
psychological insights at a time when we, too, find ourselves
questioning our fortunes, hoping to master our fates and playing
much bigger odds than ever before.” —New York Times Book
Review
“There has never been a more pressing need for digestible and
coherent literature on rational decision-making. Enter The Biggest
Bluff, psychologist Maria Konnikova’s depiction of her journey into
professional poker. What at first seems a light-hearted story about
a curious academic dipping her toe into shark-infested waters
delivers a crucial lesson in how to thrive in an increasingly
misleading world. . . . As someone who has read almost every piece
of literature on poker, I can say that The Biggest Bluff is the
best depiction yet of the game I love, and the invaluable thinking
skills it teaches. . . . Konnikova’s is an uplifting zero-to-hero
journey that will raise a smile in these trying times.” —Nature
“The Biggest Bluff is a great read if you play poker. But
it's also a great read for those, like me, who don't play
poker. For us, the game provides the backdrop for a
fascinating look at human nature, at attention and focus, at game
theory (applied much more broadly than just to games), and at
making better decisions. And how to better deal with the
outcomes of those decisions -- and not just learn, but keep moving
forward. . . . [A] must-read for most
entrepreneurs.” —Inc.
“The tale of how Konnikova followed a story about poker players and
wound up becoming a story herself will have you riveted, first as
you learn about her big winnings, and then as she conveys the
lessons she learned both about human nature and herself.” —The
Washington Post
“An inspired investigation of ‘the struggle for balance on the
spectrum of luck and control in the lives we lead, and the
decisions we make,’ partway between memoir, primer on the
psychology of decision-making, and playbook for life.” —Maria
Popova, Brain Pickings
“The Biggest Bluff is a brilliant book mostly because Konnikova is
a brilliant writer, but also because she is a brilliant observer of
the weird world she has immersed herself into . . . The most
enthralling parts of the book are when she takes the reader inside
the cockpit and talks through some of the high-stakes plays she
finds herself involved in.” —The Daily Telegraph
“The Biggest Bluff feels particularly timely in the current
pandemic. As governments design policies based on limited data, and
individuals are forced to grapple with the probabilities of
contagion – we could all do with the greater understanding of
uncertainty, and how to think about it under pressure, that comes
with the game.” —BBC
“Konnikova seeks to explore the fine line between skill and luck,
'to learn what I could control and what I couldn’t.' If ever there
were a game to illustrate those categories, poker is it. . . .
She traveled to all the right places—Macau, Las Vegas, Monte
Carlo—and even made some money along the way. The payoffs for
readers are more cerebral, including Konnikova’s observation that
we think we have much more control over our lives than we really
do. . . . A smart and subtle delight—highly recommended for
fans of cards and brain-hacking alike.” —Kirkus (starred
review)
“I absolutely love this book. The story is fantastically gripping,
and offers lessons about decision-making, luck, risk—and, most
important, how to play at life like a cool-headed pro. This is one
of my favorite books of the year.” —Charles Duhigg, author of
bestsellers The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better
“The Biggest Bluff is an exhilarating and often hilarious personal
journey. What’s most exciting, though, is the probing sociological
analysis by the brilliant and eternally-curious Maria Konnikova.”
—Jesse Eisenberg, author of Bream Gives Me Hiccups
“The narrative is so gripping that you might get halfway through
The Biggest Bluff before you even notice that you’re getting a
master class in learning, focus, and decision-making. I tore
through it in two sittings, and haven’t stopped thinking about it
since.” —David Epstein, author of Range
“One of the most extraordinary outcomes of any experiment in
participatory journalism. This is a book not just about the game of
poker, but about the meaning of luck, the science of skill, and the
psychology of outsmarting your competitors.” —Joshua Foer,
author of Moonwalking with Einstein and founder of Atlas
Obscura
“This book probably won’t turn you into an international poker
champ overnight, and it definitely won’t make you as smart as Maria
Konnikova. But it will do something just as valuable: it will teach
you to think more like her. It’s rare enough to find a memoir this
transfixing or a behavioral science book this insightful. To have
them combined in one place—by a psychologist who mastered one of
the most competitive games on earth—is a real treat.” —Adam Grant,
New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take,
and host of the chart-topping TED podcast WorkLife
“Maria Konnikova has penned a page-turning memoir about going from
journalist-curious- about-poker to professional gambler raking in
hundreds of thousands. The fascinating portrait of her Buddha, Erik
Seidel--the ultimate poker studmuffin & all around Renaissance
man--puts this whole tale on a par with the best nonfiction by that
czar of the form John McPhee. A must read!” —Mary Karr, author
Liars' Club, Lit, and The Art of Memoir
“I love it. Not only did The Biggest Bluff lead me into a complex
and charismatic new world, it made me think about my own life and
my own self-deceptions about control—and taught me to pay more
attention to my own opponents, mine being of the tennis sort. The
narrative is deftly crafted, and the journey—the self-examination,
the oddball characters, the awful misogyny, the Aggros, the notion
of tilt—accumulates in a seamless and satisfying way. I read this
in what for me was record time.” —Erik Larson, #1 New York Times
bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile
“The Biggest Bluff is a flat out classic. It’s a ripping good
story—with an underdog heroine, a Yoda-like mentor, and a cast of
wild characters. It’s a sophisticated meditation on the relative
importance of deep skill and dumb luck. And it’s a primer on how to
pay attention, think objectively, and make better decisions.
Reading this book is like drawing a straight flush. You won’t
believe your good fortune—and you’ll remember it for a long, long
time.” —Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of
When, Drive, and To Sell is Human
“We’re all searching for greater self-knowledge—and Maria Konnikova
found it through poker. She set out to make herself a champion, and
along the way, she learned far more than the game. In lessons we
can use ourselves, poker taught her greater emotional and physical
regulation, tolerance for risk and uncertainty, more intelligent
decision-making, a grasp of the intertwined roles of chance and
skill, and sheer confidence. As she explains, ‘This book isn’t
about how to play poker. It’s about how to play the world.’”
—Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Better Than
Before
“There are a lot of great books about psychology. And there are
even some great books about poker. There isn’t any book
like The Biggest Bluff. Maria’s journey from a novice into a
world-class poker player is a page-turning adventure that you’ll
enjoy whether you’re a seasoned pro or someone who doesn’t know a
busted draw from a full house.
But what makes The Biggest Bluff so unique is its honesty and
humility. It understands the importance of luck and uncertainty in
our lives—and how different they can look when we’re suddenly
facing high-stakes, life-altering decisions. I can’t think of a
better guide for navigating these subjects than Maria and I highly
recommend this book.” —Nate Silver, founder and editor-in-chief,
FiveThirtyEight
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