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I like poker. I like psychology. I like decision theory. The book does bring excellent insights on those three topics. However, the narrative was a bit of a drag. All in all, a decent read, but I felt relieved when I finished it...
A garbler of metaphors. What could have been a great story to cover as a journalist, just gets pummeled with self-absorbed asides and clueless observations. Can't believe the New Yorker hired this author on staff. Not even worth one star.
Interesting, but my God this woman cannot write--or, as she probably would put it, "cannot write to save her neck."Riddled with cliches and filler like that, and she fails at setting up suspense well.There's a much better story here, in need of a much better story teller.She writes for The New Yorker?Maria, hire an editor.
"Most real-world environments are ... "wicked": there's a mismatch between action and feedback because of external noise. Activities with elements of surprise, uncertainty, the unknown: suddenly, you're not sure whether what you've learned is accurate or not, accurately executed or not. There's simply too much going on. ... But despite all this, one thing is undoubtedly true: while practice is not enough and there's not even close to a magic number for its effectiveness, you also cannot learn if...
Rounding up from 4.5 stars.This book was such a delightful surprise. I never expected to love—or even read—a book about poker, but several readers with great taste told me to prioritize this one, and I'm glad I listened. In this story-driven narrative, author and New Yorker journalist Konnikova tells how and why she dedicated several years of her life to becoming a professional poker player, and seamlessly connects what she learns at the table to making better decisions and living a more satisfy...
Maria Konnikova, a writer for the New Yorker, and a PhD in Psychology, went on a mission to learn poker. With a reporter’s curiosity, a psychologist knowledge, and a sharp committed intellect she became a pro, and even won a tournament. The lesson, pay attention. It’s a great lesson. I read the book carefully, but I didn’t learn much more no matter how much attention I paid.This is the second book I read by a PhD in psychology devoted to poker (both women incidentally). The other book, Thinking
I felt information overload from this book. The angle is psychology defined through poker and poker analysis. Interesting premise, though, of someone who did not know how to play poker, but learned rapidly enough to compete at the highest level.
6/10This is a very fun book that doesn't ultimately say anything new. Its rehashed data in social science about how the mind works, in the fun setting of poker. Don't get me wrong, I genuinely enjoyed it, but if you've read Drive, Thinking Fast and Slow or Fooled by Randomness, then there won't be anything novel here other then application and setting.Konnikova is an engaging author, and keeps the pace interesting by varying between narrative of her journey to poker mastery, pop psychology and n...
The Biggest Bluff reads a lot like The Karate Kid meets poker, where Konnikova introduces her Miyagi (Eric Siedler) as she's trying to understand the role of chance versus skill in life. Why poker? It requires a good balance of luck and skill. If luck and skill were positioned on a horizontal axis from left to right - then roulette would be at the extreme left, chess at the extreme right, and poker right at the middle. This book is a very easy read, and I would've given it 5 stars had I not alre...
A fascinating memoir about learning to play poker, and the larger lessons of the undertaking.
So, I didn’t care overly much about the ins and outs of the poker part. I’m sure it would be very exciting to someone with more knowledge than me- but that part mostly made my eyes glaze over. I also found her writing to be quite often repetitive, and she didn’t always seem to get when a point had been made and she didn’t need to give five other examples. I definitely am in the opposite possible mental place to identify with some of the Always Be Optimizing stuff she gets into at various points
This is the first behavioral econ/neoliberalism as self-help I've read. It's interesting and I love poker so I learned a lot, but this whole idea of making personal decisions based on homoeconomicus understandings (and misunderstandings) of risks I find just bewildering.
This book fell flatter than I thought it would. There were sparks of interesting insight but I don’t think the author decided clearly whether the book was a memoir or a self-help book. It vacillated between anecdotes about poker and experiences the author had and introspective insights about her growth as a player and person. Although sometimes it was interesting it was too unfocused and sometimes repetitive to hang together well.
Update: Wednesday, December 29, 2021. It looks like I wasn't able to finish the book again for the second time. I will not give up. I will try again when I muster the will to read it.The book title described what it is - The Biggest BluffI was deceived by the book description and all the razmatazz. Am I missing something? I rarely give 2-star rating because I carefully choose the books that I read. But this one... Oh this one... I am just having difficulty comprehending. Maybe because I'm not a
A fascinating read for gamblers and non-gamblers alike. Without even knowing the basics of the game, New Yorker staff writer Maria Konnikova approaches Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel and asks him to mentor her. She’s not interested in making money (even though, spoiler alert, she goes on to earn hundreds of thousands in tournament winnings), but she’s intrigued by the game’s psychology – she’s got a PhD in psychology. Plus, she’s had some personal bad luck, and she wonders if learning about the...
Disclaimer: I can't recall reading anything by Maria Konnikova — whether articles in The New Yorker or her other books — that I didn't think was either good, really good, or great. I like her writing style, her thinking style, and I like the topics she's drawn to. I also know her personally. But we came to know each other because of our mutual interests in topics like cognitive biases, talent, skill acquisition, judgment and decision making, and the balance of luck versus skill in various endeav...
The endeavour itself, going from poker novice is commendable enough even though it was meant to be a book project from the beginning. The narrative experience is not immersive, the unfolding of the story is as eventful as a flat line . No moments that make you take note. No insight either experiential or theoretical (given the author's psychology background) that stands out either.I was bored rather than excited by the midway point and the rest was a tough uninspiring read where I was desperatel...
I have been reading this book for more than a year now. I can now confidently say the book is not for everyone, over the long span of a year, I have read it with different mind sets and each has provided a different experience. Towards the end is when I enjoyed it the most, she became a friend, a teacher, a therapist and more importantly shared her love of life.
This book chronicles what happens when a PhD in psychology takes on the world of high-stakes, no-limit poker and succeeds. Konnikova was interested in the interplay between luck, skill, and success, and so found her way to the poker table.This book fell into a genre of gimmicky-seeming books I am usually reluctant to pick up, but I really enjoyed it. I found myself invested in the author's journey from true novice to internationally ranked player, and she intersperses it with enough psychologica...
There was little doubt that I was going to pick up this book given my love of Texas Hold'Em — but Maria Konnikova's latest isn't some poker guide to get you to the WSOP. It's part memoir, self-help guide and business read from an accomplished non-fiction author and regular contributor to the New Yorker who happens to hold a Ph.D. in psychology. She will dedicate herself to mastering the game under the tutelage of Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel and a host of other poker luminaries. She will make...