The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win

A strange combination of a book that’s both a short read and yet over-written in places. Overall, i needed to read the core truths at which the author is digging, for myself in my own life.Many poker books focus on getting the edge in games, and nothing deeper than that. You often get the impression poker players write to impress upon you their knowledge, as if all the money and time they’ve invested into the game still hasn’t gotten them over that hump of wanting recognition and approval.This is a book where the author confronts exactly those desires, within herself. She uses poker in a holistic manner to take her on that journey, and the results are impressive.This is also one of the books in a new trend that sheds light on letting go of the need to control what you can’t, while also not completely given up on building the skills to control what you can.I only took a star off as, like i said, parts are overwritten and drawn out. In the final chapter, the author makes a “beat” out of her ill health to try and keep you in suspense while you read through a point she’s already made previously. It feels like cheap and gratuitous emotional exploitation of you as a reader, which is one of the very things she warns you to watch out for when you’re seated at the poker table.

It is a neat idea - learn a seemingly simple game like poker - and realising that there are extremely complex aspects to it far beyond just chance and logic. Will she be able to get into the WSOP within a year?Well, when you have access to various Poker professionals, full time, you should expect a good chance of this.Would you believe, poker is very much like life itself? Sometimes things run good, sometimes bad. Cue, pychological discussions.There was lot of Kahnemans' "Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow" in here - sometimes randomly shoe horned in.Overall, I found it to be an interesting overview of the Higher Level poker fraternity, some of their thought processes and how they think on multiple levels. Otherwise, I found it surprisingly flat with no real surprises

I've read about 25 percent and can't go on any more.Don't get me wrong, it's clear the author is a talented woman, very articulate and has excellent command of the English language.But it's just so hard to get any value out of this at all. There's just huge amounts of describing who she met, every word they said, every thought she had, it's just all pretty meaningless.It's seems all about her, not about the reader. Far too long and wordy, 50% of the excess unnecessary waffle needs to be taken out.It seems like a book someone has written for themselves, like a journal, as oppose to a book that actually helps others.It might get better after 25%, but I can't spend any more time on this...sadly.Perhaps using simpler words that are easier to resonate with would make it more enjoyable also.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, both from a content and from a writing style (she is witty, humourous and crisp). She explores the similarities between life and poker, explores concept of risk and risk perception and draws very valuable lessons for anyone (regadless if you play poker or not).Highly recommended!

I heard about the book from her interview on the Freakonomics podcast and whilst I haven't played Poker in quite a few years I still love the game and found she explained what draws people to it perfectly. It's accessible for those who aren't poker experts, but it will help if you've played a bit.The book's very well-written; it has a great balance of storytelling and lessons on luck, on life and on everything in-between. As the book progresses, you can feel Maria's love for Poker and it's depths develop and you're brought along on that ride. The reflection on the relationship between life and Poker leave you with a lot to consider.I honestly can't recommended it enough, it was a great read and I was sad to finish it.

Konnikova is quick to name drop Erik Seidel as a poker coach. However she promises not to give away his secrets and misses out discussions about her own poker hands.Excuses are made early on. "A hand can be played any number of ways ... and Erik may himself decide to play the same cards ... in a different fashion from one day to the next. There is no certainty. There is only thought." The author decides "Poker is all about comfort with uncertainty".Erik Seidel complimented the author on how many interesting spots she noted saying "There is so much here! A lot for us to talk about" and yet these many interesting spots are not shared with the reader. Later "Erik can give me all the actual strategy advice I need ... analysing my hands" and "Of course he has some criticism" and again "I write down some of the key hands ... I'll analyse them later with Erik" and always the details remain a mystery.When Erik Seidel states the obvious "the amount of focus that you can generate is really rewarded ... pay close attention" Konnikova has no trouble writing at length about it. She also returns frequently to the subject of attributing value to lucky charms. She ponders "Erik is the consummate jazz musician" and "You can't teach someone the spirit of jazz" and instead provides a diary with descriptions of the casinos and restaurants visited, poker players and the clothes they wear along with some poker basics and psychology.Just when you think you've got your head around all the missing information Konnikova gives "A big thankyou to Jason Koon, My Pio[solver] wizard" in the Acknowledgements.