Book Review: "The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win" by Maria Konnikova 4/5
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.