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365 reviews for:
The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win
Maria Konnikova
4.0 AVERAGE
365 reviews for:
The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win
Maria Konnikova
4.0 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to follllld ‘em… Short summary: a psychology post-doc enters the world of competitive poker and parses the "players" mind and has a mini-Rocky experience. The main weakness of this book is that it doesn’t really expand much beyond the world of competitive betting either from a psychological or social analysis. If you’re not a fan of gambling it’s a bit tough to relate (the world of professional gambling is about as interesting as reading a book on professional e-Sports players) and the book becomes a bit of a chore to get through. On top the characters introduced are uninteresting and/or toxic personalities with plenty of sexism thrown at the author. In the end it doesn’t get much deeper than a famous Kenny Rogers tune.
Loved the book even though I have never played poker and don't intend to learn! Konnikova, a writer with a background in psychology, takes a George Plimpton approach to learning to play poker. Her aim is to discover how to learn about decision making, luck, self belief, getting ahold of herself when the chips of life, so to speak, are against her.
Some jargon at the end of the book I needed a friend who played poker to translate to fully understand it, but her overall correlations of good mental discipline, paying attention, accepting what you can't change and moving on, correcting erroneous beliefs and playing strategies, and more make the book a fascinating read. After she has mastered each skill, mastered herself, learned to stay calm and pay attention, she uses them ALL to walk herself through a crisis unrelated to poker.
Highly recommend if you like to study how the mind works and how to help yourself make it work better!
Some jargon at the end of the book I needed a friend who played poker to translate to fully understand it, but her overall correlations of good mental discipline, paying attention, accepting what you can't change and moving on, correcting erroneous beliefs and playing strategies, and more make the book a fascinating read. After she has mastered each skill, mastered herself, learned to stay calm and pay attention, she uses them ALL to walk herself through a crisis unrelated to poker.
Highly recommend if you like to study how the mind works and how to help yourself make it work better!
adventurous
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Although I learned a lot about the poker, I walked away with so many life lessons and lessons that I can apply to my life as a coach. The most important lesson I learned was to learn about myself.
"In turning my mind to tells and reads at this stage in my learning, I may have missed a crucial step: that the first person you have to profile - psychologically, not physically - is yourself"
"In turning my mind to tells and reads at this stage in my learning, I may have missed a crucial step: that the first person you have to profile - psychologically, not physically - is yourself"
An easy but informative read with a likable, brilliant author. If you're interested in the balance between chance and skill you will thoroughly enjoy it.
Excellent memoir/ journalistic view of the intersection of skill and chance using poker as an window. I really appreciated the framing and enjoyed the window into the world of professional poker (even though I’m not a player myself I could still follow). Excellent writing and an interesting premise and compelling protagonist.
[Audiobook]. Finally, an audiobook that held my attention!! I’ve been crawling thru a couple other audiobooks for weeks. This one was quick, engaging and interesting - and the first borrowed using my new library card.
My only nitpick was the amount of time spent drawing labored comparisons between poker and life. ~ “And I couldn’t help but wonder - was I bluffing in my own life?”
Probably not a great read for more experienced poker players, but really interesting for the uninitiated.
My only nitpick was the amount of time spent drawing labored comparisons between poker and life. ~ “And I couldn’t help but wonder - was I bluffing in my own life?”
Probably not a great read for more experienced poker players, but really interesting for the uninitiated.
This book took me by surprise. While it does speak a great deal about poker the bigger story is how these principles apply in everyday life. In relationships, business partnerships, and life in general. Learning from a game of poker how to better assess and handle one’s self is a skill that everyone reading this book can see and learn from.