#28: What High-Stakes Poker Tells Us About Making Better Decisions | Maria Konnikova

About this episode

Maria Konnikova discusses decision-making insights gained from her experience in poker with host Michael Easter.

Maria Konnikova earned a PhD in psychology at Columbia studying human decision-making. She then took her research into the most unforgiving laboratory there is: the poker table. From playing her first hand of poker in 2017, to training under the legendary Erik Seidel, and becoming a poker champion, Maria sits down with Michael the day before playing in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, to share the secrets to making winning decisions. They break down why the best hand wins only 12% of the time and what that means for skill and luck in your own life. Maria explains the illusion of control, winner's tilt, and how to actually read tells (watch the hands, not the face). She also covers why a 1% edge matters more than you think, how to avoid the risk of ruin, and when to walk away from a bad investment, a bad job, or a bad friendship. Maria is the author of “The Biggest Bluff: How I learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win.” Her other books include The Confidence Game and Mastermind. She also writes The Leap, a weekly Substack about decision making. Two Percent is hosted by Michael Easter. Today’s episode was produced by Joey Fischground, Robbie Hiser, Dana Brawer and…

People in this episode

Host: Michael Easter

Guest: Maria Konnikova

Topics covered

• decision-making
• poker
• skill vs luck
• psychology
• investments
• risk management

Keywords

• poker
• decision-making
• Maria Konnikova
• psychology
• risk management
• investments
• skill
• luck

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Columbia, Kaleidoscope, iHeart

Books & works: The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win, The Confidence Game, Mastermind, The Leap

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