Maria Konnikova: How to Make Your Own Luck | Freakonomics Radio | Episode 424

Before she decided to become a poker pro, Maria Konnikova didn’t know how many cards are in a deck, let alone how to play poker, which makes her three-year journey from poker novice to World Series of Poker contestant with $500,000 in poker earnings even more remarkable.
Konnikova did, however, have a Ph.D. in psychology, a brilliant coach, and a burning desire to know whether life is driven more by skill or by chance. She found some answers in poker, which she calls “a game of incomplete information.”
“Chess is boring because it can be solved. There is theoretically always a correct move. And roulette is boring because it can’t be solved. It’s all chance,” Konnikova explains. “Poker is interesting because we can try to find a framework to develop a solution.” With its elements of the unknown, like bluffing and misrepresentation, poker becomes a compelling analog for real-world decision-making.
In her new book, The Biggest Bluff, Konnikova describes how poker gave rise to game theory, her education in the game, and why poker is a metaphor for life.
This episode was originally published July 1, 2020.
For a full transcript, resources, and more, visit: freak.ws/3VvZWJ8
Photo credit: Audrey Bernstein
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