The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win Paperback – 23 June 2020

Very enjoyable

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.

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 read this in one go- I couldn't wait to hear what happens next. Which is odd, as I'm not a gambler at all and didn't think I was really interested in poker. But it's a fascinating insight into human thought and emotion. People had told me this about poker- that there's way more to it than just luck and some maths- and having read this book I can see what they mean. Not sure I'm going to start playing the game, but this book has made me aware of a lot of things that passed me by. Fascinating.

This is an exceptional book.It's about mastery of one's self through mastery of a skill in the face of chance (in this case, poker). The content is greatly instructive. The writing style reminds me of Michael Lewis (of Liar's Poker fame). Your reading would benefit a bit from a little experience in poker, but the lessons apply to all of us.Really, you will be a better person if you internalise the lessons of this book.

A well written and interesting book that reads well as a story as well as providing some fascinating insights. I found the parallels between poker and everyday life, especially with regard to the making of decisions based on incomplete information, particularly interesting. Highly recommended!