How to Make Your Own Luck (Update)

Before she decided to become a poker pro, Maria Konnikova didn’t know how many cards are in a deck. But she did have a Ph.D. in psychology, a brilliant coach, and a burning desire to know whether life is driven more by skill or chance. She found some answers in poker — and she’s willing to tell us everything she learned.

SOURCES:Maria Konnikova • , author of The Biggest Bluff.

RESOURCES: • “ Gender Differences in Performance Predictions: Evidence from the Cognitive Reflection Test • ,” by Patrick Ring, Levent Neyse, Tamas David-Barett, and Ulrich Schmidt ( Frontiers in Psychology, • 2016). • “ The headwinds/tailwinds Asymmetry: An Availability Bias in Assessments of Barriers and Blessings • ,” by Shai Davidai and Thomas Gilovich ( Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, • 2016). • “ The Two Settings of Kind and Wicked Learning Environments • ,” by Robin M. Hogarth, Tomás Lejarraga, and Emre Soyer ( Current Directions in Psychological Science, • 2015). • " The Limits of Self-Control: Self-Control, Illusory Control, and Risky Financial Decision Making • ,” by Maria Konnikova ( Columbia University, • 2013). • “ Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement • ” by J.B. Rotter ( Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, • 1966).

EXTRAS:The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win, • by Maria Konnikova. Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, • by Maria Konnikova. The Confidence Game, • by Maria Konnikova. Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, • by John Von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern. • " This Year’s World Series Of Poker Is Different • ," by Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova • (2025).

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.