The Biggest Bluff

Author : Maria Konnikova
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0525522646
Total Pages : 369 pages
Book Rating : 4.45/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Biggest Bluff written by Maria Konnikova and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-06-08 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times bestseller • A New York Times Notable Book “The tale of how Konnikova followed a story about poker players and wound up becoming a story herself will have you riveted, first as you learn about her big winnings, and then as she conveys the lessons she learned both about human nature and herself.” —The Washington Post It's true that Maria Konnikova had never actually played poker before and didn't even know the rules when she approached Erik Seidel, Poker Hall of Fame inductee and winner of tens of millions of dollars in earnings, and convinced him to be her mentor. But she knew her man: a famously thoughtful and broad-minded player, he was intrigued by her pitch that she wasn't interested in making money so much as learning about life. She had faced a stretch of personal bad luck, and her reflections on the role of chance had led her to a giant of game theory, who pointed her to poker as the ultimate master class in learning to distinguish between what can be controlled and what can't. And she certainly brought something to the table, including a Ph.D. in psychology and an acclaimed and growing body of work on human behavior and how to hack it. So Seidel was in, and soon she was down the rabbit hole with him, into the wild, fiercely competitive, overwhelmingly masculine world of high-stakes Texas Hold'em, their initial end point the following year's World Series of Poker. But then something extraordinary happened. Under Seidel's guidance, Konnikova did have many epiphanies about life that derived from her new pursuit, including how to better read, not just her opponents but far more importantly herself; how to identify what tilted her into an emotional state that got in the way of good decisions; and how to get to a place where she could accept luck for what it was, and what it wasn't. But she also began to win. And win. In a little over a year, she began making earnest money from tournaments, ultimately totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. She won a major title, got a sponsor, and got used to being on television, and to headlines like "How one writer's book deal turned her into a professional poker player." She even learned to like Las Vegas. But in the end, Maria Konnikova is a writer and student of human behavior, and ultimately the point was to render her incredible journey into a container for its invaluable lessons. The biggest bluff of all, she learned, is that skill is enough. Bad cards will come our way, but keeping our focus on how we play them and not on the outcome will keep us moving through many a dark patch, until the luck once again breaks our way.

Author : Maria Konnikova
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101606231
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.30/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Mastermind written by Maria Konnikova and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-01-03 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times bestselling guide to thinking like literature's greatest detective. "Steven Pinker meets Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" (Boston Globe), by the author of The Confidence Game. No fictional character is more renowned for his powers of thought and observation than Sherlock Holmes. But is his extraordinary intellect merely a gift of fiction, or can we learn to cultivate these abilities ourselves, to improve our lives at work and at home? We can, says psychologist and journalist Maria Konnikova, and in Mastermind she shows us how. Beginning with the “brain attic”—Holmes’s metaphor for how we store information and organize knowledge—Konnikova unpacks the mental strategies that lead to clearer thinking and deeper insights. Drawing on twenty-first-century neuroscience and psychology, Mastermind explores Holmes’s unique methods of ever-present mindfulness, astute observation, and logical deduction. In doing so, it shows how each of us, with some self-awareness and a little practice, can employ these same methods to sharpen our perceptions, solve difficult problems, and enhance our creative powers. For Holmes aficionados and casual readers alike, Konnikova reveals how the world’s most keen-eyed detective can serve as an unparalleled guide to upgrading the mind.

Author : Al Alvarez
Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
ISBN 13 : 1429918667
Total Pages : 191 pages
Book Rating : 4.64/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Biggest Game in Town written by Al Alvarez and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2009-02-03 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Al Alvarez touched down in Las Vegas one hot day in 1981, a dedicated amateur poker player but a stranger to the town and its crazy ways. For three mesmerizing weeks he witnessed some of the monster high-stakes games that could only have happened in Vegas and talked to the extraordinary characters who dominated them--road gamblers and local professionals who won and lost fortunes on a regular basis. Set over the course of one tournament, The Biggest Game in Town is botha chronicle of the World Series of Poker--the first ever written--and a portrait of the hustlers, madmen, and geniuses who ruled the high-stakes game in America. It is a brilliant insight into poker's appeal as a hobby, an addiction, and a way of life, and into the skewed psychology of master players and fearless gamblers. With a new introduction by the author, Alvarez's classic account is "the greatest dissection of high-stakes Vegas poker and the madness that surrounds it ever written" (TimeOut [UK]).

Author : Michael Craig
Publisher : Grand Central Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0446539635
Total Pages : 210 pages
Book Rating : 4.30/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King written by Michael Craig and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2008-06-17 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Players: the best poker professionals in the world The Challenger: a wealthy banker from Dallas The Game: the richest poker stakes of all time... In 2001, a rich stranger from Texas descended upon the high-stakes poker room in the opulent Bellagio casino in Las Vegas. A self-made billionaire by the name of Andy Beal, the stranger challenged some of the world's greatest poker players-including Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Howard Lederer, and Jennifer Harman-to heads-up matches in the richest poker game ever played This is that story... Beginning the scintillating contest that would shock the world of poker, Andy and each opponent had $1 million, betting $10,000 and $20,000 per round. As the games intensified over the coming months and Andy developed into a great player, he realized how he could take his adversaries out of their comfort zone-he raised the stakes to put everything they had on the line. By the time the battle of wits ended, there was more than $20 million on the table. For the first time ever, here is the detailed, true account of the Big Game that has already achieved legendary status in poker lore. Putting you railside to observe the pulse-pounding action, where you can almost hear the distinct sound of clay chips on felt, Michael Craig takes you inside the iron-nerved mind and pathological psyche of the professional gambler. Filled with vivid characters, sensational tales, and riveting human drama, The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King is a unique, suspenseful journey into the world of people who live on the razor's edge of fortune-where incredible wealth, or utter ruin, turns on the flip of a card.

Author : James McManus
Publisher : Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN 13 : 9780374706203
Total Pages : 416 pages
Book Rating : 4.04/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Positively Fifth Street written by James McManus and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rough sex, black magic, murder, and the science-and eros-of gambling meet in the ultimate book about Las Vegas James McManus was sent to Las Vegas by Harper's to cover the World Series of Poker in 2000, especially the mushrooming progress of women in the $23 million event, and the murder of Ted Binion, the tournament's prodigal host, purportedly done in by a stripper and her boyfriend with a technique so outré it took a Manhattan pathologist to identify it. Whether a jury would convict the attractive young couple was another story altogether. McManus risks his entire Harper's advance in a long-shot attempt to play in the tournament himself. Only with actual table experience, he tells his skeptical wife, can he capture the hair-raising brand of poker that determines the world champion. The heart of the book is his deliciously suspenseful account of the tournament itself-the players, the hand-to-hand combat, and his own unlikely progress in it. Written in the tradition of The Gambler and The Biggest Game in Town, Positively Fifth Street is a high-stakes adventure, a penetrating study of America's card game, and a terrifying but often hilarious account of one man's effort to understand what Edward O. Wilson has called "Pleistocene exigencies"-the eros and logistics of our primary competitive instincts.

Author : Evan Thomas
Publisher : Little, Brown
ISBN 13 : 0316217271
Total Pages : 365 pages
Book Rating : 4.79/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Ike's Bluff written by Evan Thomas and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2012-09-25 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evan Thomas's startling account of how the underrated Dwight Eisenhower saved the world from nuclear holocaust. Upon assuming the presidency in 1953, Dwight Eisenhower set about to make good on his campaign promise to end the Korean War. Yet while Eisenhower was quickly viewed by many as a doddering lightweight, behind the bland smile and simple speech was a master tactician. To end the hostilities, Eisenhower would take a colossal risk by bluffing that he might use nuclear weapons against the Communist Chinese, while at the same time restraining his generals and advisors who favored the strikes. Ike's gamble was of such magnitude that there could be but two outcomes: thousands of lives saved, or millions of lives lost. A tense, vivid and revisionist account of a president who was then, and still is today, underestimated, Ike's Bluff is history at its most provocative and thrilling.

Author : Michael Kardos
Publisher : Grove Press
ISBN 13 : 0802165672
Total Pages : 255 pages
Book Rating : 4.71/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Bluff written by Michael Kardos and published by Grove Press. This book was released on 2018-04-03 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A down-on-her-luck female magician is drawn into a dangerous criminal scheme in this “hopelessly addictive” thriller (Megan Abbott, Edgar Award–winning author of Give Me Your Hand). At twenty-seven, magician Natalie Webb is already a has-been. A card-trick prodigy, she took first place at the World of Magic competition at eighteen and has never again reached such heights. Now she lives alone in a New Jersey apartment with her pigeons and a pile of overdue bills. In a desperate ploy for extra cash, she follows up on an old offer to write for a glossy magazine and pitches the editor a seductive topic: the art of cheating at cards. But when Natalie meets the perfect subject for her piece—a poker cheat who dazzles at sleight of hand—what begins as a journalistic gamble soon leads her into a dangerous proposition with the highest of stakes . . . “Truly gasp-worthy.” —Library Journal, starred review “[A] delightfully surprising thriller.” —The Florida Times-Union “If you haven’t read Kardos yet, Bluff is the perfect place to start!” —Lisa Scottoline, New York Times–bestselling author of Someone Knows

Author : Maria Konnikova
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0143109871
Total Pages : 354 pages
Book Rating : 4.77/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Confidence Game written by Maria Konnikova and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-01-10 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "It’s a startling and disconcerting read that should make you think twice every time a friend of a friend offers you the opportunity of a lifetime.” —Erik Larson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dead Wake and bestselling author of Devil in the White City Think you can’t get conned? Think again. The New York Times bestselling author of Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes explains how to spot the con before they spot you. “[An] excellent study of Con Artists, stories & the human need to believe” –Neil Gaiman, via Twitter A compelling investigation into the minds, motives, and methods of con artists—and the people who fall for their cons over and over again. While cheats and swindlers may be a dime a dozen, true conmen—the Bernie Madoffs, the Jim Bakkers, the Lance Armstrongs—are elegant, outsized personalities, artists of persuasion and exploiters of trust. How do they do it? Why are they successful? And what keeps us falling for it, over and over again? These are the questions that journalist and psychologist Maria Konnikova tackles in her mesmerizing new book. From multimillion-dollar Ponzi schemes to small-time frauds, Konnikova pulls together a selection of fascinating stories to demonstrate what all cons share in common, drawing on scientific, dramatic, and psychological perspectives. Insightful and gripping, the book brings readers into the world of the con, examining the relationship between artist and victim. The Confidence Game asks not only why we believe con artists, but also examines the very act of believing and how our sense of truth can be manipulated by those around us.

Author : Nolan Dalla
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 074347659X
Total Pages : 338 pages
Book Rating : 4.91/5 ( download)

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Download or read book One of a Kind written by Nolan Dalla and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-05-30 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First biography of the greatest card player of all time. Stuey Ungar was a true original, a mass of contradictions and a god among gamblers. As a high school dropout, Ungar soon developed a reputation for talent and raw nerve in playing gin. A nonstop gambler he was soon conquering Las Vegas. One of a Kind chronicles Stuey's spectacular rise as the most feared tournament player in poker history to his tragic fall. Compelling and riveting, this is the first ever look at the man behind the legend.

Author : Amanda Botfeld
Publisher : D&B Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1909457973
Total Pages : 301 pages
Book Rating : 4.73/5 ( download)

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Download or read book A Girl's Guide to Poker written by Amanda Botfeld and published by D&B Publishing. This book was released on 2019-12-09 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: So you want to play poker. Maybe it’s the challenge. Maybe it’s the cash. Maybe you’re turned on by guys in hoodies and sunglasses. Whatever the reason, if you’re a girl – or guy! – who wants to learn poker, then this book is handier than your high school cheat sheet. Learn everything from insider poker lingo (bluff! checkraise! snapcall!) to fancy winning plays with the help of easy-to-read mini-chapters and quizzes. Most poker books read like a math textbook. This one reads like Cosmo. The only poker book that teaches card playing strategy and how to bluff your boyfriend, A Girl’s Guide to Poker will make you the belle of the ball – or the cardshark of the casino. Amanda Botfeld isn’t your average poker player – how many hold their cards with a red nail polish manicure? Not enough! Nicknamed the Bridget Jones of poker, she seeks to turn the tables for women everywhere, writing a sassy how-to guide so more women can join the game. A writer at heart, her work has previously been published in the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Huffington Post.