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Maria Konnikova is a best-selling author turned semi-pro tournament poker player. She is a contributing writer for the New Yorker and the author of The Confidence Game and Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes.
Timestamps
0:30 Strategy
31:46 Maria Konnikova
Strategy Hand
This hand is from a 1-3 NLH cash game. UTG +1 limps, and it folds around to me in the cutoff. I look down at Ah4h and raise to 11. I have been playing for a few hrs and sitting on a $530 stack. the BB and and limper call, and we go 3 ways to a flop of KhKc8h.
It checks to me and I bet 20. The BB calls, and the limper folds.
The turn comes the 9h giving me the nut flush. The BB checks, and I bet 60. The BB check raises the turn to 200. He has me covered sitting on a 600+ stack. I call.
The river comes a 4s and villain shoves.
Loved the interview, i was engrossed throughout. I’ve listened to almost all your podcasts and this is probably my favourite
Thanks so much! This was a favorite episode for me too.
I really liked the podcast. I have also heard Maria on other podcasts where she discusses her books and she has always been a great guest.
But with that being said, I was inspired to write just to give a little defense of the Foxwoods poker room, which she slams. I think Maria lacks a little bit of the perspective she will surely gain as she continues her poker journey. She is kind of like a baseball player who through some quirk avoids the bush leagues and goes straight to the majors. The poker atmosphere Maria was exposed to at Aria high rollers and the PCA is surely of a much higher caliber than most of the poker world. Even those low stakes tourney she played in Vegas, probably at Flamingo, Harrahs, Ballys, and places like that, are populated by tourists who usually are having fun and in a good mood. A place like Foxwoods is very different; most of the poker players are local or within a cuople hour driving distance. They are wrapped up in poker, not there for a vacation, and can be passionate, serious, or miserable about it, as are lots of poker players around many other rooms in the country. I actually think it is one of the best places to play poker. Anyway, I will be rooting for Maria..if she stays with poker, though, she’s not going to be able to totally avoid the annoying things about it and the players she will meet 🙂
Wow, what an amazing interview. I started listening at 3am in an attempt to help facilitate sleep. Obviously just the opposite happened. Maria is the poker Frankenstein – created in a lab by the evil Seidel and Galfond. Brilliant mind with an absolute blank slate with regard to poker concepts. From the beginning she has been taught by the best minds in the business. Combine that training with her deep understanding of human behavior and we have created the perfect poker death machine.
I can’t imagine you’re the only one who turns on the show when he needs to sleep.
Thanks for the note! I agree that Maria has a special combination of background and training, and it will be very interesting to see what she does in poker.
Yep. “The perfect podcast for insomniacs” is a tagline you might consider! You guys do great work. Can’t wait for the next 247 episodes.
This was one of my favorites, too. I enjoyed her discussion of researching the backgrounds of all the players at her table, esp. attitudes toward women playing poker. Sorry to hear of her worst experience, but good for her to ask for something to be done about the a-hole. Sorry to hear that her only recourse was to be moved to a different table. Glad to hear her talk about yoga and meditation. She probably knows about Tommy Angelo. Great job, Andrew and Nate!