Help Yourself AND Your Bankroll?

It's been a while since I was so deeply into the game of poker that I'd read almost any book on the subject I could get my hands on. But I came across a book recently that spoke straight to that old interest in a new and unique way.

Writer and psychologist Maria Konnikova recently published a book called The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win. It has a irresistible (to me) and hooky premise: one day, Konnikova -- who knew literally nothing about poker (not even the number of cards in a deck) -- decided that the game was a valuable proxy for life lessons. She resolved to pick up poker and, within a year, be playing at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

To aid in this endeavor, Konnikova was able to convince poker pro Erik Seidel to mentor her. (As the book tells it, he found her argument compelling that psychology was a strong background from which to study poker.) If you're even casually familiar with poker, you probably known Seidel as the "sucker" who had one put over on him by Johnny Chan in a hand made infamous in the movie Rounders. Contrary to this impression, Seidel is in fact one of the most successful players of all time, and this book is some excellent rehab on his reputation if Rounders is your only exposure to him.

What The Biggest Bluff is not is a strategy book -- not primarily, at least. It is larger part a self-help book, and in larger part still a classic underdog narrative. Each of those components is compelling, as are the many side narratives Konnikova weaves into her tale -- such as the "know the person, not the odds" side game known as Lodden Thinks, or the tragic downfall of poker pro Paul "X-22" Magriel.

The prose isn't always perfect. I feel as though anyone less familiar with poker would be making extensive use of the book's glossary of terms. And the "life lessons" Konnikova is drawing from poker on the way aren't always explicitly spelled out -- though there is certainly wisdom in these pages if you pull it from the surrounding narrative.

You do get a real sense of how much work it would be to play poker professionally, how exhausting it would be to perform at a high level. You might not yourself have thought "all they do is sit there" in exactly those words, but this book would definitely disabuse you of that notion. Konnikova makes clear how much intense focus is required at all times to succeed at a poker table.

I found The Biggest Bluff to be a brisk and fun read. I'd give it a B+. While I found its strongest component to be the "can she do it?" goal of World Series play she sets out for herself, it might just be a book worth revisiting every so often for the advice about "maximizing your play" at life.