#637: What Poker Can Teach You About Luck, Skill, and Mastering Yourself

#637: What Poker Can Teach You About Luck, Skill, and Mastering Yourself

Maria Konnikova, who has her Ph.D in psychology and studies human behavior, had never played poker when she approached Eric Seidel, a renowned player of the game, asking him to show her the ropes. Eric agreed to be her coach and Maria spent a year working towards the World Series of Poker, playing in numerous tournaments and winning a major title and hundreds of thousands of dollars along the way. But the real prize she was after in this experimental endeavor wasn't money, but insight into the intersection between skill and luck, and how much control we humans have over our fate.

She got those insights in spades, and shares them in her latest book: The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win. Today on the show Maria explains why the poker table may be the best place to learn about the balance between chance and skill, and why we have such trouble untangling those two forces. We then get into how gambling has long been an interest of philosophers and led to advancements in probability theory, as well as why understanding the dynamics of betting allows us to improve ourselves. Maria then shares how she learned to detach herself from the outcomes of hands and concentrate only on what she could control, and how liberating it is to separate process from results. She describes the connection between poker and Sherlock Holmes, and how the game helped her not just see things but observe them. We then delve into the biases that get you off track with your goals, and the simple technique you can use to overcome them. We end our conversation with Maria's conclusions on the respective roles luck and skill play in our lives.

Get the show notes at aom.is/poker.

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Jaksot(1159)

#152: The School of Greatness

#152: The School of Greatness

Lewis Howes had aspirations of being a pro football player, and he was on the path to making it happen for himself. After a career-ending injury, and year spent on his sister's couch, he started an on...

4 Marras 201543min

#151: The Way of the Stoic Warrior

#151: The Way of the Stoic Warrior

We've talked about Stoicism before on the Art of Manliness. From eminent men like Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, the Romans heartily embraced the philosophy. My guest today wrote a book about how Stoicis...

30 Loka 201541min

#150: Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice

#150: Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice

One of my favorite writers is Adam Makos. He has a new book out called Devotion. It's about two men -- one black and one white -- who end up in the Korean War together and become fast friends. In this...

27 Loka 201540min

#149: Taking Action in an Uncertain and Hack-Focused World With Kyle Eschenroeder

#149: Taking Action in an Uncertain and Hack-Focused World With Kyle Eschenroeder

Kyle Eschenroeder is an entrepreneur who runs Startupbros.com. Beyond that, he's a guy who reads and thinks deeply, and has contributed a few excellent pieces of content for AoM. In this podcast we ta...

22 Loka 201552min

#148: Trying Not to Try With Edward Slingerland

#148: Trying Not to Try With Edward Slingerland

Have you ever noticed that when you try really hard at something, you actually aren't able to achieve what you're trying to do? For example, if you can't sleep at night, you try really hard to fall as...

19 Loka 201542min

#147: The Importance of Mindset With Carol Dweck

#147: The Importance of Mindset With Carol Dweck

Talent is undoubtedly an important part of being successful in life. But there's another piece that's often overlooked: our mindset. My guest today, Carol Dweck, has spent decades researching this ver...

16 Loka 201521min

#146: Deadly Navy SEAL Skills Every Man Should Know

#146: Deadly Navy SEAL Skills Every Man Should Know

Every guy at one point or another in his life dreams about being Jason Bourne or James Bond. Lock picking, escaping restraints, evading bad guys, killing bad dudes with an improvised weapon. That's st...

13 Loka 201545min

#145: The Happiness Industry With William Davies

#145: The Happiness Industry With William Davies

In the last decade or so, books, blogs, corporations, and even governments are putting more emphasis on the idea of happiness. On the surface, this sounds great, but our guest today argues that maybe ...

8 Loka 201543min

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