Winning at Life: The Intersection of Poker, Decision-Making, and Psychology

Skills you will build

About this course

A New Yorker writer with a Ph.D. in psychology, Maria Konnikova spent years studying how people manipulate one another, solve complex problems, and make decisions under pressure. Konnikova then decided to see if she could use her knowledge of human behavior to become a professional poker player – starting as a complete novice. The result of her experiment is The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win, a book that weaves together human psychology and poker. In this course, you’ll hear how Konnikova used what she learned playing poker to minimize uncertainty, manage risk, and harness the fickle power of luck.

Course outline

11 topics · 45 min

1. 1 Introduction
2. 2 A Philosophy of Betting
3. 3 Pick Your Spots
4. 4 The Danger of Going With Your Gut
5. 5 Don’t Tilt
6. 6 The Truth About Bad Luck
7. 7 Process, Outcome, and the Nature of Control
8. 8 Know When to Fold
9. 9 The Art of the Tell
10. 10 Conclusion
11. 11 Quiz