Maria Konnikova

Maria Konnikova (born 1984) is an American writer. Konnikova has also worked as a television producer, poker player, and podcaster. She has written three New York Times bestseller list books, including Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes.^[2][3]

Maria Konnikova was born in Moscow, Russia.^[4] Her family emigrated to the United States and settled in Massachusetts^[5] when she was four years old.

Konnikova attended Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in Massachusetts.^[6][7] After graduating from high school she attended Harvard University and graduated with a B.A. in psychology and creative writing where she was mentored by Steven Pinker.^[8] She earned a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University in 2013^[9] under Walter Mischel.^[5]

Konnikova worked as a producer for the Charlie Rose Show, where she helped to set up the segment "Brain Series."^[5][10] She wrote the "Literally Psyched" column for Scientific American^[11] and the psychology blog "Artful Choice" for Big Think.^[12][13] In April 2013, her article on uncertainty in decision-making was published in The New Yorker,^[14] to which she continues to contribute.^[15][16]

Konnikova's first book, Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, was nominated for an Agatha Award and the Anthony Award for Best Nonfiction in 2013.^[17][15] Her book The Confidence Game was published in 2016 and appeared on the New York Times' Crime and Punishment bestseller list.^[18] Her third book, The Biggest Bluff, published in 2020, chronicled her participation in the world of poker.^[19][20]

Konnikova makes regular appearances on The Gist podcast in her own segment, "Is That Bullshit?" In early 2017, she published a 10-part podcast about con artists and the lives they ruin, called The Grift.^[21]

Konnikova has said that she became interested in poker after reading John von Neumann’s work on game theory. She described it as a way to examine the mind’s responses to conditions that involve both skill and chance. Konnikova told The New York Times, "When I started this, I didn’t know how many cards were in a deck. I hate casinos. I have zero interest in gambling."^[22]

Konnikova competed in her first major tournament, the PokerStars tournament 2017 in Monte Carlo.^[23] In January 2018, she won the PCA National event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure No-Limit Hold'em Championship, winning $84,600.^[24] The win also came with a Platinum Pass worth $30,000 to the PokerStars Players Championship in January 2019. Her total earnings prior to the event were about $30,000.^[24]

After her win in 2018, Konnikova delayed work on her book The Biggest Bluff in order to compete in more tournaments with higher stakes^[25] and she became a full-time professional poker player. From June 2018 to November 2019 she partnered with PokerStars, who sponsored her in professional tournaments.^[19] In September 2023, Konnikova rejoins PokerStars Team Pro.^[26]

Konnikova won her first World Series of Poker bracelet in the U.S. 2024 WSOP Online series, winning the event NLHE Fall Crazy 8’s event, along with a cash prize of $68,478.^[27]

• Robert P. Balles Prize for The Confidence Game by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (2016)^[1]
• Featured in The Best American Science and Nature Writing, edited by Hope Jahren, for her article "Altered Tastes," about Heston Blumenthal (2017)^[28]
• Excellence in Science Journalism by The Society for Personality and Social Psychology (2019)^[29]

• Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, Viking, January 3, 2013, ISBN 978-0670026579
• The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time, Viking, January 12, 2016, ISBN 978-0525427414
• The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win, Penguin Press, June 23, 2020, ISBN 978-0525522621

• Official website
• Maria Konnikova Poker Interview