Writer delays poker book after making nearly £150,000 playing cards

Just over a year ago, Maria Konnikova, a writer for the New Yorker, announced that she was entering the world of professional poker as a new player, all for the purpose of writing a book about her experiences.

But according to PokerNews the book has been put on hold because Konnikova, under the guidance of pro Erik Seidel, has become too good at poker.

“I’m certainly far from the first writer to play poker,” Konnikova said in a tweet. “But as far as I know, I am the first to go from not knowing the number of cards in a deck to winning a major title within one year.”

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That title was the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, “in which she won from a field of 230 players, including some major names in professional poker, to claim the $84,600 prize”, says The Guardian.

“Perhaps more important than the money, the prize includes entry to the next PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em championship”, adds the paper. Konnikova said she delayed the book so she could keep “in shape” for the championship.

In total Konnikova has won more than $200,000 (£147,000) since she started doing research for a book to be called The Biggest Bluff, about using poker skills to make “better decisions” in everyday life, which is now set for release at the end of 2019.

“I should have had a first draft in long, long ago,” she told the New York Post. “I could never have predicted that I would ever be where I am now. I started this project with absolutely zero background in it.”

When a fellow writer suggested on Twitter that her success at cards represented “the future of journalism”, Konnikova replied: “I mean, everyone keeps saying we need a new business model.”

“Obviously Konnikova had some advantages — she’s being coached by a legendary player, she has a PhD in psychology, and poker is a purely mental game” says Deadspin.

“But this is just about the best case scenario for a post-media pivot, and she didn’t even have to get laid off from her job to pull it off.”