Maria Konnikova is a New York Times bestselling author and poker champion whose work explores how we make decisions, take risks, and navigate uncertainty. Her critically acclaimed Mastermind, offers a blueprint for better thinking and was nominated for both the Agatha and Anthony Awards. Her second book, The Confidence Game, is an investigation into the psychology of the con and later won the 2016 Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical Thinking.
While researching her latest book, The Biggest Bluff, Konnikova went from never having played a hand of poker to training under Hall of Fame legend Erik Seidel. She ultimately became a professional poker player and has won over $300,000 in tournament earnings. Through the lens of poker, Maria Konnikova helps leaders and teams understand how to stay rational in the face of ambiguity, avoid emotional pitfalls, and make smarter, faster decisions when the outcome truly matters. How do we assess risk? How do we recover from setbacks? How do we know when to go all in and when to fold?
Konnikova is currently a visiting fellow at NYU’s School of Journalism. She previously worked as a producer on Charlie Rose and is the co-host of Risky Business, a podcast about making better decisions. Born in Moscow and raised in the US, Mari Konnikova began her writing career early, with a short story about trolls and a fourth-grade play that ended in slapstick disaster. Today, she draws on that same creative spark to engage audiences around the world.
Konnikova holds a PhD in Psychology from Columbia University and degrees from Harvard in Psychology, Creative Writing, and Government. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, WIRED, Scientific American, and Slate, and has earned recognition from institutions such as the Society for Personality and Social Psychology and the National Magazine Awards.
