Maria Konnikova isn’t afraid to call out the cheating that goes on in poker, and casinos’ unwillingness to deal with the problem.
The international poker champion and author, who spoke at the World Game Protection Conference in Las Vegas and is working on a book about cheating, has come a long way to get where she is as a player. She didn’t play games as a kid and didn’t even know that there were 52 cards in a deck.
“I started from zero and got into poker as a way to understand the role that chance plays in life,” Konnikova said. “What’s the balance between skill and chance and how do you learn to tell the difference between what you do and don’t control? How do you maximize your decision making to take advantage of those moments where the decision matters, where the skill matters?”
While poker and Zen don’t often mix, Konnikova said it’s important to cultivate the Zen mindset of letting go of what you can’t control.
“You do everything to make the best decision you can and then let it go, because chance takes over. Brilliant minds thought if you could solve poker, you would have the key to the most complex decisions in the world. I thought, Why don’t I learn this poker thing and go from zero to wherever I can? I had no idea if I would be good or what that would look like and use that journey as a way to explore these secret questions – use poker as a metaphor for life.”
Konnikova was working full time as a reporter for the New Yorker when she took a leave from journalism to immerse herself into the poker world.
“I lived and breathed poker for one year, basically 10, 11, 12 hours a day, seven days a week. As seriously as I have ever taken writing is how I approached. That was the way I was able to gear up and go from nothing to doing quite well.”
Konnikova, who has more than $500,000 in tournament winnings, said she learned from her coach Erik Seidel about the importance of bankroll management. She started in $20 and $30 tournaments until she won her first tournament at Planet Hollywood, taking down $900. She slowly progressed upward at Seidel’s urging.
Hard work, dedication, and passion make for a good poker player, Konnikova said.
“The people who survive are those who actually love it, who enjoy the challenge and the game. The best writers are the ones who enjoy writing. They don’t do it for the bylines. They do it because they want to write.”
Risk tolerance and coping when you’re losing money are vital to success, Konnikova said. How you react to it and what your emotional control are crucial.
“Math is important too, but I haven’t taken a math class since high school. I’ve always been a writer and have a PhD in psychology. I count on my fingers. You’ll see me tapping my fingers on the table. It’s not a tell, but it’s me adding up what’s in the pot. That’s my level of math and I do fine. I don’t think that’s a crucial skill.”
Each player needs to know their edge and how to push that Konnikova said she’s good at thinking about thinking and learning what mistakes people are making, what biases they have, and how to take advantage of them.
“I’ve called poker a therapy session on steroids,” Konnikova said. “When you’re at the table, all of your emotional baggage is going to come out, because you’re under the bright lights and there’s financial pressure. A poker tournament isn’t a cash game. You can’t get up from the table and leave. You’re there for 12, 13 hours and it’s difficult to keep performing at a high level that entire time.”
Poker players are a mixed bag, Konnikova said. She’s met some of the smartest and most incredible people through poker, as well as “scummy” people. That was the same in journalism, especially in the world of television.
“The best poker players at the highest level tend to be incredibly smart, good, and trustworthy people.”
Her book about cheating includes poker, baccarat, and sporting events; tennis has had some problems. Even fly fishing has.
“When I meet people and they ask what my new book is about, I say cheating. Their faces light up and say they have a story for me.” Konnikova said, laughing. “I say no no no. It’s not about relationships.”
She’s learned that some of the biggest cheaters are high rollers, and they get away with it because no one wants to question them. “Casinos don’t want to say no, so they appease their high rollers.”
Konnikova won’t play in casino private rooms for fear of cheating. Online poker is in danger of dying because of cheating. She’s called for a ban on electronics at poker tables, saying people underestimate where technology is at this time and how it’s possible to cheat. A decade ago, cheating scandals involved cell phones; today with cell phones everywhere and players wearing Airpods and sunglasses tied to the internet, cheating can go undetected.
“To maintain game integrity, you have to take it seriously and inconvenience players in the short term.”
In December, the World Series of Poker issued rules that prohibit players from having electronic devices on the table or the rail. Players and spectators are barred from using any form of electronic assistance in the tournament room at risk of disqualification and removal. Spectators are also prohibited from coaching during gameplay. After the Main Event in Las Vegas in July, controversy erupted concerning winner Jonathan Tamayo getting advice at the final table from railbirds when one had an AirPod fall out of his ear.
“All you need is a dealer pitching a tiny bit too high,” Konnikova said. “Or even pitching normally, with your phone positioned in the right way, it can catch what the cards are. I’m paranoid now. If a dealer is pitching high, I’ll say something.”
Players also need to worry about shuffling devices, which can be hacked.
“People in the gaming world don’t care about poker,” Konnikova said. “Poker isn’t the money maker. But if it happens at poker, it can happen at baccarat. The same technology can be used to exploit the biggest money- making games. And the biggest poker players are usually huge gamblers. They’re all over the different games with big bankrolls. People who cheat at poker will cheat at other games.”
In the past, cheaters needed an inside collaborator, a dealer or supervisor, but with technology, that’s no longer the case.
“Cheaters have become more self-sufficient. You have new threats as technology keeps changing, but the old threats haven’t gone away. You have to watch out for everything,” she said.
“I love the game of poker. It has so much to teach us about decision making and humanity. It’s a powerful learning tool and a fun game and I want to protect it and make sure that people can enjoy it without feeling like they’re going to be cheated every single step of the way. Game integrity is crucial. It makes the game better and stronger. What I’m writing about is the way to combat cheating is to combat the incentive. You need to make it unprofitable for people to cheat. If you are cheating at one place, you can go somewhere else. People aren’t penalized. They just get a slap on the wrist, because casinos want to shut it up.”
