Maria Konnikova is a New York Times bestselling author and contributor to The New Yorker with a doctorate in psychology. She decided to learn how to play poker to better understand the role of luck in our lives, examining the game through the lens of psychology and human behavior. This excerpt is adapted from her […]
On a scorching summer day two weeks ago, I was sitting in a cavernous room in the Mojave Desert along with some 2,000 other people, none of whom I’d ever met before. In a secure location somewhere on the premises sat more than $8 million in cash that we, and others like us in nearby […]
About three weeks ago, I was in a Pittsburgh casino for the beginning of a 20-day man-versus-machine poker battle. Four top human pros were beginning to take on a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence program running on a brand-new supercomputer in a game called heads-up no-limit Texas Hold ’em. The humans’ spirits were high as they played […]
About three weeks ago, I was in a Pittsburgh casino for the beginning of a 20-day man-versus-machine poker battle. Four top human pros were beginning to take on a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence program running on a brand-new supercomputer in a game called heads-up no-limit Texas Hold ’em. The humans’ spirits were high as they played […]
PITTSBURGH — The sound of shuffling stacks and splashing piles of colorful chips filled the cavernous poker room of the Rivers Casino. It was noon on a Wednesday, and on one side of the hall, dozens of men at a handful of tables were peering at their cards, placing bets and taking one another’s money. […]