Does Maria Konnikova Have the Potential to be One of the Best Female Poker Players?

Maria Konnikova is primarily a psychologist and writer by trade, but in recent years the Russian-American has been making waves on the poker scene. She developed a love for the game when she was researching and writing her book, The Biggest Bluff, which posits the card game as a metaphor for life. The 36-year-old has been playing in major tournaments since 2017, and has more than $200,000 in poker earnings to date. The question now is whether Konnikova will go on to challenge some of the best women in the game, including Vanessa Selbst and Liv Boeree.

Konnikova’s Psychology Knowledge Helps Her Strategy

One of the main reasons why Konnikova has been an instant success on the live poker scene is down to her in-depth knowledge of psychology, giving her a strong sense of perspicacity about her opponents. Her understanding of the game, she admits, came from nothing. Before she began researching poker for her book, the writer didn’t even know how many cards were in a deck.

Luckily, poker is an easy game for anyone to get involved with. When new players get into Texas Hold’em, they need to study the basic rules first. This includes how to bet, which hands to play, and how to go deep into a tournament. But these basics only provide the foundations, and the real experts build on these with other important attributes.

Konnikova’s psychological background clearly puts her at an advantage when it comes to playing live poker tournaments. Online poker has brought about a rise in the mathematical and statistical side of the game, but when players are at the felt there is still a lot of human interaction. This includes being able to calmly deceive opponents without giving any clues away, as well as being able to read the body language of other players.

Who Are the Top Female Players for Her to Challenge?

Konnikova’s meteoric rise has been highly impressive, but she has a long way to go if she wants to compete with some of the best females in the game. There is little dispute over who is the best woman in the poker business, with Selbst racking up more than $11 million throughout her glittering career. Like Konnikova, the three-time WSOP bracelet winner is an intellectual, with a J.D from Yale University.

Some of the other top female card sharks include Boeree, who has made more than $3 million, Annie Duke, who has accumulated over $4.27 million, and Kathy Liebert, who has accrued in excess of $6.17 million.

The fact that Konnikova has managed to make waves in the professional poker scene in such a short space of time should act as inspiration to other female players who want to make the big time. Poker has long been dominated by men, and there has never been a female World Series of Poker winner in 50 years. Hopefully, this could be about to change.