Hermione Eyre

Keeping poker-faced is no use – it’s the hands that give the game away

With Eric Seidel as her mentor, Maria Konnikova becomes a poker pro in just 18 months, mainly through learning body language

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issue 27 June 2020

This is not a rip-roaring, gonzo gambling adventure. By page 66 this cautious, thoughtful author has still never played a hand of poker in her life. She has read, re-read, dissected and annotated poker textbooks. She has scribbled notes while trying to keep up with her power-walking mentor, the poker legend Erik Seidel, as he tells her she’ll need to develop the ability to be reckless.

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