The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win

by Maria Konnikova

The first read anyone has on me is a simple one: I’m female. How does that change their CAPS, if at all? I find that certain men want to be gentlemanly; they find it distasteful to take my chips. They will often show me their cards to let me know I’ve made a good fold. Once I discern that, I can use it to my advantage, folding more when I would otherwise call. Other men don’t think I have any business being there. I should be washing dishes or changing diapers. They want me gone. So they bully and bluff and push. Once I see that, I can play more passively and let them give me their chips. Some men don’t think a woman could run a big bluff. If I raise and show signs of life, they fold. Now I can bluff more than I otherwise would. And some would rather die than be bluffed by a woman. Now they will call me with next to nothing, only for the satisfaction of seeing me beat. With them, I can bet more thinly for value, but should avoid trying to pull one over. But all of that is only the first part. Now comes the interactive part of CAPS, the donkey space. Do they know I’m adjusting—and did they do this on purpose to get me to respond a certain way? I’m in a major hand in Monte Carlo, deep in the six-max that will be my final tournament of the trip, and I have to make a decision that will cost me most of my chips. I’ve been playing against a certain older Russian gentleman all day (no, not that one; this one comes later, but my impressions of the original Siberian wolf are still ...