Maria Konnikova

Psychology meets real-world uncertainty

Maria Konnikova has built a career around a deceptively simple question: why do people think and behave the way they do? With a PhD in psychology from Columbia University and a background spanning research, journalism and competitive poker, she brings scientific thinking into situations where decisions have real consequences.

Born in Moscow, Russia, Maria came to the United States at the age of four. Her fascination with writing started early. Her first book, written in Russian, was five pages long and involved trolls. In fourth grade, she wrote and staged a play whose dramatic climax became memorable for unexpected reasons: the chairs serving as a dead king’s tomb slid apart, sending the supposedly deceased monarch crashing to the floor and the audience into laughter.

The production may not have unfolded as planned, but storytelling remained central to Maria’s career. She still occasionally writes in Russian, although she has left playwriting behind.

From bestselling books to the poker table

Maria Konnikova is the author of The Biggest Bluff, a New York Times bestseller named one of the Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2020 and a finalist for the 2021 Telegraph Best Sports Writing Awards.

The book emerged from an unusual experiment. Maria set out to understand the relationship between skill, luck, uncertainty and control through poker. What began as research developed into an extraordinary competitive career. She became an international poker champion, a World Series of Poker bracelet winner and an ambassador for PokerStars Team Pro, with more than $1 million in tournament earnings.

Poker gave Maria a unique environment in which to put psychological theory into practice. At the table, incomplete information, probability, emotion and human behaviour constantly collide. A good decision can produce a bad result, while a poor decision can sometimes be rewarded, making the ability to separate process from outcome essential.

Maria translates these lessons into compelling insights for audiences, showing how psychological research can help us think more clearly, manage uncertainty and make better choices.

Bestselling author & award-winning writer

Maria’s previous books include The Confidence Game, winner of the 2016 Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical Thinking, and Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, which was a finalist for both the Anthony and Agatha Awards.

Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Slate, California Sunday, Pacific Standard, The New Republic, The Paris Review, The Wall Street Journal, Salon, The Boston Globe, The Observer, Scientific American MIND, WIRED and Scientific American, among numerous other publications.

Her work has also appeared in Best American Science and Nature Writing, including the 2017 anthology, and has been translated into more than twenty languages. Her awards include the 2019 Excellence in Science Journalism Award from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology.

Maria previously wrote the “Literally Psyched” column for Scientific American and the popular psychology blog “Artful Choice” for Big Think. Before establishing herself as an author and journalist, she worked as a producer for the Charlie Rose show on PBS.

Risk, deception & human behaviour

Beyond decision-making, Maria examines some of the most consequential aspects of human psychology, including confidence, deception, judgment, critical thinking and our tendency to believe we have more control than we actually do.

Her book The Confidence Game investigates con artists and why intelligent people can still fall victim to manipulation. She explored similar territory as host of The Grift, a Panoply Media podcast examining con artists and the lives they ruin. Her podcasting work earned her a National Magazine Award nomination in 2019.

Maria now co-hosts Risky Business with Nate Silver, exploring risk and how people respond to unpredictable situations. She is also the author of the weekly Substack The Leap.

Her academic foundation is equally strong. Maria graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, where she studied psychology, creative writing and government, before earning her PhD in psychology from Columbia University.

Book Maria Konnikova for your event

A keynote with Maria Konnikova combines rigorous psychology, memorable storytelling and first-hand experience from one of the most demanding competitive environments imaginable. Rather than discussing human behaviour only in theory, she demonstrates what happens when judgment, emotion, probability and pressure meet in the real world.

Audiences can gain insights into themes including:

• Decision-making when information is incomplete and outcomes are uncertain
• The psychology of risk, luck, skill and perceived control
• Confidence, deception and why people can be persuaded against their better judgment
• Critical thinking and the habits behind clearer, more deliberate decisions
• The relationship between decision quality and eventual outcomes
• Human behaviour under pressure and the psychological demands of competition

Her talks make complex psychological ideas accessible and relevant, giving audiences a clearer understanding of the forces shaping their choices and practical ways to approach consequential decisions more deliberately.