The Biggest Bluff
Maria Konnikova
Summary
Maria is a Harvard psychology professor who had never played poker in her life. She never even understood the rules. This book talks about her journey to winning a World Series of Poker tour event and how she became a professional poker player.
Rating: 4/5
Notes
‘Life single lesson: that there is more accident to it than man can ever admit to in a lifetime and stay sane.’ - Thomas Pynchon
You can do what you do but in the end, some things remain stubbornly outside of your control
Life is too short for complaining
We humans too often think ourselves in firm control when we are really playing by the rules of chance
You have to suffer defeat if you’re trying anything new
You become a big winner when you lose
Disaster is your teacher because disaster brings objectivity
Question more, stay open minded
Less certainty, more inquiry
Pick your spots: know when to be aggressive and how to be aggressive
Each future outcome in poker is completely independent of the past
Clarity of language is clarity of thought
Make the best decision possible w/ the info at hand - the outcome is irrelevant
‘Choice of attention - to pay attention to this and ignore that - is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer. In both cases, man is responsible for his choice and must accept the consequences.’ - Will Arden
‘Where observation is concerned, chance favours only the prepared mind.’ - Louis Pasteur
Never do anything, no matter how small it may seem, without asking why you’re doing it. Don’t forget the why
Watch people’s hands specifically in poker
People react differently in different situations. Personality may be situationally dependent
Mastery is always a struggle for balance
No matter how good the starting hands, you have to be willing to let go
Never feel like you have to do something just because it’s expected of you.
You can’t control what will happen, so it makes no sense to try and guess it
***
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Make Something Wonderful
Steve Jobs
Summary
The life of Steve Jobs in his own words
Rating: 5/5
Notes
Make something wonderful and put it out there
‘You appear, have a chance to blaze in the sky, then you disappear’
When you’re a stranger in a place, you notice thing you don’t otherwise (Jobs after India trip)
Whenever you start with nothing, always shoot for the moon. You have nothing to lose.
You never achieve what you want without falling on your face a few times
Never be afraid to fail. You never achieve what you want without falling flat on your face a few times
We are never taught to listen to our intuitions, to develop and nurture them. But if you do pay attention to these subtle insights, you can make them come true
Creativity equals connecting previously unrelated experiences and insights others don’t see
Believe that some of what you follow with your heart will come back and make your life richer. And it will. And you will gain even firmer trust on your instincts and intuitions
Make your avocation your vocation. Make what you love your work.
The journey is the reward. The reward isn’t in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it’s in crossing the rainbow
To find A+ talent, if experienced, look at their track record and results
The world we know is a human creation and we can push it forward
The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do (read whole ad ‘here’s to the crazy ones)
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit - Aristotle
Hire people better than you are
You can’t plan to meet the people who will change your life
It’s impossible to connect the dots looking forward, but they make sense looking backwards so you have to trust the dots will somehow connect in your future
Everything around you that you call life was made up by people no smarter than you
***
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