Maria Konnikova is an author and poker player with close to $1 million in winnings. She's also a PokerStars ambassador and the co-host of the Risky Business podcast with Nate Silver.
What was the best thing that happened in poker for you in 2024?
I won my first World Series of Poker bracelet. I mean, I didn't think that that was ever going to happen. I believe nothing can take that away from me.
What was the most challenging part about poker for 2024?
I had the single worst tournament series I've ever had, which was the World Series this past summer. I was down over $100,000, which has never happened to me. To me, that's an awful lot of money. It was not good. And I was thinking to myself, ‘Why am I even doing this now?’
But then I ended up running incredibly well in some other events, and after that I made it all back and then some. But it was just such a low moment where I was like, ‘Holy shit, how much money did I lose?’
How is the Risky Business podcast with Nate Silver going?
It's going very well. We just got renewed for next season, so we're looking forward to continuing to do that. Now that the elections are over, we can discuss other things. Which, believe me, is great.
What are you most looking forward to in 2025?
I look forward to winning my first live bracelet and a European Poker Tour title. That would be really nice.
And in your life? What have you got going on that could be fun?
Next year, I'm working on my next book, which is about cheating. It’s about the cheating going on in games. I'm really excited about that.
I'm looking forward to finishing it next year.
You can follow Maria on X, subscribe to her substack and listen to the Risky Business podcast.
