Maria Konnikova, New York Times bestselling author, began her latest book, “The Biggest Bluff” — coming out June 23, with absolutely no poker knowledge. She enlisted poker legend Erik Seidel to coach her for a year with the goal of going from zero to the WSOP Main Event by the end of the year.

Konnikova joined Poker League of Nations on a Facebook Live Takeover event earlier this week to talk about her journey.

“I fell in love,” she said. “Poker really opened my mind.” Not only was she good at the game, but it helped her in other aspects of life such as self-control, decision making and dealing with people.

She started making final tables, making money and, in January, 2018, she won the Poker Stars Caribbean Adventure PCA National Championship.

By year’s end, she had plenty of book material, but she decided to keep going and prove she wasn’t a one-hit wonder.

“I started taking this incredibly serious,” she said. She enlisted PIO solvers, tutors, and really analyzed her game. “I hate math, I hate solvers, but they really helped me improve.”

She recommends that we start with free PIO solvers and watch YouTube videos to learn how to use them. You can always upgrade to a paid solver later.

Women make phenomenal poker players, she said. Women read people much better than men, and they are more willing to do what they need to do to succeed in a male-dominated world – whether at the poker table or in everyday life.

Poker forced Maria to recognize and work on her shortcomings – such as her tendency to want to please people. Poker also led her to examine her relationships in a new light. “Poker teaches you to fold,” she said – and sometimes we need to fold relationships that aren’t beneficial.

“Poker made me a much stronger, powerful person,” she said.

It’s helped her be more assertive, both in life and in dealing with the bullying that women inevitably face at the poker table. She’s had so many encounters with bad manners and bullying that there is a whole chapter in her new book.

Some ways she counters bullying:

— She wears noise-cancelling headphones when she senses someone might be a problem. She doesn’t always turn them on, but they help her reclaim her space and allow her to respond selectively.

— She’s more assertive and speaks out more.

— She’ll call the floor to complain about abuse. Some are quickly effective (ARIA), some are not.

Her June book launch falls in the middle of the WSOP. She will play some events and hopes to see some of us there. After that, she’ll be on book tour. She’d love to combine book tour and poker tours.

Erik Seidel is still her coach, but she helps him, too. She learned PIO solver before he did and helped him learn it. From him she has learned to be curious and keep learning and growing. “That’s why he’s still winning,” she said.