As an author and journalist, Maria Konnikova began research for a book about a year ago, looking at the role that luck plays in life. It seemed to the writer that poker was a great place to start. After learning more about game theory and being coached by veteran poker player Eric Seidel, Maria decided to spend a year playing the game on the live circuit. She knew nothing about poker at the time but has ended up earning over $200,000 from tournament gaming during the process and has now been signed as a brand ambassador with the largest online poker brand in the world, PokerStars.

Maria’s story is pretty amazing. Not only did she know nothing about poker, but she has seen great success during her time playing the game. Many people set out to learn more about poker, but few have the success that Maria has been able to achieve.

During the twelve-month time frame, Maria has been able to cash out in gambling areas like Las Vegas, Macau and Monte Carlo. The best finish came during the PCA National Championship in January when she won the event, outlasting 290 competitors to win $84,600 plus a Platinum Pass to the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship. This special event will take place this coming January in the Bahamas, with the best of the best coming to the felt. The Platinum Pass Maria earned has a value of $30,000.

When she won the pass, she was the first woman to do so and her story in poker began. Now, she will be working with PokerStars as well as continuing with her book. A new deadline has been made, with the book; ‘The Biggest Bluff’ still in the works. The book is set to be published by late 2019, giving Maria plenty of time to continue to compete, particularly in the PokerStars Players Championships next year and beyond.

Commenting on joining the team in a PokerStars Blog post, Maria stated: “I’m incredibly excited to be joining the PokerStars team. It’s been wonderful to be an unofficial ambassador with PokerStars for this past year, and I feel it’s a tremendous honour to be joining the team officially now.

“I never could have imagined poker becoming as big a part of my life as it has and joining PokerStars as an official ambassador offers me an incredible opportunity to take my game to the next level and to represent a brand that I’ve come to admire greatly. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the people I have the pleasure of working with at PokerStars are some of the nicest, smartest, and most fun I know.

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to share my passion for poker with the world and, hopefully, bring many new players into the game.”