Annie Duke - Improving Decision Making [Capital Allocators, EP.39]

Annie Duke is a renown public speaker and decision strategist. For two decades, she was one of the top poker players in the world, including winning a World Series of Poker bracelet and the $2 million winner-take-all WSOP Tournament of Champions. Her study of the science of smart decision-making began with a National Science Foundation Fellowship, which she used study Cognitive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Among her charity work and television appearances, Annie was a runner-up to Joan Rivers on Celebrity Apprentice, during which she raised $700,000 for Refugees International. She is a natural teacher and storyteller with an active mind that constantly searches for accurate truth. I highly recommend Annie's new book, Thinking in Bets, which comes out this week. In her life after poker, she is a featured speaker, writes a newsletter and a blog, and advises companies on improving their decision-making process. Have a look at her website, annieduke.com , for more information. Our conversation discusses Annie's path from an Ivy League education to professional poker, the nature of a bet, how we form beliefs, why we make bad decisions, and what we can do to improve our decision-making process. Towards the end, we also talk about bankroll management, poker faces, and advice she would give the President on how to make better decisions. For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast Write a review on iTunes Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com Show Notes 2:30 – Annie's path through the poker world 6:05 – Her transition into teaching and the lesson of tilt 11:57 – How do you apply the concepts of betting and gambling broadly to decision making 13:35 – What is it about the science of the brain that prevents us from making good decisions 14:17 – Stumbling on Happiness 14:19 – Dan Gilbert Ted Talk 15:44 – Kluge: The Haphazard Evolution of the Human Mind 18:50 – Motivated reasoning 21:10 – Is there anything we can do to fix our decision-making biases (wanna bet) 28:05 – Other devices to improve our decision-making 32:29 – Value of a decision group 33:16 – Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction 34:00 – Mertonian Norms, CUDOS 40:27 – Mental time travel (Marty McFly from Back to the Future) 42:55 – Jerry Seinfeld – Night Guy vs Morning Guy 44:55 – Applying these tools and the parallels between poker and investing 48:59 – Reading poker faces 49:21 – Joe Navarro books 49:34 – Joe Navarro Psychology Today 52:50 – What advice would Annie give President Trump in terms of improving his decision-making process 53:52 – Favorite sports moment 55:45 – What teaching from Annie's parents has most stayed with her 56:08 – What information does Annie read that a lot of people might not know about that is valuable 56:18 – The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution 56:19 – Why Evolution Is True 56:58 – What life lesson does Annie wish she knew earlier in life 58:28 – Looking ahead, what advice would Annie give herself today from a ripe old age