Poker politics!

Author: Simon Dexter

Given the constant rantings of politicians in the name of debate, it seems odd that no-one has latched onto the idea of using poker to tame our increasingly unruly teenagers. Better still, how about looking at the possibilities of using poker as a teaching tool.

Last year, Harvard Law School professor Charles Neeson established the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society (GPSTS). Following Saturday’s well-attended conference in Boston, he declared poker to be “more than just a fun game. It is one of the best tools we have to teach negotiation, risk assessment, strategic thinking and other essential life skills.”

Among the more imaginative subjects being debated last weekend were:

“Fun and Cool: How educators can reach students through poker” and “The Ability Of Poker To Teach Life Skills” There was none of this when I was at school.

According to the GPSTS website, the body views poker as “an exceptional game of skill that can be used as a powerful teaching tool at all levels of academia and in secondary education. We use poker to teach strategic thinking, geopolitical analysis, risk assessment and money management. We see poker as a metaphor for skills of life, business, politics and international relations.” And you thought it was just a game eh?

Maybe some of our politicians should have a listen to the arguments of GPSTS. We have some free chips to give away to readers who come up with the best poker names (keep them relatively clean, please) for each of our political party leaders. Yes, we know the Lib Dems don’t have one right now – that’s an opportunity to have two bites of the cherry.

Tags: Online Poker, poker facts, Poker School

This entry was posted on Friday, November 16th, 2007 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Poker News.