What poker teaches us

And indeed, this game is special. Some games are based on strategy, say chess. In others, everything is determined by chance, this is how slot machines are arranged. The third type – where to win you need to guess the opponent’s intentions, as in the children’s game “rock, paper, scissors”. And poker connects all these types of games. Success depends on strategy, chance, and the ability to bluff at the same time. For those who need bright emotions and are prone to adventures, poker brings real pleasure.

Of course, he owes part of his success to the media, which turned poker into the new “American Dream”. Newspapers and magazines, TV shows and even entire TV channels regularly talk about players who, participating in online tournaments, won small amounts, and then suddenly became millionaires. In a sense, poker today is a new metaphor for the struggle for a place in the sun: more and more young people see this game as a chance to earn their first “serious” money. “A beginner can really beat a venerable pro out of the blue,” says Artur Voskanyan, Vice President of the Russian Sports Poker Federation. — Unpredictability is what distinguishes poker from many other games in the first place. Calculation and luck coexist organically here, and this makes the game exciting.”

Poker has many varieties, it is played all over the world – both “live”, in poker clubs or at home with friends, and online, on the Internet. This game is intellectual, and therefore elite, it is on a par with such hobbies as golf, cricket, yachting. Politicians, diplomats, businessmen willingly spend time at the card table. And everyone finds something different in poker. Actors – the use of their talents, athletes – passion, writers – the opportunity to observe the behavior of other people.

Moreover, poker is taught in schools! According to Parisian school teacher Jean-Marc Chicco, who introduced an hour of weekly practice sessions in his class, poker helps 10-12-year-olds overcome anxiety, become more patient, develop logic, deductive thinking and mathematical ability. And on the other side of the Atlantic, Charles Nesson, professor at Harvard University (USA), along with the student organization GPSTS, is defending the importance of studying poker in the modern world. What lessons does poker teach players?

Lesson 1: Learn, learn, learn

The rules of the game are very simple at first glance. It is necessary to collect a combination of five cards – better than the opponent’s, and thus take the pot, which includes all the bets of the players. Or, if it is impossible to win, leave the game with the least losses. These rules can be mastered in ten minutes – and immediately sit down to play and enjoy the first games already. “And at the same time, you have to study them all your life, apply new strategies, master other varieties of the game: staying at the same level, you will inevitably start to lose,” says Kirill Gerasimov, who won the first Russian Texas Hold’em Championship in 2008 (the most popular type of poker)**. Another professional player Ivan Demidov agrees with him (in 2008, having become the second in the most prestigious poker championship, the World Series of Poker (WSOP), he won $ 5,8 million): “This game teaches patience, making quick optimal decisions, trains endurance – emotional and physical, observation, memory, logic, intuition. But it takes time to develop these qualities to perfection.

When playing poker, you have to deal with a variety of information: constantly calculate the probabilities (how big are my chances of winning with such cards?) and at the same time think about the moves of the opponent, watch his facial expressions and gestures. The games can last several hours, while concentration of attention, fluency in playing technique, and self-control are required. “In order to succeed, it is necessary not only to build a strategy and tactics of your own game, but also to change them, adjusting to other players, that is, to be flexible,” confirms psychotherapist Irina Denisova. “And that also needs to be learned.”

** His cumulative winnings in various poker tournaments over the past three years amounted to $1,6 million.

Lesson 2: Accept the other for who they are

“At poker school, we were told that we should look at our cards last,” says Ilya Bezugly, a player with little experience ***, editorial director of Maxim magazine. “First, you need to look at the opponents’ cards (if possible) and, most importantly, evaluate their reaction to the game: carefully look at their gestures, facial expressions and trust what you see, not what they say.” “The main component of my success is the ability to “read” people,” admits Kirill Gerasimov.

Very different (in terms of game level and types of characters) people gather at the gambling table. It can be eight experienced players and two beginners, and these two are especially dangerous, as they can begin to play, not in accordance with the cards that they have in their hands. In this case, other players have to act based not on the logic of poker, but on the idea of ​​​​how newcomers see their next move. A haircut, hand movements and even a brand of watches – all this helps rivals understand each other. “In a sense, poker forces players to develop the ability to empathize, although in this case they are not pursuing a very noble goal,” says psychotherapist Viktor Makarov, “since understanding the other in poker is necessary in order to defeat him sooner.” “Poker is a great training that teaches you to read the emotions and behavior of others and accept people for who they are,” agrees Irina Denisova. “Even if it’s just to recognize when your opponents are bluffing, and to bluff more confidently yourself.”

*** He became the winner of the 2009 Monaco Editors Challenge in sports poker tournament with a prize of $3000.

Lesson 3: Own yourself

“The best way to understand another is to learn to understand and feel yourself,” Arthur Voskanyan is sure. During the game, you have to control yourself all the time: restrain your joy when a great combination falls out, be confident and calm when you play badly. The ability to control oneself, psychological stability are the most important qualities of a successful player. According to Ivan Demidov, poker teaches “to always keep a cool head, not to get turned on by failures, not to try to outplay the one who pissed you off.” Another passionate poker player, tennis player Yevgeny Kafelnikov, is sure that poker, like tennis, develops courage and self-confidence: “Otherwise, it is simply impossible to win.”

Lesson 4: Rise after a fall

“In the eighth minute, I lost all my big chips,” recalls Ilya Bezugly. – Out of boredom, I started playing on bad cards – I began to take less risks. And slowly straightened out. That’s how I became a winner.” This is the beauty of poker. You can be an inexperienced player and, like Ilya, win a tournament and, conversely, master the art of bluffing to perfection, have the best set of cards possible, play brilliantly … and still lose. As a result, for example, a bad beat, which all players fear, is when the opponent, contrary to all probabilistic layouts, unexpectedly receives exactly those cards that bring him victory.

It is difficult to withstand defeat, especially if you consider yourself invincible; it is not easy to continue the game, losing (as well as winning) a lot of money. But poker teaches players to get up after they fall. “In the game, as in life, there are those who complain that they are not lucky, and those who take responsibility,” says Viktor Makarov. – Some refer to fortune (largely in order not to question their own actions); others put in even more effort and tend to be successful.”

Lesson 5: Build Relationships with Money

“Poker is a great opportunity to explore your relationship with money,” says Artur Voskanyan. In particular, he teaches not to overestimate the role of money in life and to structure your time. You can generally play not for money, including on the Internet. According to Ilya Bezugly, “you get pleasure not from the money you win, but from the fact that you win.” And yet, when the chips have no value, then the strategy of the game changes, the excitement goes away, courage is lost. Therefore, many poker fans, in order to be able to play for money and not spend all their earnings on the game, create a certain cash reserve for the game, known as a bankroll (English bankroll). For one game night, they buy chips worth, say, ten dollars; if they win, they will be able to receive from twenty to thirty dollars, but if they lose, they will spend an amount comparable to the price of a movie ticket. Winnings replenish the bankroll: it becomes a gold reserve, growing as its owner’s game improves. As a result, the player gets the opportunity to participate in more expensive tournaments, where the winnings, respectively, can be large.

Another way to control your finances is to set a limit for yourself from the very beginning that cannot be crossed, and after a year evaluate your profits, losses, and only after that make a decision about where and how to play further.

Is there a risk of addiction?

“Gambling and luck are the main prerequisites for a painful addiction to any game,” explains psychotherapist Gennady Starshenbaum. – The player forever remembers this sweet feeling of luck, strives to relive it again and again and begins to check: did fortune really love him? Loses and wants to play even more. Gradually, it becomes more and more difficult for him to control himself, the desire to play becomes the only goal in life.

Like Gennady Starshenbaum, psychotherapist Marc Valleur treats those who suffer from their immoderate need to play. According to him, these are, as a rule, adherents of purely gambling games (lovers of slot machines, blackjack), which are associated with an illusory feeling that the player can control luck. “Poker is not only gambling, but also a strategic game, which limits the risk of addiction,” says Mark Waller. – Such players often have problems with money, and not addiction as such: these are teenagers who play on the Internet using their parents’ credit cards; and adults caught in a vicious circle: to pay off their debts, they borrow money again and again.”