I think there’s probably more to learn by playing poker… it seems that most advanced rationalists still fail at poker and are aware enough to attribute their losses to irrational failings of emotion. Being aware of why you fail at poker seems to be a valuable life lesson. And of course, learning that you do not fail at poker is an even more valuable lesson.
I’m honestly a little surprised that poker hasn’t gotten more attention here. Half the game is managing emotional bias and modeling others’ internal state, and the other half is pure statistics. It’s like a beautiful little microcosm of applied rationality.
FWIW, the LW NYC group holds regular game nights, and uses poker specifically as a rationality training ground. If you make the correct EV decisions, the pure statistics really will get you a long way. The rest, well...
Oh, I’m not calling for it to be covered; its absence doesn’t leave a gap in our knowledge, except insofar as our knowledge applies to poker night. But it’s surprising to me that Kevin’s post was the first time I’d seen it used, given how widely known the rules are and how attractive it is as an example.
I think there’s probably more to learn by playing poker… it seems that most advanced rationalists still fail at poker and are aware enough to attribute their losses to irrational failings of emotion. Being aware of why you fail at poker seems to be a valuable life lesson. And of course, learning that you do not fail at poker is an even more valuable lesson.
I’m honestly a little surprised that poker hasn’t gotten more attention here. Half the game is managing emotional bias and modeling others’ internal state, and the other half is pure statistics. It’s like a beautiful little microcosm of applied rationality.
FWIW, the LW NYC group holds regular game nights, and uses poker specifically as a rationality training ground. If you make the correct EV decisions, the pure statistics really will get you a long way. The rest, well...
How much attention should it get? http://www.google.com/search?num=100&q=poker%20site%3Alesswrong.com
We discuss an awful lot of topics here so it makes sense that anyone’s pet topic has only been minimally discussed.
Oh, I’m not calling for it to be covered; its absence doesn’t leave a gap in our knowledge, except insofar as our knowledge applies to poker night. But it’s surprising to me that Kevin’s post was the first time I’d seen it used, given how widely known the rules are and how attractive it is as an example.