Horseshoe Hammond Poker Room, Hammond, IN, 2015.
I love poker; it needs understanding game-theoretic decision making and employing statistical inference, both of which are also essential parts of analyzing politics. Yes, it is essentially an "n-player dynamic Bayesian game" in formal game theory terms!
recent live tournament results
4th place (finalist), Casino Niagara’s Texas Hold'em Poker Tournaments CAD 165 No-Limit Hold'em, Casino Niagara, Niagara Falls, ON, Canada; Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Entrants: 130. Purse: CAD 18,284. Places Paid: Top 17. Prize: CAD 1,188. Note: It was the last tournament of the same kind before the temporary shutdown of the casino in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
19th place, Casino Niagara’s Texas Hold'em Poker Tournaments CAD 165 No-Limit Hold'em, Casino Niagara, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada; Tuesday, March 12, 2019. Entrants: 284. Purse: CAD 37,488. Places Paid: Top 36. Prize: CAD 450. Note: It was then the largest tournament of the same kind ever held in Casino Niagara.
"i do not gamble."
"I have mastered blackjack, baccarat, craps, roulette, casino war, and so on — and that's why I never play these games. I do not gamble. I play poker."
readings i recommend
Fudenberg, Drew, and Jean Tirole. 1991. Game theory. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
is a graduate-level game theory textbook;
shows why poker is indeed an extremely sophisticated game.
Silver, Nate. 2012. The signal and the noise. New York, NY: Penguin Press.
gives you a basic idea of how Bayesians see the world;
in Chapter 10 shows how Bayesian statistics could be applied to playing poker.
Wikipedia contributors. 2019. "Kuhn poker." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
shows a Nash equilibrium in the most simplified form of heads up poker;
briefly conveys the concept of mixed-strategy which is also referred to as "range balancing" by many players.
Acevedo, Michael. 2019. Modern poker theory. Hove, UK: D&B Publishing.
features the most advanced poker theory based on game theory as of 2019;
requires a good background of general mathematics and game theory in understanding the whole concept.
Tendler, Jared, and Barry Carter. 2011. The mental game of poker. Independent publisher: Jared Tendler, LLC.
deals with the mental game aspect of poker;
sees the mental aspect not as a part of the game but as a whole different game itself.