Thursday, May 21, 2009

Never go Against a Sicilian!

Kuhn and I were talking about a couple books in japanese military tactics today and how they applied to his poker game.  He said that after he read the art of war his poker game increased dramatically.  At first I didn’t get it but as we were talking more it later became clear to  me. He described it as to play poker well you had to be a level 3 thinker.  Level 1 being what do I have, level 2 is what does my opponent have, and level 3 is what does my opponent think I have and so on and so forth.

To be honest I was impressed to learn this.  I had always thought of poker as a complex game but more as a mathematical problem with a little bit of watching a persons response.  To think of the complexity of having to think of what they think you have, as well as what they think you think they have is astounding! and to think of the potential strategies you can use.  Aside from my standard of set the table on fire…I think that one would get moved back to the reserve or last resort section now.

So I was thinking how useful it would be in other facets of life if you read the art of war and the book of five rings.  It’s already taught in most if not all of the us military academies and some business schools even.  But you can really apply it in everyday life.  In everyday work with your co-workers and customers, patients, and in any game from poker to chess to yahtzee.

Ok I’m not sure how you could use it in yahtzee, but there’s probably a way, if not that’s a prime candidate for the set the board on fire approach.

No comments:

Post a Comment