Poker and Philosophy Read online

  Poker and philosophy

  Popular Culture and Philosophy® Series Editor: George A. Reisch

  VOLUME 1 Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing (2000)

  VOLUME 2 The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh! of Homer (2001)

  VOLUME 3 The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real (2002)

  VOLUME 4 Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale (2003)

  VOLUME 5 The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All (2003)

  VOLUME 9 Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts (2004)

  VOLUME 12 Star Wars and Philosophy: More Powerful than You Can Possibly Imagine (2005)

  VOLUME 13 Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth, Justice, and the Socratic Way (2005)

  VOLUME 17 Bob Dylan and Philosophy: It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Thinking) (2006)

  VOLUME 19 Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, Think Think! (2006)

  VOLUME 24 Bullshit and Philosophy: Guaranteed to Get Perfect Results Every Time (2006)

  VOLUME 25 The Beatles and Philosophy: Nothing You Can Think that Can’t Be Thunk (2006)

  VOLUME 26 South Park and Philosophy: Bigger, Longer, and More Penetrating (2007)

  VOLUME 28 The Grateful Dead and Philosophy: Getting High Minded about Love and Haight (2007)

  VOLUME 29

  Quentin Tarantino and Philosophy: How to Philosophize with a Pair of Pliers and a Blowtorch (2007)

  VOLUME 30 Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful with that Axiom, Eugene! (2007)

  VOLUME 31 Johnny Cash and Philosophy: The Burning Ring of Truth (2008)

  VOLUME 32 Bruce Springsteen and Philosophy: Darkness on the Edge of Truth (2008)

  VOLUME 33 Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Mission Accomplished or Mission Frakked Up? (2008)

  VOLUME 34 iPod and Philosophy: iCon of an ePoch (2008)

  VOLUME 35 Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant (2008)

  VOLUME 36 The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy: I Link Therefore I Am (2008)

  VOLUME 37 The Wizard of Oz and Philosophy: Wicked Wisdom of the West (2008)

  VOLUME 38 Radiohead and Philosophy: Fitter Happier More Deductive (2009)

  VOLUME 39 Jimmy Buffett and Philosophy: The Porpoise Driven Life (2009) Edited by Erin McKenna and Scott L. Pratt

  VOLUME 40 Transformers and Philosophy: More than Meets the Mind (2009) Edited by John R. Shook and Liz Stillwaggon Swan

  VOLUME 41 Stephen Colbert and Philosophy: I Am Philosophy (And So Can You!) (2009) Edited by Aaron Allen Schiller

  VOLUME 42 Supervillains and Philosophy: Sometimes, Evil Is Its Own Reward (2009) Edited by Ben Dyer

  VOLUME 43 The Golden Compass and Philosophy: God Bites the Dust (2009) Edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison

  VOLUME 44 Led Zeppelin and Philosophy: All Will Be Revealed (2009) Edited by Scott Calef

  VOLUME 45 World of Warcraft and Philosophy: Wrath of the Philosopher King (2009) Edited by Luke Cuddy and John Nordlinger

  Volume 46 Mr. Monk and Philosophy: The Curious Case of the Defective Detective (2010) Edited by D.E. Wittkower

  Volume 47 Anime and Philosophy: Wide Eyed Wonder (2010) Edited by Josef Steiff and Tristan D. Tamplin

  VOLUME 48 The Red Sox and Philosophy: Green Monster Meditations (2010) Edited by Michael Macomber

  VOLUME 49 Zombies, Vampires, and Philosophy: New Life for the Undead (2010) Edited by Richard Greene and K. Silem Mohammad

  VOLUME 50 Facebook and Philosophy: What’s on Your Mind? (2010) Edited by D.E. Wittkower

  VOLUME 51 Soccer and Philosophy: Beautiful Thoughts on the Beautiful Game (2010) Edited by Ted Richards

  VOLUME 52 Manga and Philosophy: Fullmetal Metaphysician (2010) Edited by Josef Steiff and Adam Barkman

  VOLUME 53 Martial Arts and Philosophy: Beating and Nothingness (2010) Edited by Graham Priest and Damon Young

  VOLUME 54 The Onion and Philosophy: Fake News Story True, Alleges Indignant Area Professor (2010) Edited by Sharon M. Kaye

  VOLUME 55 Doctor Who and Philosophy: Bigger on the Inside (2010) Edited by Courtland Lewis and Paula Smithka

  VOLUME 56 Dune and Philosophy: Weirding Way of the Mentat (2011) Edited by Jeffery Nicholas

  VOLUME 57 Rush and Philosophy: Heart and Mind United (2011) Edited by Jim Berti and Durrell Bowman

  VOLUME 58 Dexter and Philosophy: Mind over Spatter (2011) Edited by Richard Greene, George A. Reisch, and Rachel Robison-Greene

  VOLUME 59 Halo and Philosophy: Intellect Evolved (2011) Edited by Luke Cuddy

  VOLUME 60 SpongeBob SquarePants and Philosophy: Soaking Up Secrets Under the Sea! (2011) Edited by Joseph J. Foy

  VOLUME 61 Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy: The Footprints of a Gigantic Mind (2011) Edited by Josef Steiff

  VOLUME 62 Inception and Philosophy: Ideas to Die For (2011) Edited by Thorsten Botz-Bornstein

  VOLUME 63 Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids Have Kindred Spirits? (2011) Edited by D.E. Wittkower

  VOLUME 64 The Rolling Stones and Philosophy: It’s Just a Thought Away (2012) Edited by Luke Dick and George A. Reisch

  VOLUME 65 Chuck Klosterman and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Seth Vannatta

  IN PREPARATION:

  Neil Gaiman and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Tracy L. Bealer, Rachel Luria, and Wayne Yuen

  Breaking Bad and Philosophy (2012) Edited by David R. Koepsell and Robert Arp

  The Walking Dead and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Wayne Yuen

  Curb Your Enthusiasm and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Mark Ralkowski

  Dungeons and Dragons and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Jon Cogburn and Mark Silcox

  The Catcher in the Rye and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Keith Dromm and Heather Salter

  Jeopardy! and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Shaun P. Young

  Planet of the Apes and Philosophy (2013) Edited by John Huss

  Boardwalk Empire and Philosophy (2013) Edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison-Greene

  The Wire and Philosophy (2013) Edited by Joanna Crosby, Seth Vannatta, and David Bzdack

  For full details of all Popular Culture and Philosophy® books, visit www.opencourtbooks.com.

  Popular Culture and Philosophy™

  Poker and Philosophy

  Pocket Rockets and

  Philosopher Kings

  Edited by

  ERIC BRONSON

  OPEN COURT

  Chicago and La Salle, Illinois

  Volume 20 in the series, Popular Culture and Philosophy™

  To order books from Open Court, call 1-800-815-2280, or visit www.opencourtbooks.com.

  Open Court Publishing Company is a division of Carus Publishing Company.

  Copyright ©2006 by Carus Publishing Company

  First printing 2006

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Open Court Publishing Company, a division of Carus Publishing Company, 315 Fifth Street, P.O. Box 300, Peru, Illinois, 61354-3000.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Poker and philosophy : pocket rockets and philosopher kings / edited by

  Eric Bronson.

  p. cm. — (Popular culture and philosophy ; v. 20)

  Includes bibliographical references and index.

  ISBN:978-0-8126-9810-7

  1. Chance. 2. Poker. 3. Philosophy. I. Bronson, Eric, 1971- II.

  Series.

  BD595.P65 2006

  100—dc22

  2006002141

  To Fremont Street—

  and the
ones who make it home

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Live Dangerously

  Part I

  Poker’s Life Lessons

  1.Seven Lessons in Philosophy You Already Learned Playing Texas Hold’em

  MICHAEL VENTIMIGLIA

  2.Karl Marx Meets Texas Dolly

  RAYMOND ANGELO BELLIOTTI

  3.Knowing the Unknowable: Aristotle, Sklansky, and the Humility of Wisdom

  WILLIE YOUNG

  4.Poker and the Game of Life

  STEVEN M. SANDERS

  5.The Existential Gambler: Dostoevsky and the Gambler’s High

  PETER J. VERNEZZE

  Part II

  Dude, What Were You Thinking?

  6.Thinking about Thinking about Thinking about Thinking (about Poker)

  JONATHAN ELLIS

  7.Don’t Play on Tilt! Avoiding Seven Costly Critical Thinking Errors in Poker

  GREGORY BASSHAM and MARC C. MARCHESE

  8.Probability as a Guide to Poker

  DON FALLIS

  9.The Irrational Game: Why There’s No Perfect System

  ROBERT NORTHCOTT

  10.“I Should Have Known It!”: Gilbert Ryle and Poker Knowledge

  KENNETH G. LUCEY

  Part III

  Lying, Bluffing, and “Friendly” Pummeling

  11.Bluffing, Lying, and Bullshitting

  BRIAN HUSS

  12.Poker Lies: Keep Your Friends Close and Your Ethicists Closer

  ANNE BARNHILL and SUSAN SOLOMON

  13.Online Poker: Is it Bluffing when No One Sees You Blink?

  DAVID R. KOEPSELL

  14.Power Poker: Machiavelli and Brunson’s Super System

  DAVID HAHN

  15.Why My Daughter Plays Poker (and How I Learned to Deal)

  MARK J. HAMILTON

  Part IV

  Three of a Kind: Texas, Vegas, and Hollywood

  16.Jewish Philosophy Wins the Pot: How Stu Ungar and Emmanuel Levinas Coralled the Texans

  PHILIP LINDHOLM

  17.Civilization amidst Wilderness: Hobbes, Poker, and Classic Westerns

  KEVIN L. STOEHR

  18.Annie Duke Takes on Hollywood: Girl Power at the Poker Table

  REBECCA HOUSEL

  19.“The Cheating Game”: Poker’s Culture of Violence

  WENDY C. HAMBLET

  The Players

  Index

  Acknowledgments

  After all the cards are dealt, poker is really a game about people. Without good friends, slightly crazy characters, and a few cigar-smoking slobs, poker would just be like any other card game. Editing a book is similar.

  Without this merry band of philosophers who can argue when to re-raise from the blinds as passionately as any logical conundrum, we never would have made it to the final table. I thank them all for their professionalism, their steely nerves, and their love for taking unadvisable risks.

  I’d especially like to thank Bill Irwin, a jack of all suits: friend, ally, editor, and mentor. Bill’s the guy at every poker table who tells a few salacious tales and keeps the atmosphere so easy that you never notice (or care) when he wins every week.

  Thanks also to two wild cards at Open Court: David Ramsay Steele and Carolyn Madia Gray. Just when it seems time to throw in the hand, they always turn up to save the day.

  Besides the readers at Open Court, a host of volunteers helped point out tells throughout the editing process. A heart-felt thanks to our two aces in the hole: Stephen Carley and Evelyn Bronson. They taught us the best way to play every winning hand. Thanks also to Joel Reichart and Jon Ellis for their methodical coaching away from the table.

  If there’s one thing we can learn from Binion’s Horseshoe, it’s that the game of poker is still a family affair. Thanks then first to my parents for dealing me a full house. It’s an easy game, all in all, when you’re given a monster hand. And a loving thanks to my river queen Aryn Martin, who is always there to shuffle the cards no matter how many times I misdeal. Gold bracelets also go out to my sister Rachel for reminding me it’s only poker (not international relations), John Matthews, Judie Martin, and on the button, poker-faced Pete.

  A grateful shout-out also goes to my first hold’em teachers, Jason, Kerri, Howie, David, Jeremy, and the Yukon boys on the flop: Ryan, Tom, and Cousin Joe.

  At Berkeley College, there’s a good game going around the clock, and the guy who keeps it going all hours of the day and night is Arthur Blumenthal. Thanks also to Phil Krebs and Marianne Vakalis for pairing high cards at every turn.

  Lastly, thanks to all of my Berkeley students. They always stay in to see the cards, and pick me up when I suffer bad beats.

  Live Dangerously

  Listen. Here’s the thing. You’re given one night of poker with anyone in the world, dead or living, fictional or real. Whom would you choose?

  Gandhi? He wouldn’t drink enough. Socrates might pound his share of beers, but he’d talk too much. Marie Curie? Too much of a grinder. Dostoyevsky would go all-in with you, but then he’d never go home.

  So whom would you choose? My own table might include Captain Kirk and Spider-Man (the cartoon version), but certainly no philosophers. They can’t be trusted. Seriously, flip through a Dictionary of Poker Terms, and you’ll see what I mean. You’ll find that “philosopher” takes its roots from old English slang, meaning “a thief, or someone who cheats at cards.”

  Now that makes sense to me.

  Then again, avoiding games like no-limit five-card draw (who’s ever heard of that?) with James Caan, Coach Tarkanian, and a Japanese Elvis impersonator also makes sense to me, but try telling that to Nicolas Cage’s character in the movie Honeymoon in Vegas. Playing poker with philosophers, though? Maybe Mrs. Murphy (of Murphy’s Law fame) had them in mind when she cautioned us never to play poker with anyone named “Doc.”

  The sad truth is philosophers and poker cheats have a lot in common. First off, both have an unhealthy habit of ending up dead. Poor Socrates was given the death sentence by his Athenian peers for teaching them how to argue against the lesser intellectuals of his day. Wild Bill Hickock was so distrustful of his peers in Deadwood, he refused to play poker with his back to the door (except that last time, of course). Both Socrates and Hickock could sympathize with Wild Will Shakespeare when he wrote, “Company, villainous company, hath been the spoil of me.”

  The more you play poker, the more likely you are to become a philosopher. “There is more to poker than life,” says the accountant turned poker pro Tom McEvoy. “You can’t count a guy out until the last card falls,” Doyle Brunson is fond of observing. Brunson and his Texas posse grinded out their poker wins to pay rent, evaded the law from Amarillo to Reno, and ran for their lives from sore losers packing more than cards. They’ve grown to be some of our country’s most profound philosophers. Sure, in his Tractatus, Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein concluded, “What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence.” But gambling guru Amarillo Slim said it just as well. “If there’s anything worth arguing about, either bet on it or shut up.”

  Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though. Card sharks and philosophers like to take it slow. The Buddha sat under a bodhi tree for six years before attaining enlightenment. That’s two years fewer than the longest running poker game ever held around the clock at the Birdcage Theater in Tombstone, Arizona. And let’s not forget, the most famous poker showdown in Las Vegas history lasted over five months with sleep breaks every few days. In that epic game played in 1949 at Binion’s Horseshoe (where else?), crafty Johnny Moss finally broke Nick “the Greek” Dandalos for the two-million-dollar pot. Seven weeks after attaining enlightenment the Buddha preached about finding happiness through non-attachment. And, as the tired, but enlightened Dandalos famously remarked on his final losing hand, “Mr. Moss, I have to let you go.”

  All true poker players know that it’s the action that makes the game. It’s the feeling that you’ve got a little too much in the pot
for your liking that brings a game to life. Would any of us really discourage Matt Damon from bringing three stacks of “high society” to a showdown with Teddy KGB in the movie, Rounders? Western philosophers have long implored us to take risks in order to make the most out of our short lives. “Live dangerously,” advises Friedrich Nietzsche. Fellow existentialist Søren Kierkegaard argues that playing it safe makes for dull living. The “leap of faith” is taken when one knows something is completely irrational, but does it anyway. The only way to live meaningfully is to go all-in.

  That’s not to say that we shouldn’t spend some time thinking things through. Almost five hundred years ago, the “gambling scholar,” Girolamo Cardano, wrote The Book on Games of Chance (Liber de Ludo Aleae), one of the first forays into the world of gambling and probability theory. Later in the seventeenth century, French philosopher Blaise Pascal picked up the gambling theme, arguing that a belief in God was a smarter “wager” than not believing. It’s a better bet, Pascal argued, because a life without faith carries too much risk if you’re wrong. Because we cannot be certain about the truth, it comes down to how big the payout is, and how much risk it’s worth. Today, poker players call those probabilities “pot odds.” Deciding to raise or fold depends on how much you can expect to win if the risk pays off.

  So we shouldn’t rely entirely on our (beer) gut instincts. We’re not pigs, as Aristotle was kind enough to point out. Neither are the hot shots on the World Poker Tour. Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, poker champ and former ballroom dance instructor, has a Ph.D. in computer science. Before heading out to Vegas, the fearless Annie Duke spent five years in a Ph.D. program in psycholinguistics at the University of Pennsylvania, picking up a National Science Foundation Fellowship along the way. Novelists like Al Alvarez and New York Times columnist James McManus have done wonders in recent years, publicizing the importance of the intellectual side of poker and the hold it continues to have on the American imaginary.