Harvard Law’s Poker Strategic Thinking Society

From WBUR, "Only A Game"

By Karen Given | Saturday, November 12th, 2011

Early Wednesday morning, Pius Heinz beat out Martin Staszko to win the 2011 World Series of Poker. The event was broadcast nearly live on ESPN2, and the scene looked nothing like the poker scenes in old spaghetti Westerns.

As both players pushed all-in on the final hand, Heinz, a 22 year old German in a pristine white hoodie sipped from a bottle of what looked like tomato juice, while the 35 year old Czech, Stashko, sweated it out with water.

When the cards were revealed and Heinz was declared the winner, he ran into the arms of his parents, while his gallery serenaded him.

“If anything it looks like an incredibly boring place,” said Harvard Law Professor Charles Nesson. “No drinks. No smoke. No bad language. No nothing.”

Professor Nesson has been on the faculty at Harvard Law School since 1966. He teaches evidence and internet, and as strange as it might sound, he is an advocate for the sport of poker.

“I believe it’s time for it to shake loose from the awful reputation it built up through its genesis as a gambling game,” Professor Nesson explained. “It has had an equally distinguished history as an academic pursuit.

Professor Nesson says strategic thinking, taking risks based on limited information, empathizing with an opponent, and even showing strength from a position of weakness are all skills vital for playing poker and practicing law.

Through his poker reading group for first year law students and the Harvard Poker Thinking Society, which he advises, he’s brought the game of poker, and its higher level reasoning skills, to countless Harvard Law Students.

But he’s not done. He’d like to see parents play poker with their kids, and even suggests the game could be taught in elementary school classrooms.

FULL STORY >>http://onlyagame.wbur.org/2011/11/12/harvard-poker