If you're ready for a zombie apocalypse, then you're ready for any emergency. emergency.cdc.gov
playing poker and teaching science: February 2008

playing poker and teaching science

My Photo
Name:
Location: Honolulu, HI, United States

I'm a middle school science teacher, wrestling coach, poker player, scuba diver, aikido black belt, amateur writer, and student of life. In the past I have tried to give back a little by volunteering at a children's home in Belmopan, Belize, Central America. I also love Frosted Flakes. I took a year-long sabbatical from my science teaching position in order to sail the Caribbean, retired from teaching in Indiana and now teach at a Honolulu middle school.

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Plug and Chug

E=MC2

There are many ways to approach a mathematical problem, but is science the simple fact is that the math can be fairly simple and there are many math formulas where you simply plug in the data and chug out an answer.

Is the same true in poker?

I’ve tried various experiments during the years I’ve been playing on line, some have been successful, some have not, and some have been abandoned due to time constraints inflicted by everyday life. The current experiment is in mid-stream and the results thus far are encouraging on two different levels: a positive affirmation of my poker playing skills, and the possibility of a positive influence on my on line bankroll.

All problems in science begin with a question.

Question: How does a poker played take a small amount of money and turn it into a large enough balance to pay an entrance to at least one event in the World Series of Poker?

Answer: Wow…. There are a lot of potential answers.

Chris Ferguson rolled to more than $10,000 from a zero balance. I’m not Chris Ferguson. I do know science though.

Hypothesis: Enter the Full Tilt Sit & Go tourneys in which the top prize is a token to a larger Sit & Go. Then enter the larger Sit & Go’s and consistently finish in the top three places.

That’s my working hypothesis and the first level is now complete.

As poker is in part a game of discipline, I decided to NOT advance to the next higher level of play until I secured a minimum of ten tokens. I now have eleven.

In my mind that tells me that my play has been good enough to finish in first place eleven times, there have been a equal number of seconds and thirds, and that I’m ready to move up a level.

Plug in the data and chug out an answer.We’ll see how it works out.
Sidebar: My wrestling team is currently 5-0. GO Huskies!!!