Poker or Chess???

[CallMeIshmael]

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WOW isn't RTS [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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OK...Ive read your posts, and Im like 99.32% sure this was a joke.

It was right?

You never thought I meant WoW, right?

(I do feel like a total [censored] asking this)

[CallMeIshmael]

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There aren't many people who have reached this level though, so for the vast majority of chess players the finite number of moves does not matter.

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I play chess. Im not very good. I dont know a whole lot about it. I do know, however:

Its absurd to believe a human will ever reach "that level"

[hmkpoker]

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OK...Ive read your posts, and Im like 99.32% sure this was a joke.

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Don't worry, my .306 outer didn't hit [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

(Yes, I'm just playing [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img])

[yukoncpa]

Hello Hmkpoker,
You're going to love the movie, "Grandma's Boy". A comedy about a bunch of nerds that design these games.

[ScottieK]

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Most casual chess players are impressed by blindfold displays. But I would think anyone with a rating above 1800 should be able to beat a non-tournament playing casual player blindfolded most of the time. Any 1800+ players care to disagree? I'm just taking a stab here.

Maybe you'll be impressed if I told you I can beat any poker player in the world you pick at least 39% of the time at NL holdem heads up and blindfolded!

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I'm an A player, and I used to play my then 900-rated student blindfolded (all I had was my notation sheet, which is normal for blindfold play.) I won most of the games, usually because he'd hang material. Now he's more like 1100-1200, so I don't know if I could score 50% or more. Against a non-tourney player, I'd probably win blindfolded most of the time.

What impresses me about masters and above is their intuition and piece communication. Maybe playing one player blindfolded isn't all that, but how about a blindfold simul a la Najdorf?

As for OP's question, don't think you can make any blanket statements like which one does what better. Chess does it for some people, poker does it for others. I think the #1 thing both games teach you is that every action is important, and you should at least think about consequences before you act. Chess players don't waste moves or pieces; poker players don't waste chips or good cards.

If you like one, play it. If you like both, play both.

EDIT
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My point was there are only a limited number of moves and there is always one move that is better than the rest and therefore it only has so much potential.

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Even if this were true, the method of finding that best move is what separates GM's from masters from amateurs. And I've yet to see a perfect game of chess.

ScottieK

[atrifix]

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Most casual chess players are impressed by blindfold displays. But I would think anyone with a rating above 1800 should be able to beat a non-tournament playing casual player blindfolded most of the time. Any 1800+ players care to disagree? I'm just taking a stab here.

[/ QUOTE ]This is correct. I'm a master-level player, and although I think I have a pretty good memory, I can't imagine that my effective playing strength drops more than about 400-500 points when playing blindfolded and about 600-700 points when playing simultaneously blindfolded (2-10 games or so). I think chess compares well to language. To someone who doesn't understand a word of latin, it seems amazing that people can rattle off whole verses, but to a classics student, it's nothing special.

[timotheeeee]

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The best player in the world, Kasparov, has basically memorized every possible move one can make in a game and plays accordingly, which is the same thing a computer does when it plays chess. When he rarely makes a wrong move he often realizes it right after and gets angry.
In starcraft there are many more factors you have to put into the game.

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This is obviously written by someone that does not play chess. Memorize every move in the game? Are you kidding me? Then I guess he really didn't lose a match to Kramnik in 2000. Memorization of theory is important, yes, but go over his game against Topalov in Wijk aan Zee in 1999 or Fischer's game of the century against Byrne, or any game of Tal's or Keres's (I could keep going)and tell me it's all memorization. I'm sorry if I come across as angry, but you know next to nothing about chess.

Your comparison of StarCraft to chess is ridiculous. Completely ridiculous. I'll repeat it once more, chess is not all memorization.

[atrifix]

It's amazing just how many patently false statements he managed to pack into those two sentences. I count 6.

[timotheeeee]

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My point was there are only a limited number of moves and there is always one move that is better than the rest and therefore it only has so much potential.

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What is with this 'limited number of moves' thing you're snagged on? There are 10^120 possible chess moves. There is thought to be only 10^75 atoms in the entire universe.
What the hell is your point? Are you still contending that Kasparov memorizes all possible moves? There's a HUGE gulf between memorizing opening theory as well as standard endgames and the unfathomable number of possible chess moves.

[theBruiser500]

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The best player in the world, Kasparov, has basically memorized every possible move one can make in a game and plays accordingly, which is the same thing a computer does when it plays chess. When he rarely makes a wrong move he often realizes it right after and gets angry.
In starcraft there are many more factors you have to put into the game.

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This is obviously written by someone that does not play chess. Memorize every move in the game? Are you kidding me? Then I guess he really didn't lose a match to Kramnik in 2000. Memorization of theory is important, yes, but go over his game against Topalov in Wijk aan Zee in 1999 or Fischer's game of the century against Byrne, or any game of Tal's or Keres's (I could keep going)and tell me it's all memorization. I'm sorry if I come across as angry, but you know next to nothing about chess.

Your comparison of StarCraft to chess is ridiculous. Completely ridiculous. I'll repeat it once more, chess is not all memorization.

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Memory is huge in chess. As far as I can see, it's hard to get better at chess without a lot of experience, moreso than other tasks. Even when you're past the opening move sequence, all moves and situations analyzing them is just comparing them and matching them to previous situations that you've played out before that are in your memory.