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#1
09-26-2007, 10:26 AM
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The Theory of Poker
Nevermind how The Theory of Poker relates to your life. Let's see how it relates to your spiritual life. My argument is that poker parallels a spiritual journey much more closely than an atheistic one.
To be successful at poker you have to be humble, have a disregard for money and always do the right thing regardless of the outcome (because ultimately if you do the right thing you will be a winner). If one is a good poker player then over time following all these attributes that a good player possesses he will develop the quality of "absolute fearlessness" on the poker table... How does this relate to atheism? Atheism is not a system. Certain religions, however, do have a system of organized rules/beliefs to follow ...They teach humility in order to discern your own mistakes and be able to correct them, to disregard the value of money in pursuit of your goals and that absolute fearlessness will result, for example, in the case of the New Testament where Christ exhorts a follower to pick up his cross and follow me...This is essentially an exhortation to be absolutely fearless in following him.... Note: there may be other attributes to be examined, but this is a new thought I am exploring today...please lambast me as gently as possible (lamb bast pun intended...hehe he) 
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#2
09-26-2007, 10:33 AM
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Re: The Theory of Poker
[ QUOTE ]
Nevermind how The Theory of Poker relates to your life. Let's see how it relates to your spiritual life. My argument is that poker parallels a spiritual journey much more closely than an atheistic one. To be successful at poker you have to be humble, have a disregard for money and always do the right thing regardless of the outcome (because ultimately if you do the right thing you will be a winner). If one is a good poker player then over time following all these attributes that a good player possesses he will develop the quality of "absolute fearlessness" on the poker table... How does this relate to atheism? Atheism is not a system. Certain religions, however, do have a system of organized rules/beliefs to follow ...They teach humility in order to discern your own mistakes and be able to correct them, to disregard the value of money in pursuit of your goals and that absolute fearlessness will result, for example, in the case of the New Testament where Christ exhorts a follower to pick up his cross and follow me...This is essentially an exhortation to be absolutely fearless in following him.... Note: there may be other attributes to be examined, but this is a new thought I am exploring today...please lambast me as gently as possible (lamb bast pun intended...hehe he) [/ QUOTE ] To win at poker, you must be rational, understand probabilities, take personal responsibility for your actions, and not hope for ridiculous long shots because they make you feel good. Also, you must accept that you have incomplete information and not fill in this gap in this information with a set-in-stone answer, but be astute and humble enough to change your read based on new info or probabilities, even if it means you won't win the hand. What I've just described is the opposite of religious belief.
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#3
09-26-2007, 10:40 AM
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Re: The Theory of Poker
Your entire post is basically saying that system is superior to no system. But that assumes that the game is +EV. Where is your proof of this?
It could be zero EV, in which case you spend an awful lot of time wanking around. It could be -EV, like roulette, and the best system in the world is actually killing your spiritual EV, because you're betting on the wrong game... BTW, are you AIslam? You see, Islam has a system too. Why not follow the Islam spiritual system? It definitely teaches you spiritual strength and fearlessness, and has detailed instructions and insights into all facets of life.
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#5
09-26-2007, 10:43 AM
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Re: The Theory of Poker
[ QUOTE ]
To be successful at poker you have to be humble, have a disregard for money and always do the right thing regardless of the outcome (because ultimately if you do the right thing you will be a winner). [/ QUOTE ] I dont see why you have to be humble (and can think of several counterexamples including at least one pro who thinks an arrogant belief in your own abilities is essential to survive downswings) Having a disregard for money seems an equally bizarre requirement - I think if you place no value on money, you have no reason to maximise EV. I dont think it's a particularly good analogy for either, to be frank.
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#6
09-26-2007, 10:47 AM
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Re: The Theory of Poker
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#7
09-26-2007, 10:50 AM
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Re: The Theory of Poker
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Well are the atheists playing Limit while the non-atheists are playing No Limit...I mean with the non-atheists the sky is the limit..there is no betting structure... [/ QUOTE ] You're confusing real money with imaginary money. I declare myself king of the universe who will take over from God himself eventually. You are just going to be some lowly dude in heaven. I am playing WAY higher stakes than you man!!!
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#10
09-26-2007, 11:03 AM
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Re: The Theory of Poker
[ QUOTE ]
Nevermind how The Theory of Poker relates to your life. Let's see how it relates to your spiritual life. My argument is that poker parallels a spiritual journey much more closely than an atheistic one. [/ QUOTE ] The "logic" of your argument reminds me of that used by the character Bedevere in this scene from one of my favorite movies.
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