Harvard Law School Hosts Conference on Poker

Are you buyin’ this? I’m all in. — LD

Speakers Include World Champion Mike Sexton,
Author Jim McManus, Psychologist Alan Schoonmaker

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Students and professors at Harvard Law are hosting a one-day academic conference Saturday examining the educational possibilities of using poker as a teaching tool, and several poker celebrities are expected to attend.

Harvard's Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society (GPSTS) announced the schedule for the conference, which is part of a continuing series at Harvard Law School that examines educational and academic aspects of poker.

The GPSTS has organized student poker societies at several major universities, including UCLA, Stanford, Harvard, and Michigan.

Titled "Innovative Thinking: The Educational Value of Poker," the conference will take place on Saturday, November 10th from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM in the Austin East lecture room of Harvard Law School's Austin Hall.

Press may register by email at globalpoker@gmail.com

Charles Nesson, the Harvard Law Professor and one of the founders of the GPSTS, said: "This conference underscores that poker is more than just a fun game. It is one of the best tools we have to teach negotiation, risk assessment, strategic thinking and other essential life skills."

"It is also a quintessentially American game that draws on the best traditions in our culture, mixing individualism and sociability, and placing a premium on smarts," Nesson continued. "Poker has real educational possibilities, which I look forward to examining in detail at the conference."

Andrew Woods, the Harvard Law student who is executive director of the GPSTS, said, "We are dedicated to three basic goals at GPSTS: forming local chapters at colleges and universities, presenting academic conferences that highlight the strategic thinking and policy implications inherent in poker, and exploring ways to use poker as a bona fide educational tool to teach life skills.

"We are delighted to have such notable speakers Jim McManus, Mike Sexton and Dr. Alan Schoonmaker join us on the 10th."

Conference Topics

-- Fun and Cool: How Educators Can Reach Students Through Poker – Mike Sexton
-- The History of Poker: How U.S. Luminaries Have Anted Up Throughout History, and Why Our Students Should Too - Jim McManus
-- Poker is Good for You: The Ability Of Poker To Teach Life Skills - Dr. Alan Schoonmaker
-- Tools for Education: Interactive Workshops: Introduction To Poker Literacy and Texas Hold'Em Beginners Workshop - Professor Charles Nesson and Andrew Woods
-- Focusing on Pedagogy: Developing An Effective Curriculum For Different Levels Of Education - Professor Charles Nesson and Andrew Woods

About GPSTS
The Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society views poker as an exceptional game of skill that can be used as a powerful teaching tool at all levels of academia and in secondary education. We use poker to teach strategic thinking, geopolitical analysis, risk assessment and money management. We see poker as a metaphor for skills of life, business, politics and international relations. Our goal is to create an open online curriculum centered on poker that will draw the brightest minds together, both from within and outside of the conventional university setting, to promote open education and Internet democracy.

SOURCE: Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society