Can poker be used as a teaching aid?

Your 7th grader's math teacher wants to teach the class Hold'em. Would you think this is a good idea?

Thanks to @nabmom for the topic idea.

I wouldn't like to encourage youngsters to gamble .

But i do think teaching the mathematical side of poker could be very useful and make the subject more enjoyable for them to participate in.

very good question and i can see there will be both sides of the fence with the pros and cons.

Believe it or not - this actually does happen in schools - i know from personal experience!

It is how it is used and its not a regular thing, it has specific lesson planning and aims to tackle lots of things centered around probabilities and other mathematical questions.
No focus on gambling and that side is heavily endorsed, it is pure maths based.

Edit - this does depend on your country, state and individual schools charter/board.

I don't think it's a good idea as children will be likely to get addicted of this game and affect their performance on other subjects.

Teaching them a simple topic named Probabilities is better. As they get older they will understand that concept in poker.

deffo, would be great in a stats class

Yes, it is! Just because of my personal experience...

My grandfather taught me to play poker in preschool, I didn't make a single mistake in all my education experience lol - and if we go back to preschool, I was good at mathematics before 6 years old...

My advice don't do it. Majority of the those parents for those kids are gonna not like that very much and cause huge problems for you. To the point it could come to costing you your job. I wouldn't chance it.

Now do I think poker can be a good learning tool and teach one lessons 100% I sure do. It can not only be used for math but also can teach common sense and help with logical thinking skills. Can teach patience, bankroll management and a number of other skills as well. But risking getting in trouble and my job to teach other peoples kids those things while also teaching them to gamble. That's a hell no from me unless I hated my job and didn't want it anymore.

PS. Personally I wouldn't have an issue I interduced and taught my step kids about poker and let them read all my older poker books. I'm also not your avg parent in 2024.

Cheers!!!

The law does not prohibit playing cards. But for a school, the law is its charter and internal regulations.If this happened, the teacher would be fired.The teacher is right if the ban on card games is established in the school's internal regulatory act, which may be called "Rules of Conduct for Students at School" or "Rules of Internal Regulations for Students." If your school does not have such a document or it says nothing about playing cards, then the school administration has no legal grounds to ban card games during breaks and other non-school hours. Look for this Regulation on your school's website or ask the head teacher to provide this document for review.

I think it's probably a fun way to teach math and probability theory, poker is a card game.... same as any other card game. The only time it can be considered gambling is when you are wagering money, which you can do with anything you wish to place a bet on. I think teaching children to gamble would probably be frowned upon but making math more fun to learn is a good idea!

Martin said:

Your 7th grader's math teacher wants to teach the class Hold'em. Would you think this is a good idea?

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Thanks to @nabmom for the topic idea.

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maybe after a class where the concept of EV and the reasons why normal casino games are unprofitable are explained

Maybe not on the 7th grade unless the teacher can present a really solid grounds for this kind of action.
That is such a dangerous age anyways. Peer pressure is enormous.

No. I do not think its a good idea to teach 7th graders Hold'em.
There are better ways to teach math. The deck of cards may be used to teach probabilities & statistical inferences without teaching Hold'em. Hold'em, unfortunately, is an addictive gambling game. With online access, it could ruin the studies of students & not a good use of their allowances which are meant for other purposes. Nothing good could ever result here. There is a better way.

Martin said:

Your 7th grader's math teacher wants to teach the class Hold'em. Would you think this is a good idea?

​

Thanks to @nabmom for the topic idea.

Click to expand...

Poker is more probability theory than mathematics. And it is too early for a 7th grade student to look for this discipline.

Martin said:

Your 7th grader's math teacher wants to teach the class Hold'em. Would you think this is a good idea?

​

Thanks to @nabmom for the topic idea.

Click to expand...

properly understanding the stats might be a little too advanced at that age. Properly understanding the math behind gambling is the strongest armor against addiction.

Personally, I am categorically against . You can’t teach gambling from childhood .
I know a lot of families whose family was destroyed by gambling.

I would say that poker is a brilliant teaching tool. But it has to be teached correctly, so that they learn it not as this fun game where I can win chips/money, but as a way of understanding risk, as a way of understanding emotion and how you're supposed to regulate emotion so that you make better decisions.

Martin said:

Would you think this is a good idea?

Click to expand...

In my opinion, I think it would be a subject that would have to be well organized and evaluated by teaching technicians from the City or Municipality.

In which subject would poker fit? Mathematics or Financial Management System, or both.

It is a very delicate subject, when we talk about children or young people, we do not want a school to become a poker house, and for students to go to an educational institution thinking only about gambling and forgetting about other subjects.

I believe it would be a good fun way of learning. Of course, it doesn't have to be Hold'em, I would teach them more about Chinese Poker or PL08 just because I think the math in them is more difficult. I am not sure what 7th grade is (how old?) we did not have a 7th grade when I went to school, but I am guessing age 11 - 13, and there are far more reaching things that 11 -13-year-olds are taught these days in schools.

Give it a go, as long as it is restricted to classrooms and banned from the rest of the school grounds, as I can imagine the dinner money being blown every day.

Poker is a good brain exercise)

I would be OK with it but I'm not the only parent with a child in the class.

It's a good game to encourage logical reasoning such as assessing probabilities, predicting outcomes, and developing strategies to strengthen logical reasoning and decision-making skills. And the kids do it in an interactive, social, and fun way that can improve communication skills, as students explain their reasoning and interact with peers.

BUT: teachers have to be careful with the methods they choose since some students or their parents may feel uncomfortable with gambling-related games due to personal, cultural, or religious beliefs. And even if the chance may be small that the children get addicted you probably should avoid money-related games just to be on the safe side. At least when the students are minors.

I think it is not a great idea.

There is a reason why all the responsible gaming and pokersites have an age restriction of 18+ years.

So why is the education system trying to break those ethic rules?

Absolutely, it's a good idea! I really regret that I didn't learn how to play poker in school. Yes, if I had been able to earn money in school since 7th grade, I'm sure I could have used the money I won to do good things. But on the other hand my life motto is “Never regret anything!”.

I think it's a great idea, but not just limited to Hold'em! I loved playing poker as a c hild with my family. I wish I had learned more about the math and probabilities because we just focused on the rules of each game. I think there are a lot of life skills that can be learned through poker: rules, bankroll management (this should include a strong component of playing within your means and with money you can afford to lose), arithmetic, odds/probabilities, self-belief, reading people, bluffing, healthy competition, control of emotions, strategic thinking, patience, resilience, on and on...so many life skills.

my grandma was that woman lol...she once was accused of cheating by a professor and she went off on him just cause im smarter then you doesnt make me a cheat lol. she liked games cards crosswords whatever she taught me by playing with me from about 4 on till about 9 id say i spent time with her daily doing these things ...in 10th grade was told was ranked nationally in math....i burned out in math my grandma was wayyyyyyy smarter faster to answers etc...to imagine living at that time 30s 40s lol and dealing with negativity toward women etc....but ya she was smart....not her husband but a grandfather in 5th grade got me reading john d macdonald travis mcgee books and louis lamour westerns another grandfather again not her husband got me into jesus and god....they all did the big thing as role models and teachers for a troubled child cause i was....add dsylexia etc...i drank out of first cup by wrong side no bull....the best thing they all did was make it fun...they were always teaching their wisdom so ya its a def learning tool helped in many areas of life...i really think we should all learn things like economy constitution how to handle a checkbook etc...learning numbers from poker made my math at a level i never would have achieved without it ...its helped in business and in life not just poker and i met soo many more people because of poker which helped expand my mind my beliefs my values? its what started everything no negatives

This is dangerous for the teacher; children can talk about an interesting teaching method and the teacher will lose his job. The children will get interested in poker and will carry money for breakfast and get it hit in the ass from their parents.
Not a good idea on any side, potentially everyone could get hurt, even the head of the school