Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society Shares Upcoming Schedule

Harvard-based Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society (GPSTS), the group that "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", is already into high gear with their Spring Schedule (show below).

The group is the brainchild of students at Harvard led by Harvard Law Professor and Berkman Center founder Charles Nesson.

The GPSTS website shows 17 chapters formed and approved, or pending administrative approval at universities across the United States. They have also received interest from and are developing chapters at another 31 universities.

"Poker teaches many lessons that are transferable to the challenges of life, including strategic understanding of risk, resource management and self control," said Nesson, a tenured professor on the Harvard faculty for close to forty years. "When to hold'em, when to fold'em, as the song says."

GPSTS Executive Director Andrew M. Woods was kind enough to share the roster of upcoming GPSTS events with PokerPages.com, but warns that "we're not officially announcing the events after March 19, and some of the events, including the event with Andy Bloch currently scheduled for March 6, are subject to change in time or venue." So it is best to confirm these events directly with GPSTS or the event location.

GPSTS EVENTS CURRENTLY SCHEDULED:

Feb. 27: George Washington University hosts Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas. Pappas will discuss the current legal regime and the poker-related legislation pending before Congress with students. Mr. Pappas will discuss:

- Bill HR2046 sponsored by Congressman Barney Frank- the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act (IGREA), seeking to license and regulate online poker and online gambling in the USA in an effort to counter the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), and

- Bill HR2610 sponsored by Congressman Robert Wexler, to make 'skill' games, including poker, mah-jongg, bridge, and chess, exempt from current online gambling bans, and PPA's efforts to support each bill.

March 6*: University of California, Los Angeles hosts noted professional poker player Andy Bloch, who will discuss his unique poker career and how he has found success by translating his mathematical and legal skills to the poker realm. A MIT-trained mathematician and computer scientist and Harvard-trained lawyer, Mr. Bloch will discuss the parallels between the analytical skills that allowed him to succeed at the world's most selective universities and the skills that allow him to succeed at the poker table.

March 19: Professor Charles Nesson and GPSTS Executive Director Andrew Woods to speak at the Internet Gambling and the Law symposium at the University of Richmond. The 2 GPSTS members, along with Professor John Kindt, Professor I. Nelson Rose, and Professor Frank Vandall, will analyze and debate the current U.S. legal regime surrounding online gaming. The symposium, hosted by the Richmond Journal of Global Law and Business, will involve an in-depth exploration of the current U.S. legal regime, the trade ramifications of the UIGEA and other U.S. gaming laws, and the future of online gaming in the U.S. market.

FUTURE EVENTS BEING CONFIRMED

After March 19, Woods noted that speakers being confirmed include:

- Taylor Caby, founder of and instructor at CardRunners.com, professional poker player and entrepreneur, at NYU Stern Business School speaking on how he has parlayed his successful poker strategies into a successful online business.

- Annie Duke, a highly respected poker player, former psychology PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania, and mother of four children, at University of Southern California, speaking about the marriage of traditional mathematics and game theory in determining successful poker play, understanding the relationships between decisions and outcomes, and how these lessons can be adapted to the larger world outside of the poker table.

- Howard Lederer, another highly respected poker player noted for his cerebral approach to the game, will join students from Stanford University and Stanford Law School to discuss his approach to poker, and how he has parlayed his success at the poker table into a successful career as a commentator, spokesperson, and owner of FullTiltPoker.com.

- Dr. Alan Schoonmaker, a UC Berkley-trained industrial psychologist who has taught at UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, and run management development at Morgan Lynch, will join students at Georgetown University to discuss management of psychological factors to increase profitability at both the poker table and the boardroom table.

OTHER NOTEWORTHY GPSTS EVENTS COMING UP

The first event to mark on your calendar is the GPSTS National Collegiate Poker Tournament (NCPT) scheduled for April 25-27, pitting teams from across the nation in a poker tournament to determine the National Collegiate Poker Champion. Students from GPSTS chapters throughout the nation will participate in a multi-day, multi-table tournament capturing both the spirit of contemporary poker tournaments and traditional collegiate rivalries.

The second event to note on your calendar is a one-day legal summit hosted by GPSTS at Harvard Law School in conjunction with the PPA's Litigation Support Team, scheduled for May 12. The summit will bring together active litigators and legal professors from around the country, and the world, to review legal strategies for challenging existing poker laws.

EVENTS ALREADY HELD IN FEBRUARY

GPSTS has already been very active during February!

Professor Charles Nesson spoke Feb 12 at a seminar on the implications of the global free trade ramifications of the US gaming ban at the Institute of Economic Affairs, in London, UK (click here for related article).

On Feb 20 Harvard Law School hosted journalist Vin Narayanan who discussed the Massachusetts Casino Gaming Bill.

And on Feb. 21 Wharton College and University of Pennsylvania hosted David Apostolico who discussed the business applications of the strategies in his book, "Poker Strategies for a Winning Edge in Business".

LEARN MORE ABOUT GPSTS

To learn more about the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society, and get more information about their events, visit their website at www.gpsts.org.

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