Obama Article Draws Poker Comparisons
Written by Renee K | Thursday, December 10th, 2009
An interesting article appeared in the prestigious National Journal publication, drawing a distinct comparison between President Barack Obama and the game of poker. The article looks at the president’s time in office and shows how his decisions made during his time of office are similar to poker.
“If there is a single game that comes closest to recapitulating modern existence – that both mimics and informs the logic of a cluttered, challenging, bewilderingly complicated, less-than-all-knowing, partially comprehensible human society – it is poker,” begins the article written by author Will Englund.
The author shows how President Obama’s political decisions are made very much like he plays poker – of which he is an avid fan.
In general, the article also discusses poker as a game of skill and even shows how it helps players sharpen their critical thinking skills. The author quotes top Harvard Law Professor, Charles Nesson who founded the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society which essentially promotes the game of poker as a tool to apply to strategic thinking in real life situations.
Another poker author quoted in the piece about Obama is James McManus, who penned Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker and Positively Fifth Street.
The article analyzes President Obama’s poker playing style and the author declares him a traditional Stud player, where his conservative, cautious style would have him excel in the game (and in politics).
“Look for Obama to stick with Stud, where memory and insight and experience and calculation rule the table,” says the author.
Barack Obama has never made his love affair with the game of poker a secret (although he chose not to focus on the subject during his campaign). According to McManus, Obama would organize legendary poker games in Illinois as a way to “meet folks”. His admiration for the game led to a group called Poker Players for Obama lobbying for his election before he became president. The mission of the group was to “mobilize poker players and utilize our collective power to ensure that Barack Obama will be our next president.”
Various presidents in US history were keen, high-stakes poker players including Nixon and Eisenhower. FDR, Johnson and Teddy Roosevelt were all considered casual players, much like the current President Obama.
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· Written by Renee K · Filed Under Poker Gossip · Comments Off
