constitutive rules of, 18
as co–operation, 9, 10
counterfactuals in, difficulty of, 110
as creative, 20
and criminality, 217–18
and culture of cheating, 220–21
dangers of, 173–74
deception in
implicit rules about, 141–43
moral acceptability of, 140–41
value of, 37
and disposition, role of, 121–22
distinct features of, 150, 156
and equality, 23
excellence in, 30–32
and Existentialism, 44–45, 61
fear as tactic in, 164
in films, 191–92, 194–95, 198–200, 205–08
fourth–order thought in, 69–70
foxes and lions in, 160–61
and free will, 108
fundamental attribution error in, 86
fundamental theorem of, 27, 98–99
gambler’s fallacy in, 90
and game theory, limits of, 113–15
and gender stereotypes, 204, 207
as global phenomenon, 79–80, 216–17
history of, 148–50, 204, 216
Hobbesian tension in, 193, 195, 201
Husserlian view of, 34–35
image of, 147
implicit rules of, 144–46
information in, value of, 102–04
“jack pot” in, 149
knowing/not–knowing in, 28
knowing what opponent is thinking, 76–80
knowledge, role of, 118–122
“knowledge how” in, 120, 123
“knowledge that” in, 118–120
and life, 3, 13, 41, 50–51
logic and intuition in, 196–97
loss aversion in, 87–88
low limit versus no limit, 121
and luck, 23–24, 105–06, 122, 164–65, 197
manipulating beliefs and emotions in, 145
and mathematical expectation, 98
moral question of, 176
as negotiation, 160
and objective choices, 97–98
objective odds in, limits of, 109
and objective probability, 98, 106
online version, as different, 153, 155–57
and optimal strategy, 114
paradox of, 192, 194–97
patriarchal vision of, 208
and philosophy, xiii–xiv, 3–13, 42
and phronesis, 32–33
in popular culture, 204
popularity of, 204, 216–19, 221
prediction and intention in, 46–47
and probability as guide, 43, 97–99
randomization in, 36–37, 75
and Rationalism, 44–45, 49
reasons for playing, 167
relative probability in, 101
risk in, 79
second–order thought in, 68–69
self–serving bias in, 82–83
and shared belief, 68, 70, 79
short–term thinking in, 83
sixth–order thought in, 71
skill in, 106, 144–45, 168
expert, 74
rise of, 44
as social institution, 156
and species being, 19
as strategic interaction, 112–13
superstitious thinking in, 89
and thought attribution, 65
thought levels in, 68–71, 72, 74–75
uncertainty in, 3–4
and need to act, 6
as uniform and diverse, 196
and violence, 217, 218
vocabulary of, 118
vying in, 149
in Western movies, 191–92, 194–95, 198–200
and women, 210, 212
in films, 205–08
and WPT Cam probability, 98
Poker for Dummies (book), 82
Pokerpages.com, 26
poker player, as shark, 41
poker Existentialists, 45–46
poker Rationalists, 45
Pope Alexander III, 165
Popper, Karl R., 46
Positively Fifth Street (book), 49, 218
possible worlds, 111
pot odds, xv, 7n
practical wisdom, 28, 30
Preston, Thomas “Amarillo Slim.” See Amarillo Slim
Primero (card game), 150, 216
Principal Principle, 96
probability, as guide to life, 95–96
probability theory, on bunching, 91
Pythagoreans, 8
quantum–mechanical universe, 97
quantum–mechanics, 108
Queen High (movie), 205
Quest for Certainty, 54
Quine, Willard V., 67
Rationalism, 42, 48–49
Reese, Chip, 21
Reisz, Karl, 207
relative probability, 96
versus Sklansky probability, 102
Rio Bravo (movie), 191
risk, necessity of, 7
Ritchie, Guy, 208
road gamblers, rise of, 17–18
Roberts, Brian “Sailor,” 17, 18, 21, 53, 82, 163–64, 172
Robinson, Edgar G., 61
Rochester, Ricky, 82
The Rockford Files (TV show), 206
Rock, Paper, Scissors game, 75
Rogers, Ginger, 205
Rogers, Kenny, 207
Rose, Pete, 168
Rounders (movie), xiv, 162, 184, 207
Rush (band)
“Freewill” (song), 6
Russell, Bertrand, 46
Ryle, Gilbert, 71
on disposition, 121
on “knowing that” versus “knowing how,” 118
Sartre, Jean–Paul, 43, 47, 54, 55
Schoonmaker, Alan
The Psychology of Poker, 87
The Searchers (movie), 200
Searle, John
The Construction of Social Reality, 148
Segal, George, 206
Seidel, Eric, 49
self-serving bias, 81–82
Sexton, Mike, 98, 103
Shakespeare, William, xiv
Shane (movie), 195
short-term thinking, 83
Siegel, Bugsy, 218
Simon, Robert, 169
Sisyphus, 55
Sklansky, David, 27, 28, 31, 44, 45, 96, 98
Sklansky probability, 99–101
problem of, 100, 101
versus relative probability, 101–02
Smith, Bill, 184–85
Smith, Ken, 184–85
social contract, 9
Socrates, xiii, 66
Spencer, Herbert, 10
Spinoza, Baruch, 8
Stagecoach (movie), 191, 192
Stephen, Fitz James, 13
Stevens, George, 195
Stewart, Martha, 220
The Sting (movie), 206
Stoicism, 210–11
Sunset Trail (movie), 205
Sun Tzu, 161, 210
The Art of War, 212
survival of the fittest, 9–10
species being, 18–19
Stewart, James, 192
The Sting (movie), 133
stochastic universe, 97
Strangelove, Dr., 113
Strauss, Jack “Treetop,” 21
Strevens, Michael, 97
superstitious thinking, 88–89
Talmud, 183
Taylor, Richard, 50
tennis, as game, 148
Texas Dolly. See Brunson, Doyle
Texas Hold’em, xv–xvi, 4, 17, 117, 149, 165, 184, 216
bluffing in, 132, 154–55
decisive attack in, 162
and disposition, role of, 121
no limit, 3
bluffing in, 127
instinct in, 7–8
and mathematical expectation, 93–95
risk in, 6–8
and thought attribution, 65–66
Texas Ho
ld’em Championship 1981, 184–85, 186–88
thinking
about what others think, 65
question of, 71
Thoreau, Henry David, 8, 12
Walden, 7
thought
fourth order, 69–70
second order, 68–69
sixth order, 71
Three Godfathers (movie), 206
Tilt (TV show), 203–04, 208
poker in, 203
Tombstone, Arizona, 198
poker and prostitution in, 204–05
Tractate Shabbath, 183
Truman, Harry, xvi
uncertainty, need to act within, 5–6
Ungar, Stu “The Kid,” 19–20, 100, 182, 183, 184, 188
at Texas Hold’em championship 1981, 184–85, 186–88
Van Patten, Vince, 98
Varkonyi, Robert, 139–140, 144–45
Violette, Cindy, 212
virtue(s)
character in, 31
classic, 11–12
voluntary action, 30
von Neumann, John, 113
Vorhaus, John, 154
Warren, Ken, 90–91
Winner’s Guide to Texas Hold’em Poker, 90
Wayne, John, 200, 205
Western movies
ambiguity in, 195
as Hobbesian, 201
poker in, 191–92, 194–95, 198–200
Wiesel, Elie, 183
The Wild Bunch (movie), 195
Williams, Serena, 167
Williams, Venus, 167
wisdom, as virtue, 11
Wittgenstein, Ludwig
Tractatus Logico–Philosophicus, xiv
Woodward, Joanne, 206
World Series of Poker, 18, 181, 208, 218
1976, 24
1979, 23
1980, 19
2002, 139, 144
2003, 35, 44
2004, 209
2005, 79, 162
Young Maverick (TV show), 206
ALSO FROM OPEN COURT
Baseball and Philosophy
Thinking Outside the Batter’s Box
Edited by Eric Bronson
Foreword by Bill Littlefield
VOLUME 6 IN THE OPEN COURT SERIES,
POPULAR CULTURE AND PHILOSOPHY
Is the Intentional Walk unethical? Would Kant cork his bat? What could the U.S. Supreme Court learn from umpiring ball games? Thirty-one professional thinkers find wisdom in and through baseball.
“These snappy essays by noted philosophers cover everything from the strike zone to the steroid zone, corked bats to black cats, basepath Kant to pine tar cant. Ninety percent of baseball, as a great philosopher once said, is fifty percent mental. He was wrong; it’s much more than that. Here’s proof!”
—RICK TELANDER, Lead sports columnist, Chicago Sun-Times
“A book for the hardcore baseball fan—Eric Bronson has hit a home run! The reader encounters a pantheon of philosophers, including Socrates, Pascal, and Kant, cleverly intertwined with such baseball legends as Babe Ruth, Pete Rose, and Barry Bonds.”
—FATHER GABRIEL B. COSTA, U.S. Military Academy, West Points
“This is truly a fascinating, unique, and thought-provoking collection of studies that will stimulate the mind of the baseball fan deep into extra innings.”
—JOHN PARENTE, Director of Athletics, Johnson and Wales University
AVAILABLE FROM LOCAL BOOKSTORES OR
BY CALLING 1-800-815-2280
Distributed by Publishers Group West
For more information on Open Court books, go to
www.opencourtbooks.com