Poker and Philosophy: Pocket Rockets and Philosopher Kings (Popular Culture and Philosophy Book 20)

Does God play cards with the universe? Do women have better poker faces than men? What’s the most existential poker movie ever made? Is life more meaningful when you go all-in? Is online poker really still poker? Poker and Philosophy ponders these questions and more, pitting young lions against old masters as the brashness of Phil Hellmuth meets the arrogance of Socrates, the recklessness of Doyle Brunson challenges the desperation of Dostoyevsky, and the coolness of Chris Moneymaker takes on the American tradition of capitalist ingenuity. This witty collection of essays demonstrates what serious card sharks have long known: winning big takes more than a good hand and a straight face. Stacking the metaphorical deck with a serious grounding in philosophy is the key to raking it in, because as Machiavelli proved long ago, it’s a lot better to be feared than loved, and lying is not the same as cheating. Contents Acknowledgments Live Dangerously Part I POKER'S LIFE LESSONS 1. Seven Lessons in Philosophy You Already Learned Playing Texas Hold'Em - Michael Ventimiglia 2. Karl Marx Meets Texas Dolly - Raymond Angelo Belliotti 3. Knowing the Unknowable: Aristotl, Sklansky, and the Humility of Wisdom - Willie Young 4. Poker and the Game of Life - Steven M. Sanders 5. The Existential Gambler: Dostoevsky and the Gambler's High - Peter J. Vernezze Part II DUDE, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? 6. Thinking about Thinking about Thinking about Thinking (about Poker) - Jonathan Ellis 7. Don't Play on Tilt! Avoiding Seven Costly Critical Thinking Errors in Poker - Gregory Bassham and Marc C. Marchese 8. Probabiilty as a Guide to Poker - Don Fallis 9. The Irrational Game: Why There's No Perfect System - Robert Northcott 10. "I Should Have Known It!" Gilbert Ryle and Poker Knowledge - Kenneth G. Lucey Part III LYING, BLUFFING, AND "FRIENDLY" PUMMELING 11. Bluffing, Lying, and Bullshitting - Brian Huss 12. Poker Lies: Keep Your Friends Close and Your Ethicists Closer - Anne Barnhill and Susan Solomon 13. Online Poker: Is It Bluffing when No One Sees You Blink? David R. Koepsell 14. Power Poker: Machiavelli and Brunson's Super System - David Hahn 15. Why My Daughter Plays Poker (and How I Learned to Deal) Mark J. Hamilton Part IV THREE OF A KIND: TEXAS, VEGAS, AND HOLLYWOOD 16. Jewish Philosophy Wins the Pot: How Stu Ungar and Emmanuel Levinas Corralled the Texans - Philip Lindholm 17. Civilization amidst Wilderness: Poker, Hobbes, and Classic Westerns 18. Annie Duke Takes on Hollywood: Girl Power at the Poker Table - Rebecca Housel 19. "The Cheating Game": Poker's Culture of Violence - Wendy C. Hamblet The Players Index