School Presentation

Hey guys, I am doing a 10 minute presentation in one of my classes titled "Basis Ideas of Winning Poker." I am talking about the concept of expectation and a couple of little strategy tidbits. Do any of you have any suggestions for things I should talk about? I am assuming that nobody in the class knows anything about the subject.

Thanks guys! If I get anybody interested in the game, maybe they will make a donation to the poker economy.

ummm how is your school going to feel about you encouraging people to gamble?

Originally Posted by Elrohir44

Hey guys, I am doing a 10 minute presentation in one of my classes titled "Basis Ideas of Winning Poker." I am talking about the concept of expectation and a couple of little strategy tidbits. Do any of you have any suggestions for things I should talk about? I am assuming that nobody in the class knows anything about the subject.

Thanks guys! If I get anybody interested in the game, maybe they will make a donation to the poker economy.

I teach school meeloche (college), and we discuss poker all the time. We even play NLH for chocolate one day my prob-stats class so we can use poker examples the rest of the semester. Dunno where elrohir goes to school, though. St. Mary's Middle School might not like it :P

I've actually helped start a poker discussion group at my university. One favorite is showing YouTube clips of the pros people recognize: Doyle, Ivey, Hellmuth, Chan. You should show some interesting hands that illustrate your strategy discussions. Pot odds examples always make the presentation seem more about mathematics than gambling, imo.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Elrohir44

Hey guys, I am doing a 10 minute presentation in one of my classes titled "Basis Ideas of Winning Poker."

what class?
sociology? psychology (addiction OR social schooling OR pavlovian reflex, or whatever)? ethics/philosophy? Tax law?
just so long as it's not maths or stats, cos that shit's been played dude.

anyway.
presentation = "basis ideas of winning poker"
1) learn about poker
2) get really, really good
3) play against players worse than you
4) too easy
(skip 1&2 if you want)

Originally Posted by daven

Originally Posted by Elrohir44

Hey guys, I am doing a 10 minute presentation in one of my classes titled "Basis Ideas of Winning Poker."

what class?
sociology? psychology (addiction OR social schooling OR pavlovian reflex, or whatever)? ethics/philosophy? Tax law?
just so long as it's not maths or stats, cos that shit's been played dude.

anyway.
presentation = "basis ideas of winning poker"
1) learn about poker
2) get really, really good
3) play against players worse than you
4) too easy
(skip 1&2 if you want)

LoL. This is the shit I play. And I really like the 'skip 1&2 if you want'!

vnh

It is a social science senior colloquium (whatever that is). There is no set thing we are supposed to talk about, the purpose is just to show that we can put together a presentation and speak publicly. I am going to Cal State Pomona, in case anyone is from socal.

Maybe focus on playing a tighter selection preflop(people who have just seen poker on tv or play with friends think any two is good)

And you can talk about odds and implied odds post flop.

So far, I have talked about how the flow of the game, the concept of expectation with and example that includes counting outs, pot odds, and implied odds, I say that when you play good poker it is boring because you fold so many hands, patience (according to me) is one of the most important things in poker, and I talk about how tells are overated and how Hollywood has decieved us.
The presentation is only supposed to be 10 minutes long so I dont think I can fit anything else in.

I've tried to explain poker to an utter poker "noob" before (he was headed to a game that night). It is impossible without big pictures / sitting at a table.

"Okay so everyone gets two cards..." (simple enough)
Then the SB is forced to put in a bet... (what's that?)
It's like an ante. (?)
Um, well, in poker, they have these 'forced bets' to get the action going, to ensure everyone doesnt't fold most of the time.
... well after the 1/2 blind and full blind chip in, play continues in a counterclockwise direction starting with the guy to left (under-the-gun they call it) and ending with "dealer."...

Other hard things to explain w/o visuals:
how betting rounds work / when they end.
which specific hands win at the showdown
what the hand rankings are

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's really damn hard to (quickly) teach a layman without just taking to them to table. Sit someone at a table, Hold'em is easy as hell to learn (the rules). Trying to explain the rules verbally is trickier. And if some audience don't know the rules, the talk of strategy will mean nothing (literally) to them.

So I think you should just stick to things that don't require "rules" knowledge:
DO:
probability / expecatation in gambling. AKA explain "long term winnning" and how poker isn't like a roulette wheel / blackjack / any other rigged, losing game. Game of both skill and luck (this in itself could prob. take 10 minutes).

How tough poker is, how it relates to other ... sports?... with the required discipline / emotional control in the roller-coaster ride that is a poker game. (how important it is to keep cool after losing a big pot, fold hand after hand even if you have to fold 100 bad hands in a row)

Maybe end with "remember, only gamble what you can afford to lose kids..." or some disclaimer.

I don't like "tells are overrated" or "implied odds." Something on tells may be interesting. Actually, it probably would be (you can do / explain the tells). However comparing them to the underrated "betting patterns" seems like a pain in the ass. Also implied odds would take a 1/2 hour to explain properly. (Think about explaining implied odds of a flush draw on the flop... so much has to be explained there).

id imagine this would be really boring for the vast majority of people who are only there because they have to be.

LoL Pelion. I totally agree but the thing is I have to listen to them talk to! [/quote]

Tell them you're awful and that you'll teach them the rules and whatnot in a quick little cash game. Rinse them.