The Poker Genetic Study - Part 1A. Do our genetics contribute to our mental skills and abilities in poker?
It has often been noted to me that poker is in the blood. Thinking back many years at my Great Grandmother Ballard’s Post Christmas Lunch table they were playing draw poker for coins (3 tables actually – we have a big family and could basically make up half the Aussie Millions contenders if we made an effort. My cousins may correct me but I believe I have around 280 of them LOL). There was no doubt they all loved their cards, it wasn’t just poker they played but all kinds of games.
I think of the post xmas lunches and then think of the city I live in and my relatives that are in it. I have quite a few of my cousins and uncles etc that live here. I rarely see them. When I do, it’s usually head to head at a poker table or briefly as we pass ways at my mums. My sister Roe plays poker too. She is only just 18 but plays pretty good for someone who has never delved beyond an online freeroll game. Then there are my kids ......
My question to me and everyone else as I think deeply on this subject Carrie Bradshaw style (Sex in the City writer who has a personality somewhat like mine) is:
Do our genetics contribute to our mental skills and abilities as a poker player?
Let me start by saying some names. Brunson, Hachem, Shulman, Mizrachi, – got the picture? It seems that poker runs in families. There is no doubt. You are either a black sheep or you fit right in. Well in my case I fit right in! With half of my clan anyway! Hello relatives who frequently read my posts! Xoxo
Anyway, back to the question – is it genetics? You know that’s a hard one to answer! Without in-depth scientific analysis, study and huge research which I clearly can’t afford to do I will never know. But what I do know is that it can only be one of 2 things. Genetic makeup or the daddy see, daddy do theory; or in other words poker as a second language. One of these things is what contributes to our natural skills and abilities as poker players. Maybe it is both?
I started thinking deeply about this a few months back when I was playing a home game of poker with my kids. It was them that begged me. They begged not only me but my boyfriend, my friend, they wanted a game with the “winner takes the bragging rights” and that’s all there was to it! So we played!
My children were talking like men in a strategy meeting. I was shocked! When you have a 12 year old, 11 year old and a 10 year old talking outs, probabilities, positioning it really gets kind of trippy, trust me on that one! Needless to say these kids have brilliant poker faces amidst their bursts of laughter at the obvious confusion of the adults that they are playing. I was hustled. There is no doubt; I was hustled for my home game bragging rights by a pack of minors. They cashed in their bragging rights in order of age, oldest to youngest with all of us adult poker players speechless.
My ex husband (he is surely going to read this ooops) is a gambler. Saturday he is betting on horses and raises 5 times the big blind on a cash table because his hole cards are 2 and 6 (his favourite hand) and he feels lucky is about his poker standard. If my children have poker in their blood it isn’t because of him, that’s for sure!
To add to this analysis my daughter is 5 years old and knows hand rankings, how to look at her cards, when to bet and when to raise (she isn’t too technical of course; she is very young). If poker was in her genetic makeup I believe that at her age she still wouldn’t have a clue on any of these things unless she learnt it alike children learn foreign languages. The same applies to my older kids and their talk on odds, positioning, probabilities and what not. Even if poker was in their genetic makeup they can’t just know these terms. They have soaked them in like a sponge.
When I look at the relatives in my over populated extended family that play poker it is immediate family groups that all play. In example: Uncle Ray, his son Box and Boxes son Little Box all rock at poker. On the other hand I have a string of cousins that don’t even know what a poker table is.
It appears from this brief research (and likely first research) that not only is poker in genetic make-up (as poker runs throughout whole families) but also that a poker players skills and abilities can be greatly attributed to by soaking in strategy at a very young age through the daddy see, daddy do theory.
In saying all of this I often wonder where I fit into the equation. No one in my immediate family plays poker except for my little sister Roe. My mum has no clue, my dad has no clue, my two brothers have no clue. Sure they have played once or twice but they are blackjack players. It is likely Roe soaked up poker as a second language from being around me too much alike my kids; as from what I know her dad didn’t play.
One thing is certain. Each and every family member that I have that plays poker has poker associated personality traits. They are good with money, they love a bit of a punt, they are patient, they all kind of have loud and outspoken personalities and they can all be very intimidating (I won’t continue on these pointers right now).
My question isn’t fully answered so I will continue to conduct research in an attempt to answer the question on genetic factors relating to a person’s poker ability. It appears after quick look in google there has been no previous genetic research on humans and poker. You can now classify this blog as Poker Down Under and Every Where Else Including the Deep in the Human Brain. Poker players have a right to know, genetics plays a big part in many sports on earth and one where you use your brain, body and soul is a necessity for research.
I am adding a page to my blog after passing / Easter called “HAC Poker Genetic Research Institute” or HPGRI in short J If anyone is interested in participating in my research on this topic or has some information, study notes or articles of interest related to it; please contact me via email on hotauschick@gmail.com you will be given credit!
I hope you enjoyed my first research article.
Copyright 2010. ~Danielle Adams-Benham Hot Aussie Chick Blog Spot. All Rights Reserved.
