Over the last several years I've been exposed and interested in ESPN's world series of poker on t.v. I have known for some time how to play some poker games. My friends and I used to play 5-card draw, 5-card stud, and 7-card stud. But now, no limit texas hold-em, is all the rage. Recently, my wife and I helped my special needs son in rearranging his bedroom furniture. It had been something he had wanted to do for some time now, so we indulged him. The reason that I mention this is that during the fiascoe that was this change in his room I became intrigued as to the similarities in poker and the handling of a special needs teenager.
For instance; in poker, the object is to make the best 5-card hand you can with the cards you have. Sometimes you have more than 5 cards to consider and sometimes you don't. In handling my son, I often have to give him 5 or more choices to rank, either highest priority or best to worst, so that I may know how to approach helping him and teach him how to help himself later.
In poker, there are multiple rounds of betting involved during a hand. In helping my son, I'm always asking him if he is sure if he wants to go down a certain path, figuratively, or if he wishes to change his mind. The is much like raising a bet to see if your opponent is still "in or out". Oddly enough, my son never folds, he just keeps on feeding the pot.
In poker, specifically no limit texas hold-em, you have the option of going "all-in" at any time. For those who don't understand what this means, it means that you can put all of your chips in the pot at any time. When it comes to helping my son, this is usually seen when he completely resists my advise. This is usually when he and I butt heads the worst and most often.
In conlusion; whether I have a royal flush or high card, I'm always battling between trying to check-raise my son, fold to his superior hand, call his bluff, go all-in on my bluff, or slow play my hand until I see what he is trying to do. It is often a case of who knows better vs. who thinks he knows better. I guess that my final thought on this is that since it is gambling anyway, you are probably better off heeding the advise of the moral majority and don't gamble at all. If you do decide to though, bet with your head not over it, set a limit, and most of all, make it what it is........fun!
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