First Post

Today marks the start of my independent study project. The subject I have chosen is poker. Poker is an interesting game to me because is requires both skill and luck. It is interesting how the game seems like luck but skilled players are able to win consistently despite the odds being the small for every player. My goal in this project is to be able to explain poker in terms of strategy and the odds behind the rules.

Poker is a professional "sport" and annual tournaments are held in Las Vegas. However most of the player are not skilled and just want to gamble their money in hopes of "hitting it big". I find it interesting how a player eliminate luck from the equation, and how the game is used in casinos to attract people into playing a game that is essentially rigged against them (house takes a portion of the money).