Category Archives: training
“This is what 5% feels like.”
Today I’m going to give you an explicit technique to improve your rationality. But first, a short digression: Have you ever seen poker players on TV talk to themselves? It’s an interesting phenomenon and there’s a few different motivations behind it. … Continue reading
Good decisions rather than good outcomes
One of the many reasons why poker is a good rationality training game is that it contains randomness, and thus requires probabilistic thinking. We humans are very bad at such thinking. For example, our emotional associations are, by default, about … Continue reading
Quick Math Part 1: Introduction and Heads Up Win Percentages in Hold ‘Em
It is impossible to fully implement Bayes’ Theorem in all but the simplest circumstances, so we must settle for approximations. The key in most things is not to be exact but to avoid mistakes that can lead to large errors. … Continue reading
Hindsight Bias
Hindsight bias is our tendency to overestimate the obviousness of events… once they’ve already occurred. “I knew it!” is a common utterance at the poker table. I hear it all the time. Often it will be right after someone calls a … Continue reading
Train to be rational?
Rationality is the process of coming to correct beliefs. Correct beliefs turn out to be really important. Being correct about how the world works gives you a huge advantage in achieving your goals. No matter what you want to do … Continue reading
Posted in cognitive biases, rationality, training
Tagged bias, overconfidence, rationality
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Poker as zen practice
As epitomized by poker television, the most dramatic moment in poker is waiting breathlessly for the showdown between two all-in players. I can’t help but do it in my own play — stare anxiously at the cards appearing in front … Continue reading
Poker as a Transferable Skill
Several researchers have studied poker. Most of what they’ve concluded is that poker is a game of skill, not luck. Perhaps more interesting though is recent work that has been done on the transferability of the skills involved in poker. It appears poker players experience … Continue reading
The Objective of Poker
Rather than start with the rules themselves, the story of Rationalist Poker will begin with the objective. The objective of poker is the same as the objective of everything else: To gain utility. While playing poker, this utility will usually … Continue reading
Poker as Rationality Training
Looking for the best known form of rationality training? How about a fun, addictive game you can play from anywhere that rewards you with more money as you become more rational? Welcome to online poker! Poker can be the key to conquering … Continue reading
Rational Poker 