Kristy Gazes Wouldn't Let Her Daughter Play Poker
September 25, 2007 - Deanna Goodson
We were reading an interview with recent WPT Ladies Night winner, Kristy Gazes, last weekend. The lovely lady, who plays online at Full Tilt Poker, and has been racking up the accolades (all well-deserved we might add) including a final table appearance at the 2007 Aussie Millions Main Event, mentioned that she would not let her daughter, if she had one, play poker for a living.
In fact, Kristy said, "I would lock her up and throw away the key. I would not let her play poker for a living. I don't think it's a good environment for women, or anyone for that matter. It takes a certain kind of person, and you gotta be a little crazy to want to gamble for a living. I definitely wouldn't want her to take the same path as I did."
This makes us wonder a bit. We respect Kristy a lot. She's one of the true chicks with chips. We admit that the poker life is not the easiest one to live.
However, is poker itself necessarily a bad thing for kids to pursue? Before you draw and quarter us, let's qualify that statement a wee bit. We're not suggesting that anyone lower the gambling age. We don't want to see kiddoes in casinos or waging cash online. That's not what we're about.
We just wonder if poker concepts and skills might be beneficial for children to become aware of. For us, that resounding answer is yes. Having a child learn the game and play the game is different than allowing a child to actively pursue gaming as a career. We get that.
However, some poker skills can certainly help children become better decision makers and, perhaps, stronger individuals.
For example, poker is a game of observation. Learning how to actively observe others so they can pick up clues about body language and so forth is a skill that will carry children very far in life especially those of the male persuasion. Imagine if those little boys grow up into men who marry women. If our husbands had the same powers of observation that Daniel Negreanu did - and employed them in their day-to-day lives, well, we wouldn't argue with them nearly as much.
Secondly, poker is a game of odds, outs and stats. Poker math is good math to know. It's a real-world application of statistics and probability. Learning how to figure out the math behind each decision is a good way to teach kids how to apply logic to their thinking as well.
Finally, poker can be used to teach good sportsmanship and etiquette. The game can make the best of us steam or tilt. If a child learns that these behaviors aren't beneficial to his or her game, he or she might realize that they aren't beneficial to his or her life.
In a nutshell, poker can be used as a training ground for life. Parents should play with their children and monitor their activities especially if those children are quite young. Older children can play poker with friends, but keep the stakes low such as cookies, goldfish crackers or maybe just make the game a fun one where you rake in nothing more than chips and fellowship.
Poker shouldn't be something children are frightened to explore. They should be introduced to the game at home and learn how to manage themselves within the game at home if they're interested in it. Whether they choose to make it a career or not is something a parent can't ultimately control. However, a parent can influence their child's choices by helping them to make wise ones.
We think playing poker with children in a controlled environment and with the intent to teach specific concepts can be very beneficial for the entire family. It's a great way for a family to play together...and you know what they say about families that play together? They stay together.
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