The last couple of weeks, our family game nights have consisted of poker. I must admit that prior to playing with my kids, I was not a fan of this game. I would imagine it has to do with the people I have played in the past, including hubby. He is very competitive and loves to win. He is also an excellent player when it comes to strategy, chance and bluffing. He is difficult to beat in any strategic game and is well known around the neighborhood (with the kids) as the one to beat.
First of all, let me start out by saying that we play for fun, no money or prizes have been exchanged. We are learning the game and the victory of being the last player with all the chips is sweet! Although, I have a feeling that over the holidays, we will have a neighborhood tournament that just might include a small prize.
Poker can certainly be a fun way to teach kids math, strategy, probability and managing your money. It is also a great way to learn the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, or simply put – winning and losing. None of us like to lose but kids get a chance to see that during the game, everyone wins and loses. They can even experience a player that seems to be doomed rise up and take it all!
Last week, we had two neighborhood boys join us for a game of poker. One of the boys is your typical impulse, risk taker and the other is more methodical and doesn’t take too many risks. The impulse player was out of the game pretty quickly as he decided to bluff and go “all in”. The other neighbor slowly beat all of us and then managed to win against hubby. He had only played poker a few times and he was beaming! It was fun and exciting to watch.
We even spent time watching a recent World Poker Tournament that was on the DVR. Shortly after that, my son said he was ready to play some more poker.
He came out looking like this…
and we knew we were in trouble!
Our Family Game Night is all about having fun, whether it is playing poker, a Wii game or the Game of Life! Make a point to set aside one night a week and bring on the games!
Since poker can be a controversial topic, what is your take on playing poker with the kids? (please comment below)
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