The Rabbi Speaks
Mark Green’s Poker Lessons
(as told to Ashley Adams):
Shavuout

BY: Mark Green

BY: Ashley Adams Contact at: (Asha34@aol.com) Author of Winning 7-Card Stud

Shavuout [pronounced Shah vew OAT but also called by older Jews ShaVEWus] commemorates the giving of the Torah, the Jewish law, to the Jews at Mount Sinai. It is celebrated as the time when the Jews were freed spiritually from our slavery to idolatry and immoral behavior. In that sense it connects us to Passover, the holiday that celebrates our freedom from physical slavery.

The connection to poker is two-fold. First there is the method of observance of Shavuout. In addition to attending the regular evening and daily services on this two day major holiday, there is a custom that I have always found most enlightening. Learned Jews, to fully appreciate the power and importance of the Torah, often stay up all night in study - learning together through the night

Go figure. Zealous Jews pull all nighters on this holiday. Who knew?

It's not so bizarre as all that. Which of us have not done the same at the poker table - staying late into the night, far into the wee hours, and still playing when the sun came up the next day? Perhaps we felt a bit disgusted with ourselves for not having the self control and discipline to leave. At the very least most of us were probably bleary eyed and groggy for the rest of the day - whether we continued to play poker or not.

But here's the point in this. How much better for us as poker players if we had planned to stay all night than if we just couldn't resist the temptation to stay. That which we do intentionally is, for me at least, imbued with greater meaning and importance than that which we just stumble into by accident, inertia, or chance. Even something as physically and mentally draining as staying up all night can truly be a positive learning experience if we do it with the proper motivation and preparation.

My best all night poker sessions were those I planned for - those I anticipated and expected. And there have been many. In fact, I've found that I am at my best when I get up at 1:00 AM, drive down and start playing at around 3:00 AM, playing until 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning. Since I am expecting this, I've taken precautionary measures - sleeping late the day before, catching a midday nap if possible, not drinking any alcohol with dinner, and maybe having a couple of extra cups of coffee when I arrive. How much better am I prepared than those poor schlubs who just happen to still be hanging around after an extra long session the day and night before. I'm fresh; they're toast. What a great recipe for a win.

But this alone isn't the lesson I take from Shavuout and apply to poker. When I stay up all night learning the Torah, I am mindful of what it is I am celebrating by staying up all night. It isn't frivolity that propels me through to dawn, it is a true love of this law that God gave us. Where, after all, would any of us be if we didn't have ethical precepts to guide and direct us? We would have anarchy and chaos. So I stay up all night to revel in the miracle of law and the wonder of Torah.

I am similarly committed to guidelines in poker. It's not enough for me to just play for the sake of playing - throwing my chips in as whim and whimsy dictate. Others may like that carefree style. I don't. I like rules and limits and reasons for checking and betting and raising and folding. I like a structure that I can use to guide my play, press my advantage and exploit my opponents' weakness. And when I mindfully stay up all night pursuing my favorite hobby I am doing it not out of debauchery or nihilism, but just the opposite. In choosing this time to play, I am celebrating the triumph of rules and order over the loose and undisciplined world of the all night card game - and the undisciplined life.

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