The purpose of this course is to teach students poker fundamentals, both to help them improve at the game and learn wider applications of the game theory found in poker. While we believe students of all skill levels will benefit from the course, though it is primarily targeted at beginners (those with an advanced understanding of the game may find most of the material trivial).

The course will focus on 6-max No Limit Texas Hold'em, the most popular variant of Poker played today. We will begin by covering the rules of the game and basic strategic principles before diving into the mathematics and heuristics used by strong players. We will briefly touch on the psychological aspects of poker, including some common tells and reads found in live play, but it is not the main focus of the course. Instead, we will teach game theory concepts backed by mathematics and statistics, including (but not limited to) Position, Preflop Ranges, Pot Odds, Equity, Bankroll Management, Blocker Effects, Polarization, and Exploitative Adjustments. Learning poker theory is beneficial for many reasons outside of improving at the game: thinking about decisions in terms of their expected value while minimizing variance is a valuable skill (e.g., in statistics, mathematics, game theory, and finance).

Attendance is mandatory (sections meet twice a week for two hours). The majority of one's grade comes from attendance.

Students will register for one section (two classes) to attend per week.