UK Schools to Introduce Poker into Curriculum?

The president of the International Federation of Poker, Anthony Holden is now suggesting that schools in the United Kingdom introduce poker to the curriculum. Children attending the New York Henry Street School for International Studies have benefited from the introduction of poker as an extra-curricular activity in 2007. Holden said, “The Henry Street project has broken new ground and I am hopeful that educators in the UK and elsewhere will sit up and take notice. “There is a significant body of academic research that confirms that playing non-gambling poker teaches youngsters a range of life lessons from the skill of 'reading ' an opponent – essential to all negotiations – to the ability to rapidly calculate probability. “Like other mind sports poker is a valuable support tool in education. It promotes the development of concentration and the memory, helps develop a structured mind and the power of reasoning and positive behaviour patterns.”