This intersession course aims to take students from novices who may know nothing about poker to above-average players, in two weeks. The course will utilize hand examples and discussions of common poker situations to study the fundamentals of the game. The statistics, combinatorics, and game-theoretical aspects of poker will be covered, with practical examples of every concept. Lectures will focus on core concepts in Texas Hold `em, with an emphasis on cash games. Tournament-specific concepts will be covered toward the end. There will be a guest lecture by 2005 WSOP Main Event runner-up Steve Dannenmann, whose live tournament winnings exceed $4 million. The course will culminate with a poker tournament at the instructor's home at the end of intersession.
About the instructor
Avi Rubin, professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins, has been studying and playing poker for over a decade. He has played in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas every summer since 2014. Rubin's lifetime tournament results include seven first place finishes in casino tournaments with fields larger than 100 players, and a top 30 finish in a World Series of Poker circuit Main Event. He has played in nine large charity poker tournaments, making the final table six times. Rubin's lifetime poker profits in cash games exceed his tournament winnings, including a profitable high-stakes (25-50) cash session in a made-for-TV table that consisted of seven world-class professionals, one a World Series Main Event champion and another a runner-up. Rubin also published an article about the security of online poker in All In magazine and has a patent on the related technology.
Full syllabus is online.
