Poker and Chess

G

groggy44

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 8, 2013
Total posts
111
Chips
0
After flopping middle set last week and simply not believing villians river bet although I was only really beating a bluff after i thought about I decided to play chess. A game which i have much more control, chess. It was a good time for to take a break because i was just spewing money. I have not played chess in almost 5 years as most of my friends aren't really into chess.
Some of the things I learned from playing chess that I can relate to poker.
Look at all the angles. On the chess board, it was trying to figure out what my opponent was up to. On the poker table the same thing applies. What hands would be flat pre? check call flop and turn, pretty harmless river now he's trying to get it all the money in the pot? Is my top pair any good? He could be spewing with JJ or worse? Does he have a set? What's going on here. More often than not I think my hand is dead and I'm usually right.
On the chessboard there is the sacrifice which is usually, rook takes bishop,knight or pawn or bishop takes pawn. To me this is checking the turn the A hits completing your hand in position. You're afraid of the A. Giving up some value for hopefully better returns on the river. Rooks in chess are strong pieces however the goal is mate the king. In poker 3 streets of value but I want his whole stack. Now villian thinks I'm scared of the A and is going to get tricky on me. Villan checks the river, I bet, he 3bets(and the heavens open up finally) I'm all in, no problem. Stack has been mated to speak. Villian is left crippled. Need to find new target.
Oddly enough position is key in chess so that you can launch an attack. The button always has the best chances to attack if he chooses.
Finally, the thing I learned is that I have to play my game, my style, the way I want to play. Just like in poker, i know the guy on my right is a maniac, does that mean I have to be a maniac too? Nope, just have to wait on the poker gods to grace me with KK over his QJ suited.

Does anybody else see any similarities to poker and chess? what are you thoughts? oh yeah, I did bink the freeroll on carbon last night although last hand was a super suckout. ATs vs AQo. Flopped a flush. See ya on the felt
 
Daniel72

Daniel72

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Total posts
2,284
Awards
2
Chips
18
In chess you have "position" with the black pieces, because you can act after your opponent made his move. But having the white pieces is a well known advantage in chess, you have a tempo more and all statistics and databases show a better score for white.
 
J

joefun10

Rising Star
Silver Level
Joined
May 18, 2013
Total posts
23
Chips
0
a eample that chess and poker have similarities is dan smith
He is very at poker and chess
 
LeeCallaghan

LeeCallaghan

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Aug 10, 2013
Total posts
705
Chips
0
But Poker is skill and LUCK
Chess is ONLY SKILL haha
 
Gorak

Gorak

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 7, 2009
Total posts
2,944
Chips
0
Good thing there is luck involved in Poker because there would be no fish left by now.
 
J

jcdagenius

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 13, 2013
Total posts
295
Chips
0
i think poker and chess are very alike in many ways....even off the fact of knowing what opponents will do and just the deep thought that goes into both
 
Emperor IX

Emperor IX

Cardschat Elite
Silver Level
Joined
May 28, 2007
Total posts
2,974
Chips
0
But Poker is skill and LUCK
Chess is ONLY SKILL haha

Chess and Poker intersect a lot in that there is a heavy metagame element (which at certain points can be fairly "luck" oriented). Chess fascinates me because of the depth and complexity in what could easily be misconstrued as simple moves.
 
ckickenking

ckickenking

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 2, 2010
Total posts
1,006
Awards
1
Chips
1
I don't know... the only similarity they share is that both game takes patience. As far as anything else.... chess is chess and poker is poker. Nothing directly related in my opinion.
 
X

xCipx

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Sep 16, 2008
Total posts
128
Chips
0
chess is a lot more intellectual. takes more smart, patience hard to compare them both
 
syanide

syanide

Rising Star
Bronze Level
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Total posts
5
Chips
0
i think chess and poker do have some common ground, however, there is a big difference. In poker, your heart rate plummets up and down per hand, (im sure someone has had a heart attack from a bad beat or ultimate showdowns lol), and yet in chess, very rarely can a players heart do the same.

so i guess the point is, poker is far more exciting to play!! do you agree?

over and out, syanide
 
loafes

loafes

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Aug 16, 2013
Total posts
1,049
Chips
0
i think chess and poker do have some common ground, however, there is a big difference. In poker, your heart rate plummets up and down per hand, (im sure someone has had a heart attack from a bad beat or ultimate showdowns lol), and yet in chess, very rarely can a players heart do the same.

so i guess the point is, poker is far more exciting to play!! do you agree?

over and out, syanide
You're obviously not a chess player then :rolleyes:
 
S3mper

S3mper

Poker Not Checkers
Loyaler
Joined
May 13, 2013
Total posts
8,355
Awards
2
US
Chips
123
I'll beat anyone here in chess =) who wants my action vs opponents
 
loafes

loafes

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Aug 16, 2013
Total posts
1,049
Chips
0
I'll beat anyone here in chess =) who wants my action vs opponents
I'll take a piece of that vs me!

Or rather I would if I had any money and wasn't just building up my roll :p
 
Daniel72

Daniel72

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Total posts
2,284
Awards
2
Chips
18
i think chess and poker do have some common ground, however, there is a big difference. In poker, your heart rate plummets up and down per hand, (im sure someone has had a heart attack from a bad beat or ultimate showdowns lol), and yet in chess, very rarely can a players heart do the same.

so i guess the point is, poker is far more exciting to play!! do you agree?

over and out, syanide


I disagree too

In chess there are many exciting moments:
- when you are in heavy time trouble (ist played with chess clocks)
- when you have a beautiful sacrifice (for instance the queen)
- when it´s a decisive game for the tournament

or

- will he see my trap ?
- will he play my favourite opening variation ?
- does he see the checkmate in x moves ?
etc.
 
S3mper

S3mper

Poker Not Checkers
Loyaler
Joined
May 13, 2013
Total posts
8,355
Awards
2
US
Chips
123
I'll take a piece of that vs me!

Or rather I would if I had any money and wasn't just building up my roll :p

Lol I don't have any money either =( we will need to find two people willing to stake us in a chess game =)
 
MediaBLITZ

MediaBLITZ

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 29, 2011
Total posts
2,206
Chips
0
Going into a tournament my mantra is often - "Just play chess"
 
loafes

loafes

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Aug 16, 2013
Total posts
1,049
Chips
0
Lol I don't have any money either =( we will need to find two people willing to stake us in a chess game =)

That's the problem with us chess players, so few of us have any money :p having said that Iv'e made more money playing chess than I have playing poker.



And in regards to the OP. I think there are similarities between the two in terms of skiil sets and player pool. What I mean is that both games are strategic mental games and skills that are possessed by chess players transfer very well to playing poker. For example to be a good chess player you need to, like poker, really imerese yourself in the game. Also consider that to be a good chess player you need to do a lot of study away from the board reading lots of books/ watching videos, keeping up with the latest theory and seeing what's going on in the chess world as well as analysis your games even using computer programs to help out. Plus in both games you need to get used to prolonged periods of intense mental activity and get used to the fatigue that goes with it. Those are just some examples.

I also believe that a lot of chess players profile the same as poker players which may come as a surprise.
 
Loonbat

Loonbat

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Total posts
386
Chips
0
Several professional chess players (and Backgammon players) have gone on to be very successful poker players. I hypothesize you will likely find a much higher percentage of poker players who play chess at a high level, compared with the population average.

It doesn't shock me, though. As with all good chess players, all good poker players think ahead, and consider the response to each of their actions.
 
syanide

syanide

Rising Star
Bronze Level
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Total posts
5
Chips
0
I am as a matter of fact. I am intrigued that you like to differ that a chess players heart races up and down like a poker players, seeing as you presumed by my statement I dont play chess or know nothing of heart rates in chess.

You mean to say, that when you shove a pawn on the frontline, moving square by square, that you are going to be sweating, and on tenterhooks to see whether it will get taken away from you?, or you perhaps might do a jig when your queen is closing in on your opponent?

Im chuckling, only because for me, i cant see much common ground other than, using the mind and playing to the best of your ability
 
Airburn

Airburn

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Aug 3, 2013
Total posts
161
Chips
0
I am a 2100 rated chess player ( in the 1% )
I recently started playing poker and been having great success,
I find many things similar in poker and chess and I def think chess and poker needs alot of the same skill sets.
 
SofaKingCrazy

SofaKingCrazy

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
May 29, 2012
Total posts
406
Chips
0
When I started to learn hold'em in 2010 I used chess as sort of a base or foundation upon which I built off of.

I generally played chess with the same opponents and if you can imagine it doesn't take long to understand your opponent (myself included) so I had developed a revolving style to "mix up" my actions and confuse my opponent of what my intent was.

So if you gave me AA with the same stack size and same position on a full table you wouldn't get the same action from me continuously therefore making me harder to "read". As I learned more about hold'em I began to understand that there are certain "risks" involved with doing that and have recently been trying to break that habit.

So in conclusion, nothing similar between chess and poker except for some very broad concepts that would have been incorporated into your game as you became a better poker player anyways.

EDIT: I would also say the chess is more like billiards. Poker is a game of mathematics with odds and percentages placed upon an assumed or determined value where as chess and billiards are games of geometry and use geometric equations to overtake your opponent.
 
Last edited:
MediaBLITZ

MediaBLITZ

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 29, 2011
Total posts
2,206
Chips
0
You mean to say, that when you shove a pawn on the frontline, moving square by square, that you are going to be sweating, and on tenterhooks to see whether it will get taken away from you?,

Pretty poor analogy - kind of like saying, "You mean to say, that when you fold your BB with 68o that you are going to be sweating, and on tenterhooks..."

Face it - at times poker can be much more boring than chess.
 
Daniel72

Daniel72

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Total posts
2,284
Awards
2
Chips
18
But watching chess games can be boring (ist not a big sport for onlookers), because the action is hidden and not visible (it is in the minds of the players), you need good commentators like in the live stream of the current chess World Cup. Watching poker competitions would also be very boring, if there weren´t the hole card cameras..
 
Top