Recently, a thread started on one of the online forums where the original poster asked if people would teach their children poker. It prompted a great discussion, with a lot of very thoughtful replies. It occurred to me that I could offer a relatively unique perspective, since my sons are probably older than the average age of a poker forum poster. And yes, I taught them poker. I chose to teach my sons poker pretty much immediately after I acquired them at the ages of 14 and 10 when my wife and I got married. I thought it was important to show them that I had some value to their lives. As it turned out, they were more impressed with my ability to prepare fried chicken fingers and chili, teaching them scuba diving was a big hit, and the biggest gift I gave them was music. But I’m glad I taught them poker. I think that poker is a great metaphor for many things that happen in life, and learning those lessons in the clear and somewhat purer context of a card game is easier (and less painful) than learning them when you play big pots in the real world. Let me give ...