by Mario Alfonsi | Published on Jun 18, 2012 | Updated on Jun 18, 2012Recently, the poker world learned of the Henry Street School for International Studies in New York City. This school was notable due not only to the fact that it had a poker club for its students, but because many of the most successful students in the school were members. That story shed light on just how powerful poker could be as a learning tool for youngsters – and now one prominent poker advocate is calling for wider use of the game in schools.Anthony Holden, president of the International Federation of Poker, has called upon UK schools to use poker more frequently as a part of their curriculums.“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,” Holden said.Of course, many parents and educators would likely object to their students being taught a gambling game. However, these poker games aren’t played for real money, and the goal isn’t to generate the next generation of British online poker superstars. Instead, Holden sees a future in which poker is used by educators the same way games like chess are now – as ways to teach critical skills to children through games.“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…to the ability to rapidly calculate probability,” he said. “Like other mind sports, poker is a valuable support tool in education.The promotion of poker as a respectable mind sport has been on of the major goals of the relatively young International Federation of Poker. Holden – a poker player and author – founded the organization in 2009 in order to increase awareness of poker as a game of skill, as well as to support the growth and development of the game around the world. One of the more notable accomplishments of the IFP was holding a Duplicate Poker Cup as part of the 2011 UK Mind Sports Festival – a form of the game inspired by duplicate bridge.
