In a previous post about Jews and Poker I wondered whether there was a link between Judaism and the disproportionate number of Jews who are quite good professional poker players. I just read that the Torah prohibits gambling if it’s done as a profession or out of greed. This would count against the fact that there are so many good Jewish poker players.

However, gambling has been part of Jewish tradition for centuries. Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel. According to the newsletter “Beyond the Odds”, “early Jews” (I’m not sure what period ‘early’ refers to) would use dice to try figure out God’s will when serious decisions could not be made.  I’d love to know the thinking behind this.  I also wonder if one could use this as evidence to convince the religious anti-poker crowd in Congress that even  traditional games of luck, such as craps, may not be entirely games of luck.  That is, perhaps, pace Einstein, God does play dice.

Anyway, some conservative rabbi has embraced this Jewish poker tradition by having a Hold’em tournament in his synagogue (no it’s not called Temple Bet Hold’em), and he thinks he gets around the Torah and its strictures because the poker tournament is for fun and fellowship, even though it is being used to raise money and rewards winners with non-cash prizes.  Is this kosher? I think so. But what do I know? I’m no expert on Jewish law. So WWSD? What Would Schneerson Do?

Last month I received a collection of essays edited by Eric Bronson called “Poker and Philosophy: Pocket Rockets and Philosoper Kings.” I requested the book from the publisher Open Court and promised that I would give a review of it on this site.  Here is the first entry of this review.  There should be many more to come.

One of the essays in the book is by Philip Lindholm entitled “Jewish Philosophy Wins the Pot: How Stu Ungar and Emmanuel Levinas Corralled the Texans”.  I found the essay to be interesting, in large part because it attempts to shows a connection between gamblers and Jews, and since I had written a post on Jews and poker, I thought it would be a good piece to start with in my discussion/review of the book.

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[Editor's Note: Ryan is the author of YogaWisdom and was asked to write a guest blog post for our "Poker & Religion" series]

Poker is many things. It can be big business, a raging addiction, the making of a millionaire, or the breaking of a family to name a few. Poker is one way to gamble. Other ways include starting a new business, having children, living a dream or even moving to a new location. How is poker percieved in the eyes of one who practices yoga meditation for spiritual growth?

From the point of view of yoga a person has four goals to achieve in life. In Sanskrit these are dharma, artha, kama and moksha. In English these translate to moral value, economic value, vital value and eternal value. To live fully each of these need addressed on some level. If poker contributes to these then it would be ok. If it doesn’t then it would be not ok. So what is the determining factor? The person involved in playing poker is the factor.

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