The Self-Taught Life

When it comes to poker, do you think you've seen it all?  Do you dare to think you know it all?

There's a computer in Canada which programmers say knows more than you.  And here's the more amazing thing - they say the computer taught itself how to play Texas Hold 'em.

This announcement, for some reason, is not in CardPlayer magazine.  It's in Science.  An online summary indicates this ultimate poker "bot" called Cepheus went through "24 trillion simulated poker hands per second for two months" to develop a winning strategy.  By comparison, some human players do well in a tournament to see 10 hands in a 20-minute blind period.

We couldn't get the playing part of Cepheus to work on two different computers.  But its "pre-flop strategy" in heads-up Texas Hold 'em strikes us as odd.  For instance, it raises with J-4 unsuited practically every time.  So it's an aggressive bot -- yet the programmers tell us it's liable to win most of the time.

We'd stop here and open the blog for comments. Are you a "self-taught" poker player like this?  If so, has it worked for you?

But we'd go farther -- and ask if you're "self-taught" on the bigger things of life.  Have you learned on your own what's going to happen after your life is over?  Or whether there's a God?

For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. - I Corinthians 2:11

 

If God is a mystery to you, perhaps God is closing your eyes to it for now.  But if you're reading this and you're ready to know more, we don't think the self-taught approach will work.  You're going to need help.

"For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. - I Corinthians 2:16

The search for the mind of God starts with reading the Bible -- slowly, not being afraid to ask questions along the way. Ask them to God in prayer. And if you know someone who's already a believer in God and Jesus Christ, ask them for guidance in areas which seem puzzling.

Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who seeks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. - Matthew 7:7-8

We're willing to help if you have questions; leave a comment and an e-mail address if you wish.  May God help you learn the deep things, of this life and the next -- even if it doesn't come at a rate of 24 trillion points per second.