The Poker Parent

More or less a transcript of a talk that I had with the eldest about boys (she's young enough to still talk to me about such things, thank heavens)...

"Well, it's like this. Should you stay in a hand if you've been dealt 2-7 off-suit?"

She looks at me. "Well, I do sometimes..."

I look at her. "But if you did that all the time, you'd lose, right?"

"Sure."

"It's the same thing in dating. If you fall in love with someone who you have nothing in common with, it's like playing 2-7 off-suit. It might work out for you; you could flop trip 2's or trip 7's, and you've got a great hand. But most of the time, that's not going to happen, and you're going to lose if the hand goes to the river."

She nods. My feeling of being a complete gambling degenerate is nicely balanced by the fact that she seems to be getting the concept.

"But if you fall in love with someone who you have a lot in common with, and for more than just because you think they are cute, it's like playing a pair of aces. It still might not work out, but you are just giving yourself more chances."

She nods, then gets distracted by something her younger sister does. I almost feel sorry for her future boyfriends, really. "I'm sorry, but now that I've gotten to know you better, I think you're King-8 suited, and I'm only dating really premium hands..."