Are Teens Playing Cards Wasting Time or Are They Learning Something?
Did you ever notice street kids playing poker with a pack of dog-eared cards? They have more fun than we did, when we were teens playing cards at school. They slap their coins down on the sidewalk, and they burst into laughter when the winner reveals their hand. They are honing skills the way gridiron rugby sophomores do in ivy league summer camps.
Watch them carefully when a stranger joins them for a game. Their play is social communication and team play disguised as fun. Spot the eye movements as they size a stranger up who wants to try their luck, and silently agree which one will take the money off them. They know the rules already for their set piece.
Which one of them will feint by increasing their stake, and who will give the first few games away to draw the stranger into staking more. When the pot is high enough, they pounce. They always win, because they share the proceeds among themselves every time they do.
Those Street Teens Playing Cards Are Not Wasting Time At All
They are learning social skills that will stand them in good stead for the remainder of their lives. The main gifts they take on board are acceptance that leaders lead best when their followers empower them. And that team power is accepting the role we are best at in the present moment.
Marathon squads play this game when team members set the pace, to empower the real leader when they streak past to win at the end. This is how some management teams come out tops while others fail.
Some teens playing cards on the street could be business leaders of the future if our democracy holds. What are digital cards worth now, played alone on a computer without the strategic advantage of fifty-two pieces of card?
No, We Were Not Wasting Our Time When We Were Playing Cards Either
We have a big advantage now in social play, because we know our way around the card deck. Keeping track of fifty-two cards comes back to us as easily as learning to ride a bicycle again. Moreover, humans have been using card games for amusement since the 9th Century in China, and there is no sign of interest slacking off.
Some time when the rain is pouring down why not get out a pack of cards, (don’t forget you can get waterproof cards) and gather around the fireside as you did when you were kids. Feel the communication channels open as you share the pleasures of a gently competitive game. Such precious moments truly are to treasure. What are digital cards worth now, if the power goes down and we play by candle light?
No, we were not wasting our time at all when we were teens playing cards all those years ago. A pack of fifty-two playing cards makes an enduring gift for friends off on a hike in the mountains, or leaving at sunset on a cruise to celebrate their lives together. Cards are a great game for great people to play together. You should try it again, some time.
