Economics in Poker

The game of poker is full of economics. I will focus of the specific game of “Texas Hold’Em.” In this game, one is given two cards and an anonymous amount of poker chips. The more poker chips one has, the more utility that player will seek. Because good cards are considered scarce, one must make an economic decision based on the first set of two cards they are given. The player may chose to fold, or give up, his/her cards based on the power of the cards in their hand. If a player chooses to keep their cards, they will stay in the game. After all players have decided to fold or stay, the dealer then lays down three cards face up. Once again, the player needs to make an economic decision to fold, or bet more chips based on the three cards that were previously laid down by the dealer. The player must allocate his resources and decide if his/her cards are worth the amount of money that they will be betting. If the player decides they like their cards enough to continue playing, they will once again add more chips to the pile they started the previous hand. This makes that player an entrepreneur. The player is predicting that his/her hand beats everyone else’s hand at the table. Although, if one chooses to stay in the hand, they pose the risks of losing the entire hand, and in turn, a loss instead of a profit. If the player decides that their cards are no longer sufficient, and they make the decision to give up their previously added chips, and their hand. The foregone benefits of this action, are the chips added on the hand previous, and the chance to win the entire hand of this game. Once it has been established who is staying, and who is folding, the dealer lays down another card face up on the table. Once again, each player allocates their resources and makes economic decisions based on their cards and the cards the dealer lies on the table. With each card, the possibility of receiving the cards you want becomes scarcer. At this point, again, one must use means to create ends. Pushing more chips into the pot would be an example of ones means, which would be used to create ends, which is winning the entire pot. But, if one were to give away their cards now, they suffer a bigger loss than a person who folded two turns ago does. After all players have once again decided to stay in or fold, the dealer lays down one final card onto to table. At this point, the remaining players make the same economic decision they have in the past two rounds. Should they risk their opportunity cost and continue to battle for the major pot? Or should they