Are card games particularly difficult for aspies?

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Take Poker for example, part of being good at it is recognizing other people's expressions and such, hence why having a "poker face" is so important if you wish to do well. However, I have always had difficulty and nearly always lose, if I win it's always because of luck or just strategy on my part. Usually if someone is bluffing or whatever it's very hard for me to tell, even if they aren't good with their own poker face.

I guess it would depend on the game. I never played poker very much other than poker machines, so I can't comment on that. But I've played a lot of blackjack in Las Vegas and Reno and I did quite well. I had heard the term counting cards, but I didn't know what it meant. At some point I learned the definition and was surprised to discover that I had been counting cards all along. It was just completely natural to me, it was not something that I learned it was just something that I did from the first time I played blackjack. I can't even imagine playing blackjack without counting cards, it just wouldn't be fun. The idea of counting cards being against the rules seems so absurd to me. How can someone expect you to shut off a natural function of your thinking process?

I'm not sure if this is what you had in mind with this thread, but really that's the only experience I have with card games. I love blackjack because of the statistical aspect of it.

Some people are better at card games than others, I don't see it as a aspie thing.

Do you study the odds of hands at all?

For card games, I agree with Neilson here, it isn't necessarily linked to Aspergers, but it could be if it had elements of sensing body language, cues, and facial expressions to have an edge or to win. As far as other kinds of card games like Pokemon, Magic, or YuGiOh! for example, they would require more thought process and strategy in order to win, not as much for sensing body language or things of that nature.

Maybe we'd be bad at poker but I think aspies would be particularly good at countdown crazy 8s because of a higher tolerance for/enjoyment of repetition.

I've never even considered whether being only average at poker is due to me possibly having a bad "poker face".
I usually concentrate on my own cards and don't even look at the other players' faces. Hmmm... maybe
I'm also really good at blackjack though... which doesn't require the face or body-language reading things.

Poker is a complex game. For the sake of making an example, lets use Texas Hold'em.

An aspie would likely have an easier time figuring out which results are possible for themselves based on cards in hand as well as the cards in play for everyone (before all 5 cards are revealed), and would also on average be better at calculating what hands are possible for opponents, and if you should keep your hand based on odd combining these aspects, and would likely better be able to tolerate the repetitive format of multiple rounds.

However, as you said, reading their opponent's faces, bluffing themselves and figuring out opponents tenancies would be more difficult for an aspie for the reasons you have stated. Do the pros outweigh the cons? That's anyone's guess.

I was particularly *good* at poker at a very young age. I never relied on social "tells", but learned my regular opponents logical strategies. I do a similar thing with social interactions.

I think my brain happened to be particularly good at card-counting and holding a lot of information in my brain at one time. I have only played with one or two partners ever who I felt were actual opponents.

I also think my "affect" means I have a good poker face. I do not jump to conclusions, so this would not show on my face.

I tend to think my neurology gives me an edge in card games...

Raymond Babbitt could count cards!

Seriously, I was never a particularly good card player. I'm not good at discerning the poker/nonpoker face. I liked playing cards, at times. It was a good way to pass the time before the Internet.

Poker doesn't interest me because I have an aversion to the very concept of gambling, but poker isn't the only card game in the world.

Back when I had a few friends, we used to play Spades quite often, and I was no worse at it than anybody else. Of course, I suspect that most of those friends may have fallen somewhere on or near the autism spectrum themselves and we were all drinking and quite high at the time, so there was nothing at stake but bragging rights.

We also played Monopoly and I sucked at that, but then I found it rather tedious, so I wasn't terribly focused on the game.

I don't think so. I play magic the gathering and tons of other games. I play MTG competitively though and Ido quite well for myself. I'm ussually pretty expressionless naturally so I always have a poker face and on top of that being an aspie really give me a competitive edge because of my obsessive nature over my hobbies, I've been play MTG since I was about 5.

I never liked them much something with this randomness doesn't sit with me well. besides it can get weirdly competitive and unpleasant

My guess: aspies would be bad at poker, and good at counting cards in 21 (Blackjack).

In fact there was a real life gang of nerdy MIT card counters who milked the casinos in a long run before getting busted. It inspired a movie called "21" starring John Cusack -kind of "the Big Bang Theory" meets "Ocean's Eleven".

Last edited by naturalplastic on 12 Apr 2014, 9:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I love black jack, the suspense of a "double down", taking a hit with a hand of 11+, the thrill of getting a 20 or 21; similar to baseball in that each strike, ball, number of players on bases and on which bases, changes the odds of a positive outcome, and with favorable odds, you can almost taste the positive outcome, but the fun is in it's not guaranteed.

I hate card games.

I can never keep all the rules straight.

Also, they're boring.

The only card game I have ever enjoyed playing is (also) blackjack. Memory is a significant advantage. Where I sit while I am playing is really important to me - I like to be on the end, the last to receive cards, so can watch what the other players are doing before deciding what I'll do.

The card game I would least like to play is poker - it has no appeal at all - and although I have never thought about it, the reasons in this thread seem to explain my dislike of it. I would feel at a disadvantage from the start in poker. I feel at a slight advantage in Blackjack.