Texas Hold'em Poker

These people have cut their teeth, and sharpened their political tactics by playing the game.

“Poker is a combination of luck and skill. People think mastering the skill part is hard, but they’re wrong. The trick to poker is mastering the luck”

“Poker is…a fascinating, wonderful, intricate adventure on the high seas of human nature.“

What if this exhilarating escapade came without the guilt?

Without the monumental losses???

Without the risk of turning you into a full-fledged gambler?

Without the  judgments and  raised eyebrows?

It’s true and very  possible!

Confused?

Puzzling, is it?

But the puzzle is solved!!!

It happened in the techfest-techkriti2010 at IIT Kanpur.

Turtle Events along with cardskhelo.com brought it to life.

Turtle events & Cardskhelo.com did all the strategizing. Students actually got a chance to win real fortunes with virtual currency. It was a four-day long real life financial game filled with fun, strategies, wins and losses. After getting registered you get a profile of an employee like a doctor, engineer, lawyer etc and thus start getting salaries from that day itself. Students got an actual shot at experiencing a vibrant simulated economy where you can buy assets, trade stocks, bet on everything from the success of a company to the success of casino players. The eyes of the Mega bank of Mega World will keep track of your every step. At the end of the day you are full of Megabucks, currency of Mega world, through which you can buy stuff ranging from a hi-tech camera, a holiday package to the serene environment of the woods. The real world is much more like a poker game, with multiple players trying to make the best of whatever hand fortune has dealt them.

The Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society says “an exceptional game of skills that can be used as a powerful teaching tool at all levels of academia.” The goal is “to create an open online curriculum centred on poker that will draw the brightest minds together, both from within and outside of the conventional university setting, to promote open education and Internet democracy.”

It’s no coincidence that poker is one of the finest exercises for keeping gray matter active. The evidence mounts that doing push ups of the mind and aerobics for the brain helps keep us mentally fit. “Poker involves mathematics, planning, and strategy—all complicated mental processes, and these are exactly what imparts the benefit of producing more brain neurons.

Turtle events attracted hordes of students like bees to honey!

Kudos to Students!!!

Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson:  you find the present tense, but the past perfect!

~Owens Lee Pomeroy

This proved very apt when LBSIM students met their Alumni on 28 November, 2009. On the day reserved for the magic of reunions. This function was a reunion between the alumni and their former classmates. It’s about a reunion between them and their alma mater, the institute that helped shape their future. It provided an opportunity to revoke nostalgia.

They come from very different backgrounds and currently serve their respective societies and companies in a diversity of responsibilities and roles. However, in our history, a common thread binds us.

All of them have fond memories of their times at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management. None of them can actually remember the many lectures, tutorials and the examinations.The memories are made of housemates, classmates, meals we prepared, and drinks they shared. That was the time they shared more than friendship, they shared dreams of a future that they are now living.

The beautiful evening

With total number of gathering exceeding 400 and spanning various batches of students, the event was a grand success by the sheer number of distinguished alumni who have attended it.

At the reception, every alumnus was greeted with a tilak to commemorate and initiate the auspicious occasion.
The formal function began at 9 pm .The Welcome address was delivered by Dr K. C. Mishra, Director LBSIM. He quoted JRD Tata’s famous words,” Delicious food decorated and served on a platter is not sufficient. It is necessary that the food be digested to have an impact.” He likened the delectable food to the illustrious alumni of Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management.

Dr G L Sharma, Advisor-Corporate Interface, expressed happiness and satisfaction at the exponential career growth of the alumni, whilst setting the bar even higher for the future.

Shri Anil Shastri, Chairman, Board Of Governors, LBSIM expressed hope that the alumni would not only hold coveted designations in famous companies, but also put their learning and expertise to use in the realm of Entrepreneurship.

New Office bearers and launch of new website and logo

The new Managing Committee of the Alumni Foundation was announced by Dr. K C Mishra with Mr. Vineet Bajpai, CEO-Magnon Solutions, as President. The Alumni Newsletter “Reflections” 2009 was released, followed by the launch of the new LBSIM website with an exclusive section for the alumni. The group discussion was followed by the unveiling of Reflections 2009 website by the

IT Representative and a brief introduction was provided to the alumni about this year’s logo, theme, sub-themes and prospective audience.  Launching of the official alumni association website which would be restricted to members was touched upon. The site would act as a platform to display alumni information (with self-registration tab), job opportunities and share live experiences through a blog.

Pedagogy for the future

The inspirational speeches were on the theme ‘Strengthening the alumni network.’ All the Alumni and members of the new managing committee of the foundation discussed on how Knowledge and experience could be shared on a common platform by the various Batches and disseminated to the LBSIM Alumni Community. This form of experience sharing could be a source of personal and professional growth for all the students and also provide a social network for like-minded people having common interests. The alumni stressed on these points:

1. Formation of regional alumni chapters and strengthening them by having quarterly meetings to discuss pertinent issues.

2. Strengthening of the current alumni database with compulsory updation of information by alumni of all batches that have passed from the institute.

3. Apart from immediate professional advantages, a recognition of the long term gains of having a strong alumni network which include collaboration and associations for research.

Various speakers stressed on the significance of the LBSIM brand. They also hinted the current batch students to maximally leverage the opportunities provided by the institute during their short stay.

Launch of an Alumni Start-up “Turtle Media”

The formal proceedings concluded with the Vote of Thanks given by Prof. Rashmi Sharma, Convener, Alumni Foundation, LBSIM. In her kind words Prof. Rashmi Sharma announced this grand alumni meet as a launch evening for Turtle Media, an alumni startup in the field of events and media. Turtle Media was among the sponsors and assisted Reminiscence in organizing this beautiful evening. Prof. appreciated changes introduced by them like floor plan & badge system. Center of attraction was their ice breaking networking activity (sponsored by Café Coffee Day and Turtle Media) to increase and smoothen interaction among students and alumni, which was appreciated by everyone. Company also launched their website http://www.turtleevents.in at this evening.

And our very own Mantra…

After the formal proceedings, the stage was taken over by LBSIM music club ‘MANTRA’ and they had prepared a very lively medley of songs which had everyone tapping their feet. The gathering lost track of time and dinner was finally announced at 10:30 pm. An array of Indian delicacies awaited the alumni as they were escorted to the buffet tables at the Banquet hall. While threads of memory joined together some groups, there were others who tried to build new relations with colleagues in the industry. The place was abuzz with activity and the LBSIM representatives appeared like one large family.

And promises were made to meet next year

‘All good things come to an end.’ Reluctantly, the festivities were ended at about 12:00 am and it was time for them to say goodbye. The illuminated faces of the students and alumni spoke volumes about the ‘feel good’ factor that the event had created. Kudos to the Alumni Coordination Committee for all the hard work that went behind the success of this event. A similar appreciation goes to all volunteers who worked in different ways to make the alumni meet – ‘PALCHHIN 2009 ‘a memorable experience for all of us.