I would never join the Enterprise-D's poker table.

Or spend some time with no beard, or a different hair color.

 

TNG has always been inconsistent in how her empathic abilities work, because it would kill or alter a bunch of plots if they did.

"Captain, I sense the Cardassians are trying to deceive us with their blustering about innocent cargo ships."

"Captain, I sense deception and a whole lot of other emotions from that supposed Vulcan ambassador. Clearly, it's a Romulan trying to pretend to be a Vulcan, because no Vulcan would have emotions that close to the surface."

 

Anyone with the right training can fool Troi. Even that flimflam artist pretending to be Ardra, Fek'lar, and Old Scratch himself was able to neatly flummox her.

 

I wouldn’t join either. I work with these people 40+ hrs a week. My off time is my own. I learned that lesson the hard way — at the Cerritos comedy night.

 

I would join the table.

The added stakes of changing hair color of shaving off beards changes how the game would be played.

It would be worth joining just to see how it plays out.

 

Assuming it's the traditional sort of poker. If nobody wants to play because half of them are counting cards and/or reading emotions (though what are they winning that any of them would get all psyched up for her to sense at that distance?), there's surely an offscreen scene where they play strip poker. In 7 years and 176 episodes, they surely did that at least twice - the second time to prove if they really were that uncomfy with it or not...

 

How galactically renowned are Betazeds, especially as Troi's abilities are not strong as her mother's?

 

I wouldn't want to play at the senior officer's table since wins and losses are thematically tied to the mission of the week. E.g. Riker's bluff failing against Shelby which parallels her challenge to his position as First Officer.

The junior table with Lavelle, Ogawa, Ben and the rest seems like it would be fairer. (Except for that one week where Lavelle only lost as counterpoint to Riker's win in the senior game.)

You know, Data or someone should really investigate the strange happenings at the senior table. It's quite an anomaly. I suspect Q's involvement.

 

' Since this week's adventure seems to have been about how I can do way better in dangerous situation than I thought I would beforehand, and how confidence is a Good Thing, I think I'll join you tonight! I'm sure I'll win '

 

Yeah but Poker is about math, it’s not about who can make bluffs with the straightest face like the show portrays it. He could calculate exactly his odds of winning and exactly the right move in every situation to increase his odds. Then the more he plays the better a mathematical model of your behavior he has.

But I think a good player could make a profit on that table. Just wait until Riker makes one of his big bluffs and you happen to have a good hand and you’ll clean him out.

 

Riker’s what they call an aggro. Aggros win when they can bully out weak players. Against patient, mathematically inclined players they eventually get big losses.

 

This was when Wesley sat in on the strip poker game and was recounting the time when his full house beat Worf's flush that cost Worf his last piece of clothing.

 

Thomas Pizza on Reddit has some expert analysis of the Star Trek poker games:
"Cause and Effect"
"Second Chances"
"Collective"

 

I've always thought that with regard to how he actually does his job, in terms of being able to make out the controls on the consoles and such.

 

TBF I don't think they were all that consistent about how Geordie's vision worked. One episode he sees in infra-red looking colour blotches and can only "imagine how beautiful Tasha might look" and he angsted about it, the next episode they show his visor to work like a video camera and he can tell a person's looks from a hologram, can play cards and he proudly proclaims that his vision is better than anybody's.

 

This is probably the only time I'd gracefully bow out. You can smell when a couple egos like Shelby & Riker are going to begin going too far with each other

I sure as hell wouldn't be anywhere near two Rikers posturing in the game (Will & Tom) That's just cruel imho

Apart from that, I'd join in most of the time. It's a very low stakes game, where the chips probably aren't worth anything except bragging rights, & it's doubtful anyone would use their superhuman talents on their friends in a social club environment. For example, Troi HAS to know by now when Riker is bluffing, but she just goes along with it for the fun. That dude can barely keep what he's feeling from showing up on his face most of the time.

It's more sewing circle than a real gamble. The benefits of good crew socialization far outweigh any down side imho

 

Fry could mind read, but Bender was lucky.



Bender did better than the previous time

Do they really? Geordi based in engineering, Crusher in Sickbay, Troi in the councilling room. Worf, Data and Riker would be on the bridge perhaps, but Riker has paperwork and department heads to deal with and Worf has security teams to manage and train.

When I worked in an office, I tended to go for beers with collegues once a week, typically met up with some others that didn't see me. It helps with work relationships -- one of the big problems from this year is the lack of beer time with both teammates and wider contacts at work.

 

i wouldn't join it either as i known simply nothing about poker. but i absolutely agree with the points move by the OP.

 

If someone wants to make a fortune as a card shark on that table, here's a reminder: no one there has any money.

 

The Federation says it doesn't use money, but it never explains what it uses instead of money. Do people just barter?

 

To me the implication was always that people just replicate whatever they want/need.
With other empires they probably exchange goods for those credit accounts Dr. Crusher mentions in the pilot.