Phil Galfond on Poker Superstitions: From Variance Beliefs to Lucky Dollar Bills

Professional poker player Phil Galfond has noticed an abundance of superstitious players even at the highest stakes, where logical thinking is supposed to be a significant advantage. One online high-stakes poker player believed that variance 'repays its debts': if you haven't been lucky, you will soon start winning, and vice versa.

Younger players tend to avoid superstitions as they are seen as uncool and a sign of lack of intelligence. Galfond believes that ignoring or suppressing emotions can be a mistake, and that people should be attuned to their emotions and work with them.

Galfond recalls a story from his youth where a marked dollar bill kept reappearing among his friends' poker games. The marked dollar bill had a message written on it directing viewers to a website called 'Where's George?'. Galfond kept the marked dollar bill because he liked it, not because he believed it brought luck.