One of the fundamental skills that every professional poker player must master is knowing when to “fold,” that is, giving up on a strong hand that isn’t the best, such as in the case of coolers. In live poker tournaments, it’s crucial to consider the vast amount of data generated in every game situation, which can significantly influence players’ decisions. However, mathematics cannot handle this data, as it belongs to the dimension of information, not mathematics.
Shannon and Weaver were the first to try to define communication with a “mathematical model of communication”, but their model was surpassed by more advanced and comprehensive theories, which consider more complex components of communication.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Information Management in Live Texas Hold’em Tournaments
To succeed in live Texas Hold’em poker tournaments, players need to adopt an interdisciplinary analytical approach that allows them to recognise and define every game situation. By utilising the scientific disciplines offered by communication theories, players can reflect more deeply on the information acquired and bridge interpretative gaps. In this way, it will be possible to decide, for example, to fold a good but not winning hand.
In an online context, where it’s possible to play on multiple tables simultaneously, players cannot access much of the information available in live tournaments. In this case, the only option is to rely on the calculation of Expected Value – EV. However, in live tournaments, adopting an interdisciplinary approach can make the difference between a good and winning game strategy.
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