Poker and Charity: Raising for Effective Giving (REG)
08-29-2014
, 10:09 AM
Hi everyone,
I’ve been involved in the Effective Altruism (EA) community for a couple of years now, as it has become one of my main interests apart from poker. A few months ago, my friends from both poker and EA came together to launch an organization that encourages poker players to donate to the most effective charities.
Liv Boeree, Philipp Gruissem and Igor Kurganov, as well as people from the Swiss EA movement, co-founded Raising for Effective Giving (REG) with me. Since then over 60 players have joined, including live tournament pros such as Dan Shak, Tony Gregg and Max Altergott, but also many online players. All members donate at least 2% of their tournament winnings and least 3% of their profit from cash games quarterly to the charities recommended by REG. If you’re down for the quarter, donations are optional.
We launched during the WSOP in Vegas and you can view presentations below from our launch dinner by two of our board members, Philipp Gruissem and Adriano Mannino.
We noticed that poker players are exceptionally likely to find the approach of effective giving appealing, because it applies expected value maximization to charities and to having a positive impact on the world. Some organizations have been found to accomplish tens or even hundreds of times as much good with the same amount of resources. By giving effectively, we can help many more people who otherwise would not be aided.
It’s not just high rollers who have the ability to do a huge amount of good. Scientific research by independent charity evaluator GiveWell shows that one can cure children from parasitic worms, thereby improving their quality of life and the amount of time they spend at school, at very little cost. A years treatment costs just $0.50.
We’re excited by how receptive the poker community has been, and we’ve already been featured in a lot of poker media, including BLUFF magazine.
I know the other people from Effective Altruism involved and can attest that they’re very smart and totally committed to the cause. If you find the approach convincing, please join REG and help spread the word! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and check out our website for further information, to get in touch and to pledge your support!
Feel free to discuss
Here are the 2 Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBmK...e_gdata_player
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKMw...e_gdata_player
I’ve been involved in the Effective Altruism (EA) community for a couple of years now, as it has become one of my main interests apart from poker. A few months ago, my friends from both poker and EA came together to launch an organization that encourages poker players to donate to the most effective charities.
Liv Boeree, Philipp Gruissem and Igor Kurganov, as well as people from the Swiss EA movement, co-founded Raising for Effective Giving (REG) with me. Since then over 60 players have joined, including live tournament pros such as Dan Shak, Tony Gregg and Max Altergott, but also many online players. All members donate at least 2% of their tournament winnings and least 3% of their profit from cash games quarterly to the charities recommended by REG. If you’re down for the quarter, donations are optional.
We launched during the WSOP in Vegas and you can view presentations below from our launch dinner by two of our board members, Philipp Gruissem and Adriano Mannino.
We noticed that poker players are exceptionally likely to find the approach of effective giving appealing, because it applies expected value maximization to charities and to having a positive impact on the world. Some organizations have been found to accomplish tens or even hundreds of times as much good with the same amount of resources. By giving effectively, we can help many more people who otherwise would not be aided.
It’s not just high rollers who have the ability to do a huge amount of good. Scientific research by independent charity evaluator GiveWell shows that one can cure children from parasitic worms, thereby improving their quality of life and the amount of time they spend at school, at very little cost. A years treatment costs just $0.50.
We’re excited by how receptive the poker community has been, and we’ve already been featured in a lot of poker media, including BLUFF magazine.
I know the other people from Effective Altruism involved and can attest that they’re very smart and totally committed to the cause. If you find the approach convincing, please join REG and help spread the word! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and check out our website for further information, to get in touch and to pledge your support!
Feel free to discuss
Here are the 2 Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBmK...e_gdata_player
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKMw...e_gdata_player
