That's interesting. According to expert Sacha Baron-Cohen, government scientists found that woman's brain is size of squirrel.

6 pages without mentioning J Mac, the autistic kid who was his team's HS basketball manager and then coach put him in for the final game? Here's what happened...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngzyhnkT_jY

Bill Gates has a form of Autism

/thread

FYI Eastgate is playing Highstakes cashgames for years and did very well in them long before he won the mainevent.If you dont know what you talking about you should just stfu

My fiancee works in the autism field and in listening to her talk, have learned to identify a few possible 'cues' that might signal prospective registry on the autism spectrum.

I'm in the process of listening to all 30+ glorious hours of "The Snowball" audiobook, which is probably the closest thing we'll ever get to a Warren Buffett autobiography.

There is a 100% chance- a mortal lock- that Warren Buffett would register on the autism spectrum. He's pretty much a textbook case for high functioning Aspergers. I let her listen to a few passages from it and she said "Uh, yeah, when you put it all together, that's about as textbook as you get..."

so if somebody doesn't jump around the table like a monkey and is acting calmly, it must be autism... ??? do you have to be american to think like that?
and to the post above... i read snowball, why do you think warren buffet is another case of autism?

lol such ironic fail. he was a winning full time online cash player. he was never in any of the 08 wsop coverage before the FT suggesting he just chipped up steadily without high variance suckouts. every1 said he and demidov were the best players at the FT. he just finished in the top 1% or so this year. the cash fish idea is from him being unsuccessful playing nosebleeds against the best in the world.

I've always thought Allen Cunningham was autistic. Just by the way he talks and carries himself.

Maybe they are both just EXTREMELY shy? Then again, isn't that a symptom of Asberger's?

I'm not too knowledgeable on this subject, so I have no idea.

wtf??? I know theres a lot of bs on nvg but who the f would make a thread over something like this. Somebody lock this please. Some decensy (dunno how to spell that) please.

I suffer from Asperger's and can manage to play poker just fine! The word 'autistic' covers a broad spectrum of conditions, but the problem is the only exposure a lot of people have had to autism is from seeing RainMan and assume everyone is like that. There are many many famous people who have austistic tendancies.

Not saying it's easy but knowing the last card og 6 decks is not difficult with some practise.
remembering all the cards in perfect order would be pretty hard, but if you practised a long time using mnemonics, it's not impossible.

After reading this thread, I am shaking my head over the sheer number of misconceptions that many of the posters have about autism and related conditions. As the father of a seven year old son with autism, it's just a bit disheartening to see what he's up against as far as some people's perceptions go.

Ummmm.... this is NVG... what do you expect?

Eastgate was on ESPN today at a 2009 WSOP event- he showed normal human emotions and interactions with other players at the table. He didn't appear autistic to me.

lol so far this thread has no evidence either way on whether he is or isn't. Could he be? Sure. Are there no doubt a good amount of poker players that are to some degree autistic? Sure. Don't see the point in a thread when most of the posters here barely have any idea of the details on autism and the argument isn't even as interesting as does he or doesn't he have it the argument is could he. No one has any proof either way, what's the point of this thread?

He confirms it here, at 4:50. What an honest guy.

NOTE:

Thus far this has been a very interesting thread which is something of a rarity in this forum. But as usual, posters can't keep from making cheap classless jokes and irrelevant insults and drag the thread down. So those of you who feel the need to come in here and do so need to reconsider.

This is an intelligent post, but allow me to add a few points.

Over 80% of individuals with a diagnosis of autism also meet the criteria for mental ******ation, though this is probably a result of the neurological impairments that cause autism.

Savants are a very low percentage of the population on the autistic spectrum (less than 1%). Poker playing encompasses too many different behaviors to be considered a "savant skil" Knowing someones exact chip stack with a glance is a more likely example of a savant skill.

I guarentee you that Peter Eastgate does not have autism. It is also highly unllikely that he has Aspergers either. Individuals with aspergers typically have a difficult time recognizing body language and facial expressions as well as understanding other peoples points of view. It's very much a social game that isn't condusive to the challanges faced by people on the spectrum.

Another thoughtful post...but let me add a few clarifications.

1) The only scientifically proven intervention strategey for individuals with autism is Applied Behavior Analysis. The therapies you listed can be helpful but MUST be used in combination with ABA techniques to produce change Occupational therapy may be the exception, but there is no scientific evidence I know that can confirms.

2) Individuals across the autism spectrum regularly...though not alway in appropriate context.

Apparently this guy

has aspergers.

And he's had decent success.

I thank you for your thoughtful response. However, I strongly disagree with your statement regarding ABA: "The therapies you listed can be helpful but MUST be used in combination with ABA techniques to produce change".

Yes, in some cases ABA may be helpful. However, it is my feeling that ABA (when used specifically for treating autism) is more beneficial for individuals on the more severe end of the spectrum. Autism is unique and can present itself very differently based on the individual. I forgot to include ABA, as well as other numerous therapies that can help individuals with autism. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

However, I do not think ABA is a necessary modality that MUST be included with other therapies for treatment to be effective. It may help, but I do not think it is necessary. ABA assists individuals with autism to learn to change their behavior in certain situations to produce a more "appropriate" (or desired) action/response through rigorous repetition.

I do agree that there is much more to be learned and research is definitely needed across many disciplines.

I'm sorry, but I do not understand your 2nd statement. Can you please clarify?

I read a lot of crap about the Ungar bet and I got sick of reading to see if anyone sorted out all the misinformation before this but here's the bet:

Not sure why you think it is indecent. I find it interesting, and hopefully will go someway to educate people and dispell some of the misconceptions around a common mental condition.

Please use your knowledge to educate us.

Jerry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fw1CcxCUgg&NR=1