Simple

I finally found a regular card game. I lost, so I think they will welcome me back in the future. They play a moderate dealer's choice, so I learned to play Omaha Hi-Lo and Stud Hi-Lo on the fly. This was a bad financial decision, a good social decision and an excellent learning decision.

"You're only down four?" the host asked when I decided to leave. "Not too bad." I suppose I did OK despite forgetting thrice the one rule of Omaha they warned me not to forget: you can't play more than two hole cards. Idiot.

If students won or lost money based on course performance, education would work. I suppose students do win or lose future earnings, but that argument rarely works as a motivational tool. They need to see those chips, the plastic value holders that instantly show the power that comes and goes with knowledge and ignorance. Apathetic students might cling to the belief that nothing really matters and fold at every opportunity, but the antes would eat them alive.

"I'm sorry, Johnny," I would say in such a setting. "The blinds have gone up this semester, so now you're down to the felt. Would you like to rebuy with a loan? We'll put you on the juice."

Goodness is poker simple. I will play free online Omaha and Stud before retiring because you have to do your homework to be successful on the test.