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On another note. If I was 40 and had a pretty bright 15 year old. I would set up an account for him to play poker for money. I would take 50 percent for backing him of course.

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Have kids and see if you still feel this way. You do realize that most people who play poker lose (even the extremely smart ones)? Some people even fall into the addiction of gambling and it destroys their lives. Is this what you would want from your bright (but immature and impressionable) 15 year old?

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That's exactly why I WILL encourage my kids if and when they want to play poker. . . So I can supervise it and them.

They will have hot and cold streaks much longer than they think streaks can be; I can help them put it into perspective. If they feel addicted to the game (as can happen with any game), I can help them deal with it. If they get frustrated with bad beats, I can help them cope. If they have a super-successful streak, I can try to keep it from going to their heads.

Because all these things WILL happen eventually. It may not be until college. . . and it may not be poker, it may be craps (with no chance to win, long-term) or drugs or sex or booze or fundamentalist religion. They will find something that gives them a high, and it can be addicting as well as exhilirating. And, occasionally, that thing will also be depressing or crushing.

Poker is a a little bit of life in a nutshell, so I think it's a great learning ground for dealing with all those things. You can't hide the world from your kids -- I think the best thing is to expose them to it a little at a time while you're still able to be around to help them deal with it.