Lesson from a Yahtzee Game the Benefits of Going with Your Gut by JT (Jerry) Fest

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Lesson from a Yahtzee Game the Benefits of Going with Your Gut by JT (Jerry) Fest JTFest Consulting Training & Consultation visit the Online Library at www.in4y.com Lesson From a Yahtzee Game The benefits of going with your gut By JT (Jerry) Fest Trust your hunches. They're usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level ~ Joyce Brothers In another article (Instinct Trumps Training) I suggested that we learn to professionally respond in situations rather than be slaves to our instincts. In this article I suggest the exactly the opposite, that we should trust our instincts. Contradiction? Not really. It’s more a matter of semantics. In the other article, the “instincts” I was referring to were our ingrained, almost involuntary reactions that are rooted in emotions … fear, anger, loss of control. We often experience these emotions in youth work, and it’s critical that we learn to recognize them so that we may respond appropriately according to our training, rather than react reflexively according to our emotions. The “instincts” I refer to in this article are those “gut level” feelings we have that are really nothing more than the sum of our experience and knowledge telling us the right thing to do. Emotional reactions are instincts that often do not serve us well in youth work … gut level feelings based on experience and knowledge often serve us very well. I was reminded of this in a recent game of Yahtzee. If you’re not familiar with Yahtzee, it’s a dice game where you have 3 rolls to get certain scores or combinations with 5 dice. In this particular game, the situation I was in was that I needed my 4 of a kind. My second roll left me with a 5, 5, 5, 5, and 6. That’s a pretty good 4 of a kind (worth 26 points), but I had one more roll left. I could throw the 6 and try for a Yahtzee in 5’s (A Yahtzee being all 5 dice with the same number, and worth a LOT of points), but if I didn’t get it I would risk reducing my 4 of a kind by up to 5 points. My gut instinct was to give up the 3rd roll and just be happy with the 26 points. However, as I went to take it, the person I was playing with challenged me, saying that I was only risking a few points at most to try to get a Yahtzee. She made a pretty good case and I began to doubt myself. So, against my gut instinct, I rolled the 6 trying to get that 5th five. What did I get? I got a 1. As I feared, I not only didn’t get the Yahtzee, but I reduced my 4 of a kind by the biggest hit that it could have taken … a full 5 points. No big deal. It’s only 5 points, right? Here’s where the universe stepped in to teach me a lesson. The final score was 229 points for my opponent, 225 points for me. That’s right. I would have won the game if I only had 5 more points … the exact number of points that I lost when I went against my gut instinct and tried for the Yahtzee. I realize that going with my gut instinct doesn’t always work out, as it would have in this situation. But even when it doesn’t work out I still get two major benefits. First, I learn something. That’s the way we grow and learn, by things not working out. Edison once commented -- even though he conducted thousands of failed experiments before getting a light bulb to shine -- that he had never failed. Thousands of times he succeeded in discovering what didn’t work. This is the theory behind youth participation in Positive Youth Development. We don’t give young people the opportunity to be involved and make choices and decisions because we think they’re always going to make good choices and decisions. We do it because young people need to take risks and make mistakes as part of their development. But the second benefit is even better. If I follow my gut instinct and it doesn’t work out, I don’t beat myself up for not following my gut! Follow my gut instinct and I feel like I gave it my best shot and learned something. Let people influence me against my gut instinct, and I feel like a schmuck who should have known better. I much prefer the former feeling to the latter. Please don’t get me wrong. I am not saying don’t listen to or take counsel from people, and I am definitely not suggesting that you violate boundaries or break rules. All I’m saying is; trust yourself. Your “gut instinct” is just a feeling derived from your knowledge and experience. If you can’t trust your own knowledge and experience, what can you trust? As I said above, if following your gut instinct doesn’t work out, you still feel empowered and you have an Lesson From a Yahtzee Game - 2014 - JT (Jerry) Fest, JTFest Consulting - page 1 of 2 opportunity to learn something. But the real argument for following your gut instinct is this; if you know the limitations of your knowledge, and you have let your experience teach you … most of the time following your gut instinct will work out. Besides, if you can’t trust yourself, how are you ever going to trust the young people with whom you work? Permission Guidelines This article is copyrighted by JT (Jerry) Fest. Permission is granted to download and/or print out for personal use. Brief quotations (500 words) may be made from the material in accordance with “fair use” provisions of copyright law without prior permission, provided proper attribution of author and source is made. For information contact JT (Jerry) Fest at [email protected] Lesson From a Yahtzee Game - 2014 - JT (Jerry) Fest, JTFest Consulting - page 2 of 2 .
Recommended publications
  • Fall Fun Campbell Elementary 5Th Grade Gloria Cuellar-Kyle
    Fall Fun Campbell Elementary 5th Grade Gloria Cuellar-Kyle Get ready to discover mathematics all around you this fall! Just like reading, regular practice with problem solving, computation, and math facts will maintain and strengthen the mathematic gains you have made through the school year. Enjoy these activities to explore problem solving at home. The goal is for you to have fun thinking and working collaboratively to communicate mathematical ideas. While you are working ask how the solution was found and why a particular strategy helped you to solve the problem. Fall Fun Campbell Elementary 5th Grade Gloria Cuellar-Kyle Math Journals are an excellent tool for helping children record their perceptions about math and the strategies they employ to arrive at a solution. A math journal is a book in which children record their math work and thinking. At home a math journal can be used to: Record the solutions to math problems or projects , along with the strategy and thought processes used to arrive at the solution o For instance a math problem or project may require some time (perhaps days) to arrive at a solution and a math journal helps children to reflect on their thought processes as well as strategies that did and did not work. Write about learning: When children students are asked to reflect on their math learning. For example, children may be asked to write about "what you already know about ......" before beginning an activity or "think about what you did today, what your learned, and any questions you have", or "the three most important things you learned from this activity." These opportunities to journal provide children with metacognitive occasions to think about their thinking or consider points that were not clear.
    [Show full text]
  • Child Life Wish List Thank You for Your Kind Support and Generosity! the Pediatric Patients at Unitypoint Health - Methodist Will Greatly Appreciate Your Donation
    Child Life Wish List Thank you for your kind support and generosity! The pediatric patients at UnityPoint Health - Methodist will greatly appreciate your donation. THANK YOU! GAMES • Colored Tissue paper • Hot Wheels/Matchbox Cars • XBox games (rated E) • Craft Kits (beads, yarn, jewelry, paper • Superhero Figurines • PlayStation games (rated E) projects and painting) • Cash Registers • Travel Board Games (with all plastic • Bubbles • Play Tools pieces) • Glue Sticks • Washable Baby Dolls (not cloth) • Washable Games (for multiple patients • Color Wonder Markers & Book Set • Musical Instrument Toys to use and enjoy) • Paper Mache Boxes (any shape) • Construction Toys (Bristle blocks, - Guess Who • Paper Plates Duplo) - Kerplunk • Pipe Cleaners • Lego Kits - Tip It • Yarn • Large Seek & Find Board Books - Trouble • Children’s Scissors - Up Words • Googly Eyes (sticker kind) SCHOOL-AGE ITEMS - Yahtzee • Holiday Craft Kits • Find It (brand) Games - Catch Phrase • Tempera Paint • Puzzles - Simon • Craft Kits - Q’s INFANT/TODDLER ITEMS • Toy Dinosaurs, Insects, Animals - Perfection • Crib-Side Mounted Musical Toys • Action Figures - Battle Ship (washable mobiles without cloth parts) • Lego Sets - Bop IT • Plastic Toys (with lights, sounds, and • Dolls & Doll Clothes - Connect push buttons) • Board Games - Scrabble • Rattles • Playing Cards/Card Games - Blokus • Light-Up/Musical Toys • Doctor Play Kit - Master Mind • Pop-Up Toys - Fishing • Soft Vinyl Books & Board Books TEEN ITEMS - Dominos • Large Children’s Board Books • Portable DVD Players
    [Show full text]
  • Optimal Risk in Multiagent Blind Tournaments Extended Abstract Theodore J
    Extended Abstract AAMAS 2019, May 13-17, 2019, Montréal, Canada Optimal Risk in Multiagent Blind Tournaments Extended Abstract Theodore J. Perkins Ottawa Hospital Research Institute & University of Ottawa Ottawa, Ontario, Canada [email protected] ABSTRACT 1 INTRODUCTION In multiagent blind tournaments, many agents compete at an in- In many games, agents compete directly against each other and dividual game, unaware of the performance of the other agents. make many tactical and strategic decisions based on their knowl- When all agents have completed their games, the agent with the edge and observations of their opponents [9, 10, 13]. In other games, best performance—for example, the highest score, or greatest dis- however, the agents perform individually, and winning is based on tance, or fastest time—wins the tournament. In stochastic games, which agent performs the best. Examples include some types of an obvious and time honoured strategy is to maximize expected auctions [8], certain game shows, applying for a job or an exclusive performance. In tournaments with many agents, however, the top fellowship or a grant, and the original motivation for the present scores may be far above the expected score. As a result, maximizing work, massively multiagent online tournaments. When many indi- expected score is not the same as maximizing the chance of winning viduals are competing, the bar for success—say, the winning game the tournament. Rather, a “riskier” strategy, which increases the score in a tournament—is naturally higher. Thus, although each chance of obtaining a top score while possibly sacrificing some agent is playing individually, an intelligent agent must adapt its expected score, may offer a better chance of winning.
    [Show full text]
  • Math Moving to Grade 5
    Summer Fun Students Entering Grade 5 Gloria Cuellar-Kyle Get ready to discover mathematics all around you this summer! Just like reading, regular practice over the summer with problem solving, computation, and math facts will maintain and strengthen the mathematic gains you have made over the school year. Enjoy these activities to explore problem solving at home. The goal is for you to have fun thinking and working collaboratively to communicate mathematical ideas. While you are working ask how the solution was found and why a particular strategy helped you to solve the problem. You will find 2 calendar pages, one for June and one for July, as well as directions for math games to be played at home. Literature and websites are also recommended to explore mathematics in new ways. Summer Fun Students Entering Grade 5 Gloria Cuellar-Kyle Suggested Math Tools Notebook for math journal Coins Pencil Dice Crayons Regular deck of playing cards DIRECTIONS: Do your best to complete as many of these summer math activities as you can! Record your work in your math journal every day. Each journal entry should: Have the date of the entry Have a clear and complete answer Here is an example of a “Great” journal entry: July 5th Today I looked at the weather section of the newspaper and recorded the predicted and actual high temperature for the next 30 days on a scatter plot. I that temperatures with predictions of over 90 degrees were closest to the actual temperature. Cool Math Books to Read: Counting on Frank by Rod Clement A Grain of Rice by Helena Clare Pittman Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School by Louis Sachar Divide and Ride by Stuart Murphy Lemonade for Sale by Stuart Murphy Summer Fun Students Entering Grade 5 Gloria Cuellar-Kyle Games To Play (You will need a deck of cards, with all the face cards removed.
    [Show full text]
  • Yahtzee Marvel Spider-Man @ Friends Instructions
    ACES 4+ For 2 to 4 Players CHOKING HAZARD - Small parts. Not for children under 3 years. CONTENTS 5 Dice 20 Scoring Tokens 10 Team Tokens Dice Cup Scoreboard Label Sheet OBJECT Score the most points by rolling the dice and matching as many of the same Spider-Man & Friends characters as you can and by building Spider-Man & Friends teams. On each turn you can roll up to three times. The more characters you match and teams you build, the more points you score! ASSEMBLY Carefully punch out the 20 scoring tokens and the 10 team tokens from the cardboard parts sheet. Discard the cardboard waste. Apply the 6 Spider-Man & Friends labels to the dice - one character label on each side of each die. SETUP Take 5 scoring tokens OF THE SAME COLOR. Each player does the same. NOTE: There will be unused scoring tokens left over in 2- and 3-player games. Turn the team tokens number side down and mix them up. Put the 5 labeled dice into the dice cup. Put the scoreboard within easy reach of all players HOW TO PLAY The youngest player goes first. Play then passes to the left. NUMBER OF TLIRNS The number of players determines how many turns each player takes in a game. In a 2 or 3-player game, the game ends when one player has placed all 5 of hislher scoring tokens on the board. In a 4-player game, the game ends when one player has placed 4 of hislher scoring tokens on the board.
    [Show full text]
  • Defensive Yahtzee
    DEGREE PROJECT, IN DD143X , FIRST LEVEL STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 2015 Defensive Yahtzee PER HELLSTRÖM AND VICTOR JACCOPUCCI KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY COMPUTER SCIENCE AND COMMUNICATION Abstract In this project an algorithm has been created that plays Yahtzee using rule based heuristics. The focus is getting a high lowest score and a high 10th percentile. All rules of Yahtzee and the probabilities for each combination have been studied and based on this each turn is optimized to get a guaranteed decent high score. The algorithm got a lowest score of 79 and a 10th percentile of 152 when executed 100 000 times. Sammanfattning IdettaprojektharenalgoritmskapatssomspelarYahtzeeenligt regelbaserad heuristik. M˚alet var att f˚aen h¨ogl¨agstapo¨angsamt en h¨og tionde percentil. Reglerna och sannolikheterna f¨orspelet har studerats och baserat p˚adetta ¨ar varje runda optimerad f¨or att garantera en h¨og l¨agstapo¨ang. Efter 100 000 k¨orningar fick algoritmen en l¨agstapo¨ang p˚a79 samt 152 som tionde percentil. 1 Contents 1 Introduction 4 1.1 Purpose . 4 2 Background 5 2.1 Origin . 5 2.2 Rules of Yahtzee . 6 2.3 Other versions of Yahtzee . 7 2.4 Calculating all outcomes . 7 2.5 Calculating each turn . 8 3 Method 9 3.1 Previous reports . 9 3.2 Probabilities and expected values after one throw . 10 3.3 Averagescores........................... 10 2 3.4 Our algorithm . 11 3.5 Howthealgorithmworks. 12 4 Result 14 4.1 Early versions . 14 4.2 Finalversion............................ 14 4.3 Distribution of scores . 15 5 Conclusion 16 6 Discussion 17 3 Chapter 1 Introduction Yahtzee is a famous dice game, owned by Hasbro, that is played all over the world.
    [Show full text]
  • UMTSD Summer Math for Incoming 5Th Graders
    UMTSD Summer Math for Incoming 5th Graders Dear Parents/Guardians: The UMTSD has designed this Summer Mathematics Packet in order to keep your child’s math skills honed and current through the summer break. The attached packet includes three “bingo boards” of activities. The goal is to complete four activities in a row, or the four corner boxes, on each board. Each possible combination of four boxes on a board includes one of the following: ● Family Activity: These family activities are designed to take advantage of typical ​ everyday activities and focus on the math involved. ● Story Problem: These story problems focus on the major content that the students ​ have worked on during the school year. Children may use numbers or drawings to keep track of their thinking as they work and should be encouraged to use strategies familiar to them. Only the final answer needs to be recorded in the bingo board box. If your child wishes to include his/her work, attach it to the board when it is returned to school. ● Game to Practice Facts and Computational Skills: The simple game directions are ​ written in the bingo board boxes. Game play requires a deck of cards and dice. ● Free Choice Game: Students may select from a variety of options to complete this ​ ​ task. Options include playing identified math games online or using the directions included in the free choice table. Options are listed on the back of this letter. Please work with your child to complete four tasks on the June board, four tasks on the July board, and four tasks on the August board.
    [Show full text]
  • Board Game Cafe
    BOARD GAME CAFE Gë e Mï u Name Description Players Age 5 Second Rule Pick a card, read the seemingly easy topic, then start the timer! Now with only 3-6 8+ 5 seconds to name 3 things that fit the topic, it doesn't seem so easy! Players get tongue-tied, funny answers come flying out and laughter is sure to follow in this fast-paced party game. The twisted timer makes a fun zoooooop! Bananagrams The anagram game that will drive you bananas! 1-8 7+ Bananagrams is a fast and fun word game that requires no pencil, paper or board. All you need is a table. One hand can be played in as little as five minutes. It's a great game for family fun as well as being educational. Battleship Hunt, sink, and win with this brilliant Battleship game! Can you sink your 2 7+ opponent’s ships before all of yours go down? Command your battle and deploy your 4 ships on the ocean grid. The vertical target grid keeps you from seeing each other’s deployment! Keep “firing” and record your strikes with the red pegs. Use the white pegs to keep track of your misses so you don’t waste any shots. If you use logic and take some chances, you’ll sink your opponent’s battleship – but do it fast, because they’ll be trying to do the same to you! Rule the oceans with your Battleship game! Boganology Boganology is a fun, bogan twist on a game you know and love! 2-4 12+ Reckon youse got what it takes to sweet talk your way to some extra WINZ benefits? Can you outrun the cops in jandals? Will you pay your child support or take off for a boozy weekend in Piha? Well, find out in the game that’ll let you and your friends be the bogans you always wanted to be.
    [Show full text]
  • Yahtzee Rules Now Let's Play
    NOW LET’S PLAY UPPER SECTION Each player keeps his own score on a YAHTZEE score card to If the player chooses to roll again, he picks up the 5 and 6 dice only In the Upper Section there are boxes to score “Aces,” “Twos,” “Threes,” be marked with the player’s name. To determine who goes first, and tosses for his third and last roll. If, on this third roll, he has “Fours”, “Fives” and “Sixes.” If a player chooses to score in the Upper each player places all five dice in the dice cup and rolls out all the Section, he counts and adds only the dice with the same number and dice; the player with the highest total starts the game. The play enters the total of these dice in the appropriate box. If a player, on his then continues clockwise. turn, rolls he could enter his score as 6 in the “Twos” box in the Upper Section Each player in turn places all five dice in the cup, shakes the cup of the score card or 11 (total of all five dice) in the “3 of a kind” box in and rolls out the dice. Each turn consists of a maximum of three the Lower Section. The choice of when to take a score either after the and elects to take his score in the Upper Section, he would enter 9 in rolls. The first roll must be made with all five dice. If the player first, second, or third roll of the dice and where to score (in the Upper the “Threes” box.
    [Show full text]
  • A Person Got Mad at Hasbro for Ruining Board
    The Last Word™ Issue #518 December 2017 More money goes up Spectrum’s rectum We were jumping for joy once we didn’t have to use Cincinnati Bell for anything anymore. ZoomTown blocking websites because of their content was the final assault. We had Clearwire for a while, before Sprint took it over and shut it down. This forced us to pay slightly more to get Time Warner instead. Still, Time Warner—like Clearwire—had much more reliable service than the ridiculously slow and censorious ZoomTown ever did. It all came crashing down when Time Warner was taken over by Charter Communications, which uses the brand name Spectrum—or as I call it, Rectum. (Charter and Spectrum are the same, much like how ULH&P and CG&E were the same. CG&E must have stood for Chewing Gum & Elmer’s, because it seemed like that’s what was holding together all their power lines.) Rectum vowed no rate increases. That was a lie. Shortly thereafter, my Internet rates went up. Now it went up yet again—from $55.58/month to a whopping $75.58. My face hit the ceiling when I got my bill. I went on the customer service chat on Rectum’s website to ask if they had cheaper Internet plans. They said they didn’t. That too turned out to be a lie. I then called Rectum and found out they did have a cheaper plan—for “only” $69.99/month. Here’s what happened: Rectum got rid of their “cheap” plan I had been using—which was still mighty expensive—and signed me up for a plan that wasn’t even their cheapest! They didn’t even tell me they were changing my plan! They actually thought I was too dumb to check my bill.
    [Show full text]
  • Let's-Remember-Together.Pptx.Pdf
    Let’s Remember Together: Classic Games Instructions 1 2 3 On the first slide After, move to the Finally, learn various attempt to guess the next slide to learn ways to modify the classic game depicted some interesting playing the game. in the pictures. facts about the game. Monopoly ◦ Charles Darrow first developed the Monopoly game in 1933. ◦ Mr. Monopoly’s true name is Rich Uncle Pennybags. ◦ The earliest game can be traced back to 1903. This version was created by Elizabeth Maggie, who wanted a game to understand tax. ◦ The longest game of Monopoly on record lasted 70 days straight. Monopoly Modifications ◦ Sort Monopoly money into categories by quantity or color ◦ Sort Monopoly cards by color or category Scrabble ◦ Scrabble was invented in 1931 by New York architect Alfred Mosher Butts. ◦ Somewhere in the world there are over a million missing Scrabble tiles. ◦ If all the Scrabble tiles ever produced were lined up, they would stretch for more than 50,000 miles. ◦ Scrabble is used all over the world to teach the English language. ◦ The most tiles are in Italian and Portuguese Scrabble which both have 120 tiles. Scrabble Modifications ◦ Sort scrabble tiles into groups by letters ◦ Spell simple words without using the game board ◦ Only use a few letters to make words ◦ Create a large word to build smaller words ◦ Use the same first letter to create other words Trivial Pursuit ◦ The game was created on December 15, 1979, by Chris Haney and Scott Abbott. ◦ The original game had 6,000 questions that were printed on 1,000 cards.
    [Show full text]
  • NSC Virtual Programs September 28 — October 30
    NSC Virtual Programs September 28 — October 30 3:00 Niles 10:00 Yoga 10:30 Line Dance 10:00 Bingo 1:00 Games History in a Box 3:00 Mystery Game 10:00 Yoga 10:30 Line Dance 10:00 Bingo 1:00 Games 10:00 Yoga 10:30 Line Dance 10:00 Bingo 1:00 Games 10:00 All Things 3:00 Mystery Zoom Game 3:00 Latin (x) Identity 10:00 Yoga 10:30 Line Dance 10:00 Bingo 1:00 Games 3:00 Mystery Game 10:00 Yoga 10:30 Line Dance 10:00 Bingo 1:00 Games 3:00 Who Are They 3:00 Mystery Game NSC Virtual Programs September 28 — October 30 Rise and Shine Chair Yoga M, 10:00am (Every Monday) Each Monday we will work out to an exercise video together. Email [email protected] to join. Mystery Game T, 3:00pm (Every Tuesday, except October 6th) The People Have Spoken, 25 Words or Less, Trivia, or Pictionary…nobody knows, but what’s guaranteed is a good time! Please email Milcah at [email protected] to participate. Bingo W, 10:00am (Every Wednesday) Who doesn’t love Bingo? If you’re interested, you will be emailed your Bingo cards, and we will all play together for prizes. Email [email protected] to join. Games with Chrisann -Email [email protected] to join any of the programs listed below. Th, Oct 1 1:00pm Yahtzee Th, Oct 8 1:00pm Scattergories Th, Oct 15 1:00pm Five Second Guess Th, Oct 22 1:00pm Farkle Th, Oct 29 1:00pm Jeopardy All Things Zoom - F, Oct 16 10:00am Lets talk Zoom.
    [Show full text]