How Poker is Helping NASA Astronauts Prepare for Mars

NASA Mars Dune AlphaPoker and Texas are practically joined at the hip. It says so right there in the name: Texas Hold’em.

The story of poker in the Lone Star State began with legendary road gamblers like Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim, and Sailor Roberts playing on the notorious Exchange Street in Fort Worth, and continues to this day with modern poker rooms such as The Lodge and Prime Social.

But just 30 miles away from Texas’s poker heartland, at Johnson Space Center, poker is playing an unlikely part in humanity’s pursuit of the stars.

When the Space Race Met the Card Table

A simple search for poker and NASA, will easily bring up the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska, a launch site for…