Poker Players Launch Charitable Group

Poker players are known for their generosity when it comes to various charitable organizations. A small group of those players recently got together to form an organization that gives them the opportunity to vet causes and suggest ones that do the most good with the most money.

Raising for Effective Giving, or REG, was established this summer by Liv Boeree, Philipp Gruissem, and Igor Kurganov. In true skilled poker player form, they described the organization on the website as follows:

We recognize that the rationality skills for maximizing expected monetary value in poker transfer perfectly into maximizing the expected impact of charitable donations. The idea behind effective giving is to rely on science and rational decision-making in order to find the most effective interventions.

The website goes on to summarize:

REG is collaborating with researchers, think tanks and charity evaluators to provide members with the best information on the most effective giving opportunities. Interested REG members are encouraged to participate in discussions about effective giving. Additionally, REG will promote effective giving to the poker-interested public and encourage members to become ambassadors for this important cause.

In order to participate, a poker player must simply pledge to donate two percent of his or her gross poker winnings on a quarterly basis.

Some of the original charities that made the REG cut and are now recommended on the organization’s website include:

GiveWell: Evaluates the cost-effectiveness of charities focused on global poverty.

Deworm the World: Administers de-worming treatments to school-age children around the world.

Schistosomiasis Control Initiative: Focuses on neglected tropical diseases.

Give Directly: Transfers money to extreme poor in Kenya and Uganda.

Against Malaria Foundation: Distributes bed nets to protect families from malaria-carrying insects.