Private Members Club
Giving students the opportunity to sit at a table with executives and like-minded people
The season
Member Games
A handful of evenings each semester held at a real Casino, members only. Every game counts toward the season standings. Earn points to unlock perks, prizes and guaranteed seats at guest nights. There will also be several optional classes held ranging from introductory to advanced play, with special sessions for beginners and newcomers.
The Guest Night
We're in conversation with several of the largest societies at the University of St.Gallen about running events alongside theirs, giving our members a second network beyond the felt. These open up once we're accredited.
Collaborations
Once a semester the tables are shared with executives from banking, finance, consulting, law, technology, healthcare, startups and more. Seats are fewer than members, so the standings decide who sits.
Preregistration for membership
Fill in the form below with your name and email to receive updates. We will let you know as soon as applications open.
Where we stand
-
The Card Room is currently in founding at the University of St.Gallen. We expect to be recognised in the coming months, with the first season following in spring.
-
Before a new society can apply for accreditation, the university requires fifty signatures from its members. Giving your signature grants you priority application for membership later on. Come by Timetable
-
We are assembling the founding board now and are looking for the right people to complete it. Founding a society is more work than joining one, and considerably more interesting. Applications open 14th of September and close 25th of September.
Partners
We are in conversation with a number of prestigious firms about joining the club as guests and prize partners. The interest has been encouraging, and we look forward to announcing them once agreements are in place.
COMING SOON
COMING SOON
Membership
Membership is limited, and admission is by application.
The season runs on our members' games played a handful of evenings each semester. Every game counts toward the season standings with a point system granting perks, prizes and access.
Once a semester the tables are shared. Our guest night brings executives from various industries to sit with our members for an evening. Prizes are going to be very substantial and are handed out to the top 5 but every attendee gets a free drink and smaller prizes such as merchandise or other things provided by sponsors and partners. Seats are fewer than members, so the standings decide who takes them. Win a members' game and you get a guaranteed place at a guest night alongside the golden members card; the rest are seated in order of points, and those at the foot of the table go on the waitlist. It is the fairest system we could design, and it means the evening rewards the people who show up.
Beyond the games, members receive a metal card, an invitation to everything we host, and access to the joint events we are planning with other societies at the University of St. Gallen. Dinners and other evenings follow.
Applications open once we are accredited. Until then, adding your signature gives you priority accreditation.
Upcoming Events
-
Soon to be announced
-
Soon to be announced
-
Soon to be announced
Why Poker
Skills
Poker is a game of decisions made with incomplete information. Each hand requires weighing probability against pot odds, reading the behaviour of the people at the table, and choosing between immediate gain and long-term position. Players learn to incorporate soft skills and hard analysis to maximise potential gain Such skills are useful in all aspects of life.
Networking
A poker table seats people for two to three hours with a shared activity between them. Conversation develops in the gaps between hands, across a fold or while the deck is shuffled rather than in the compressed few minutes a reception allows. Nobody moves on to the next person, and there is no need to manufacture a reason to talk. For students, that means substantive contact with professionals; for guests, it means judging how student think under pressure rather than how they present.
Finance
Poker and financial decision-making share a common vocabulary: expected value, variance, position, risk of ruin, bankroll management. Both require acting on probabilistic information under time pressure, and both punish results-oriented thinking. The game is widely played across banking, trading and private equity for exactly this reason, which gives our members a shared frame of reference with the guests at their table, and makes an invitation to play considerably easier to accept than an invitation to speak.
Become a board member
Fill in the form and tell us in a few sentences why you would be a good fit and which seat interests you (e.g., Head of Media, Head of Finance, Head of Events, etc.). Please upload your CV in the file section. There are no prerequisites, relevant experience is always welcome.
If it looks like a match, we will invite you for a short conversation, in person or over coffee. If that goes well, you join the founding board and start straight away.
Schedule for signing
-
12:15 — 16:00 Room: 1-108
-
14:15 — 16:00 Room: 1-023
-
Cancelled
-
Cancelled
-
Cancelled