Growing a Gamer

We're building one monster of a gamer with our oldest daughter so far.  A few months ago, unintentionally, playing a card game  became part of her bed-time routine.  So every night we play one of two games: Go Fish or Uno.  Sure, neither one are very complex and both are heavily luck-based, but there is a skill element in both.  (We've also done some checkers a couple nights)

My wife and I don't really take it easy on her, either.  Sure, the first few nights we let her win a couple times so she didn't get completely discouraged with the game, but now she regularly wins on her own merits.

Watching her developing her skills is fascinating.  She is developing one wicked poker face, and is picking up on our tells as well.  While playing Go Fish the first week or so when she got a card she knew we had she'd make a huge grin and hold it up to her face and smile and look at the person who she knew had the matches.  At which point we'd know exactly what card to ask her for.  She figured that one out quickly.  Now she'll wait until after she gets the cards from us and say, "How was that, Daddy?  I didn't make a face, did I!" 

Right now she's slowly learning how to bluff.  Since we don't play Uno every night, and even when you do you don't often get chances to bluff in Uno it is going slowly, but I think she is catching on. 

Now I just need to pick the next couple games to teach her.