Deepak Dhayanithy is a professor with an unusual predilection — he is an avid fan of the popular (and somewhat infamous) card game, poker. But before you rush to conclusions, let us clarify that Dhayanithy isn't exactly a professional gambler. Instead, he uses poker as a tool to teach bright-eyed students the fundamentals of strategic management at the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. Dhayanithy asserts that poker is far more effective than most course books when it comes to making quick decisions, dealing with uncertainties and reading your opponents' body language. These are all skills, he says, that will come in handy in corporate boardrooms, where managers must think quickly and factor in the long term while making decisions that will impact the entire organisation.

While this attitude might strike you as a stark departure from the traditional mindset of games being a distraction and/or a waste of time for students struggling with demanding coursework, there are more like Dhayanithy who believe in the instructional value that games.