Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism. The way you play it is free will. – Jawaharlal Nehru
Made you look!!! What follows was originally written for pokerheadrush.com.
Got back into the game years ago when I could no longer compete as a runner. In my own way, I love competition.
Not that battling myself doesn’t keep me plenty busy.
Running offers valuable lessons about life, about oneself. Poker does the same.
What I learned is the healthier, happier you become, the better player you will be.
Eat better, run faster. Sleep better, win more.
Simple stuff.
By now you know something about me, I am a former lot-of-stuff. Bounced around like a bad rubber ball.
Christmas, I was reminiscing with an old buddy. He’d just retired after forty years with the government, same wife forty-five years.
I congratulated him. Sincerely.
Recently, I came across an article by Patrick Lencioni in which he applied ten rules for business success to improving one’s family life.
Speaking personally, the optimal poker experience cannot exist without a supportive personal environment.
Victory is best shared, while defeat is a bitter pill to be swallowed alone.
1. Identify your core values.
I strive to continually improve my skills. I will not cheat. I do not abuse other players.
2. Establish a single top priority.
If everything is important, then nothing is important.
If you are going to accomplish one big goal as a poker player in the next few months, what will it be?
I am going to be far healthier. Lose weight, build muscle, increase flexibility, improve diet, drink less booze and consume more water.
3. Keep your values and top priority visible.
A Post-it note on your computer will work.
4. Don’t make snap decisions.
There is no rush. Think your move through.
5. Understand your opportunity cost.
Taking one course of action typically precludes you from taking another action.
The inability to pursue the other course is your opportunity cost.
How does this decision impact other possibilities?
6. Assess which balls bounce and which balls break.
Imagine you are a juggler. You have several balls in the air, some are glass, some are rubber.
Which balls do you focus on catching??
7. Don’t confuse long-term strategies and short-term tactics.
This is an excellent method of tilt control.
You want to win the tournament, not prove to the guy on the left he can’t outplay you.
8. Meet often to review your progress.
Study hand histories after every session, especially the losing ones.
9. Get out of the “office” from time to time.
If you grind without respite, you’ll end up nothing but a nub.
Take some time away from the tables.
10. Welcome productive conflict.
“When executives can’t argue,” Lencioni writes, “they can’t make good decisions and commit to them.”
Get involved in the numerous poker forums.
Ignore the flamers – worthless on so many levels – and seek heated discussion with others anxious to learn.
Add any one of these “rules” to your game today and you will be a better player tomorrow.
Stopped playing poker when it hurt too much. Like running.
Stopped bouncing, too.
Still compete every day.
Every day.
That’s my retirement plan.
There is no finish line.