What Poker Taught Me About Life
Monday, November 05, 2007
A week or so ago, I wrote about what poker taught me about work. This morning I had another similar thought, as I continue to process the string of bad luck that hit me Saturday and Sunday.
Sometimes in life, you just get unlucky. We know this in cards, since we've all seen our share of 2-outters and bad beats. In poker, its just a part of the game. Ultimately, I hope to train myself mentally and emotionally to accept these tough breaks, since fighting them internally will do nothing to change the laws of probability. By accepting bad luck, I can work on my perception of the situation. I do not want to internalize or personalize bad luck because, frankly, it isn't personal.
Such is life. There will be times where you or I make the right move and lose. There will be times where we will hit that one-outter of life. I've experienced both recently.
In poker, I train myself to accept these facts of life, but in life it is harder. When I got lucky and something came through last minute, saving the day, I considered it something I deserved or earned. When I got unlucky and some bad fate fell upon me, I considered it punishment for my errors or a sign of my faults.
In reality, life is poker. Good things happen to bad people, and bad things happen to good. In the end, all we can ever do is ride it out, hope that it all evens out in the end, and use our skills and character to consistently work hard and work smart. Only through smart, hard work can we really control our destiny, even as it is thrown around by the whims of luck. Only through smart, hard work can we be proactive about life and poker, instead of reactive to the luck that will fall on us regardless of our actions.
Until next time, make mine poker!
posted by Jordan @ 9:02 AM,
2 Comments:
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At 9:50 AM,
Riggstad said...
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Very profound insight there Jordan. I couldn't agree more with you.
The old adage, "luck is when preparation meets opportunity" is nothing more to me than a credo to make you feel smart about being lucky. Conversely, there should be one (I haven't heard a legitimate one yet) for bad luck as well... Maybe I'll write a post about that.
and in another good turn of bad luck... you've been tagged.
GL tonight in the HOY -
At 5:26 AM,
Jackie Lynn said...
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Well said.
