Smokin' Aces

Seen that movie? It's not so special, so don't worry if you haven't. I've seen it quite a while ago, but that's not what I wanted to talk about this time anyway. No my children, this is about the wonderful game of Poker, worthy of a capital P. Throughout YWC I've amazed myself with my musical performance as in: I never thought I would ever be doing such things. The same thing applies to poker.

I used to be the kinda guy who bets on 'sure things' so to say. Was that me? No, it was just the fear of losing something. In fact, poker is all but gambling; it's a strategical game, based on mathematics, in which the best player will - eventually - always win. I'll put some emphasis on the word eventually, because this game requires you to have a lot of patience. There's no room for emotion in poker; it will strip you from all your money before you know it.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not trying to sound like a poker expert, but this is what I learned so far. I've only been playing for a few days now, and not for real money; I'm still in training school. Once I'm ready to join the big boys it will become harder, but so far I'm doing good. I managed to win about 100 times more than I lost, so at least that's something!

Anyway, for the sceptics among us: Luck is indeed also a factor in poker, but it's spread evenly, so it's definitely not a reliable force. This is why sometimes, when the odds are with you, you still lose! It's just part of the game, but that also makes it charming. Like I said, important is to be patient; the quicker you want to take the cash, the quicker others will take it from you. Poker needs time, and there's little room for opportunism.

With opportunism I mean that in theory, you could win the game with every hand. But poker is not about possibility, it's about probability. Wage your chances according to what's at stake, and make the mathematical decision. Other factors are the playing styles of your opponents; depending on what they do, it can give you an indication of their hand.

All in all, this will definitely become a hobby of mine. Poker is a lovely game because it's simple, yet very challenging. It's also a good training for the mind, to keep your cool and not let emotions guide you. I think this is the biggest challenge of poker. You can be smart, but what when you lose a few games despite the odds being in your favour? Will you want to get that money back the next game, or do you patiently wait until it's your time to strike. Poker is a discipline.

In Yes+ we have a little story, about the rabbit and the tortoise. It's about them running against each other in which different events occur that changes the outcome of the match. There's a few lessons to be learned from this story that actually apply a lot to poker:

1) Slow and steady wins the game.
2) Fast and reliable is better.
3) Don't run, unless you have key compentencies.

Amen.