In Life, You’re Not Playing Chess — You’re Playing Poker
Yes, because knowing which game you’re playing makes all the difference.
I’ve been playing chess since I was four. In chess, if you are much stronger than your adversary, you win. If you are much weaker, you lose. There is no room for luck in chess.
And you know what? School and college look a lot like chess. The equation is simple: hard work = good grades.
What about life? Same thing, right? You work hard to guarantee your success.
Simple.
Yeah, simple but flawed. The caveat is that life gives no guarantees.
Time to stop playing chess and start playing poker.
In poker, luck plays a huge role, as it does in life. You can be enjoying a stroll on the sidewalk and BAM! A car runs over you. What did you do to deserve such a terrible fate? Would you have been hit had you walked a bit slower? Who would ever know?
With so much randomness in the world, so much outside your control, the best you can do is increase your odds of success.
To avoid that car, you could stroll in the park instead… Wait, what if you’re hit by a falling tree? Again, no guarantees… Bad things may happen to you even if you do everything right.
“But that’s unfair!”, you may say. Well, I wouldn’t say that. Is poker an unfair game? No, the rules are such that luck matters. The sooner you accept that the better.
And, whether you like it or not, the moment you were born you entered a giant poker table. So, please, have a seat.
The initial lottery
In poker, as in life, you are handed a set of cards in the beginning. Think of these cards as the family you’re born into, the color of your skin, your sex, an innate disease or gift.
Your mission: to do the best you can with the cards you were given
If you’re a skilled player, you can succeed even if you own a 7 of clubs and a 2 of diamonds. It won’t be easy, though. Sure, starting with a pair of aces (e.g. being born in a wealthy family in a western country) is a tremendous advantage, but you still need to do your best. Don’t lower your guard.
To perform at your best you have to work — a lot
“If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn’t call it genius. ” — Michelangelo
Nobody is born a national poker champion or a wise man. You acquire skill and wisdom through hard work. There is no way out. Want stronger muscles? Submit them to strenuous exercise regularly. Wanna paint the next Mona Lisa or get to the World Series of Poker final table? Put aside thousands of hours of work. Yes, thousands.
Choose your battles wisely and know when to quit
Let’s say you start with a very bad hand. If it remains bad after the flop (the first three cards on the table) and the price to remain in the game is high, it may be wise to quit. See it as those quests in life that aren’t worth your time and effort. If you suck at telling jokes, don’t invest your life savings trying to become a stand-up artist. On the other hand…
If the price is low, experiment
Luck works both ways. In the same way that a meteor can strike you right now, your mediocre 7 of clubs and 2 of diamonds can become a shiny full house after the flop. I have seen it so many times… The bet was minimum and I did not pay. After the flop, what a regret…
If the price is low, pay it. Your losses are limited and lady luck may smile at you. Look at me. Am I taking a huge risk publishing this article on Medium? The worse that can happen is that it flops, but I can survive that.
Stay alert and adapt
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” — Charles Darwin
The dinosaurs were stronger than pre-historic mammals but, sorry dinos, it is a highly evolved mammal that is writing this piece.
To believe in yourself is crucial, but overconfidence may break you. You may lose everything if you become careless. Don’t let emotions cloud your judgment. When you have a straight since the flop, you may not see a full house coming. As the game unfolds, you may have to change your approach many times, lest you face your own extinction.
Conceal your intentions
Yes, this is Robert Greene’s third law of power. And yes, it is pretty much self-explanatory. Don’t be naive. People will not show you all their cards, so why would you?
Build a good reputation
Greene again. Fifth law. As he says, “Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win”.
When playing with my friends, there is always that ultra-tight player known for raising only when his odds of winning are stratospheric. And guess what: when he raises, everybody trembles. Does he never bluff? Does he bluff from time to time? We’ll never know for sure, but one thing I know: his reputation is serving him well. And you? What reputation are you building?
Summing up
You entered an eternal poker table without asking and there is no way out.
During this game, life will give you bad cards and good cards. You will not win every hand, but you can win more than you lose.
How? Becoming a skillful player.
It won’t be easy to become such a good player, though. You’ll have to learn new abilities, which will require to work your ass off and get out of your comfort zone. But trust me, this is still your best strategy because, in the long run, skill beats luck.
