You’ve probably spent a great deal of time sharpening your poker skills. But likewise probably assumed that the skills have limited application. After all, how can being good at bluffing translate into everyday life?
Hold your horses. It turns out that skills learned in the name of being a better poker player really are applicable to life too. In fact, you might even call them essential. These are the most prominent.
Having to negotiate in the business world can be one of the most intimidating things you’ll ever face. Not in the least because failing the negotiation can mean a long, rocky road ahead of you. But where does one get training for such a stressful situation?
You guessed it; playing poker. It is not only a high stress, high stakes game, but also one that has tangible rewards for improving your skills. Should you call the bet? Should you raise? Yes, it’s very similar to a business negotiation. Neat, right?
Raking in more pots, essentially, means learning from your mistakes. If you don’t take into consideration why you’re not winning hands, you’re not going to get any better, and your bankroll is going to keep shrinking.
It need not be said that learning, and moving forward, are pretty essential life skills.
As with learning to negotiate in tricky situations, understanding and evaluating risk is likewise important. There is virtually no better way to get a good, firm grasp on risk versus reward than playing a few rounds. At least, that is, if you’re playing the game right, and winning more than you’re losing. In other words; those who know when to fold are doing it right.
Knowing when it’s time to call it quits, cash in, and go to bed is perhaps one of the most important skills any poker player will ever master. Quitting while you’re ahead is paramount to being a master, and certainly applicable to so many aspects of life.
There is little as groan inducing as a sore loser. In a fair, straight up and level game, accepting that you have been outdone is not just polite, it’s key to improving. Shake your master’s hand, smile, accept it, and learn to beat that person in the future. Heck, maybe they will even teach you if you ask nicely, and wouldn’t that just accelerate your path to being a master yourself?
Need we even point out how important this sort of humble mind-set is in virtually every aspect of life?
Source: https://www.pokerstars.com