| Poker, the little game that took hold in the 1800's, | | | | hand and their opponent draws, against the odds, the |
| has grown into a global phenomenon. From card | | | | card that they need. I can say from experience that |
| rooms to house games, from the World Series of | | | | this is no fun. I can also say that this is a fact of |
| Poker to the Internet, people are smitten with this | | | | poker. Many times, no matter how well you are |
| game and as with most games, poker parallels life. | | | | positioned, there are several cards still in the deck |
| We can, in turn, learn a lot from poker. | | | | that can ruin your day and deplete your chip stack. |
| On the surface, poker is a game of card hands, | | | | The best players put the hand and the urge to get |
| bluffs and strategic betting. Beneath the surface, | | | | emotional behind them and move on with grace, |
| however, poker is an intricate dance of risk | | | | dignity and continued disciplined play. In short, they |
| management, resource management, and psychology. | | | | do not let bad luck effect future play. |
| It is a great opportunity to improve your ability to | | | | You will as a leader have real life bad beats. You will |
| navigate the tricky world of leadership. | | | | do everything right. You will identify an opportunity, |
| Know the table and know your hand: | | | | you will formulate a plan, you will request and acquire |
| You cannot win, if you do not know the rules. | | | | the right opportunities and you will execute well. In |
| Converting your hand to the best possible payoff | | | | these cases, however, you will fail. It happens to |
| within these rules is the only way to win. The | | | | everybody and it will happen to you. When it |
| hierarchy of hands, wild cards, the number of players, | | | | happens, move on, learn lessons, and continue to |
| betting order, and card exchanges all affect your play | | | | execute. Keep up your morale and that of your team |
| and your decision to hold 'em or fold 'em. In one | | | | by putting the failure behind you. |
| hand, for example, a deuce may be worthless. In | | | | Play the man: |
| another hand, a deuce may be a wild card that can | | | | Poker is a game of cards, but the truly exceptional |
| provide the crucial piece in making three of a kind. In | | | | players engage the opponent. They hone their skills |
| short, the rules define how you manage your | | | | of perception and psychology to identify behavioral |
| resources. | | | | trends as a window the their opponents hands. |
| As a leader, you need to practice this same insight in | | | | Everybody has tells or small idiosyncrasies that |
| your day-to-day operations that you would at the | | | | telescope their moves or the cards in their hand. |
| card table. You must define what defines success | | | | Additionally, betting patterns can tell you a great deal |
| and how your resources will allow you to reach your | | | | of the personality type of your opponent, the |
| objectives. When you lack the sufficient resources to | | | | strength of their hand and their potential reaction to |
| compete effectively, get out. If you decide to | | | | your moves. Identifying and using this information |
| compete, you must constantly assess and re-assess | | | | allows you to mitigate risk and make more informed |
| of your operating environment and how your | | | | decisions. |
| resources enable you to accomplish your objectives | | | | To lead, you must understand people and react to |
| within the environment. | | | | their needs, wants, fears, desires and behavior. |
| Odds influence decisions: | | | | Unfortunately, most of the time, your team |
| In poker, the decisions are seemingly simple - check, | | | | members and colleagues will not necessarily openly |
| bet, call or fold. Behind each one of these decisions, | | | | share these aspects of their psyche. To be honest, |
| however, an intricate analysis takes place. As a player | | | | they might not even know these things about |
| you must decide whether the risk associated with a | | | | themselves. You must, therefore, observe the |
| decision has a sufficient payout to offset the | | | | behaviors of those with whom you work, analyze |
| assumed risk. This is called pot odds and it is a basic | | | | how this should affect your behavior and alter your |
| tenet of poker strategy. Basically, whenever faced | | | | style to most effectively work with them. |
| with a decision, you evaluate the hand you hold, the | | | | Short-stacked is down, but not out: |
| ability to make a future hand and the likelihood that | | | | In poker, when you are short stacked, you have less |
| your opponents have a better or will make a better | | | | chips that your opponents. This is an obvious |
| hand. If the odds are favorable or if there is a | | | | disadvantage, but a good player knows that things |
| payout large enough to reward a risky move, you | | | | can change quickly with skill and luck. In fact, there is |
| stay in. If not, you get out. | | | | a poker saying that state, "To win, all that you need |
| Good leaders must understand and embrace | | | | is a chip and a chair." Players in this situation, play |
| effective risk management to succeed. Rarely, if | | | | more conservatively a bit, pick the hands they play |
| ever, will a decision be devoid of risk and certain | | | | more carefully and often engage opponents who |
| decisions will have significant risk. It is those leaders | | | | have less of a chance to bully them out of the hand. |
| who can quickly determine the return-on-investment | | | | In short, they make every chip count. |
| for a decision or commitment of resources, | | | | Leadership is no different and the truly gifted leader |
| therefore, who succeed. This insight allows them to | | | | looks at resource issues as constraints and not |
| choose to act or not act with courage of conviction | | | | insurmountable obstacles. They assess how these |
| and confidence in their decisions. | | | | constraints affect their business and alter their |
| Respect Luck: | | | | decision making to take the full advantage of their |
| There is a poker term called the bad beat. In these | | | | limited resources. |
| situations, one player is the odds on favor to win a | | | | |