Lessons from Poker

I won my first million chips in Facebook today .

I fell in love with the game of poker from the first time I learned to play it, perhaps because the game is more like life itself -- the drama of life unfolds with every turn of a card.

Since I have reached this far in "the game." I have no further intentions of pursuing another million chips. The game does not appeal to me anymore. I have done enough for the game, and for this, I am officially retiring. I'd probably just give away my chips, especially to those who helped me during my "darkest poker times."

In my quest for my first million. I have learned a lot of lessons from poker as in life, which I hope you can learn from, too.
 
Life is both luck and skill, in the short run, "luck" prevails, but in the long run "skill"  triumphs.

Don't bluff, but don't be totally honest either.

Be patient, composed, and calm

To get better, practice and study.

Look for patterns.

Never make an important decision when you're tired or have recently consumed alcoholic beverages.

Stick to your level of stakes you are comfortable with.

While you're at it, you might as well enjoy the game.

Poker is a game of empathy. It is a game of understanding others' intent and motives so that  you can arrive at correct decisions. In a sense, Poker teaches us a lot about life. It develops discipline, critical reasoning, management of finances, strategy building, tactical implementation of the strategies - all are useful not only in life but also in any game that you want to pursue.