The Success Principles of Poker – Deciding What You Want is +EV

Our Futures are Often Predetermined

Most of us didn’t design our current existence. Instead we were handed it on a plate – the quality of which depended, in a lot of cases, on your class of living.

Individuality is knocked out of us at a young age. It’s no coincidence that we are born helpless. It continues throughout our childhood and even into our adulthood. 

We look to our teachers, the careers officer and our parents. “What do I want?” The answer? It depends on their lifestyle, their beliefs and their values.

It has nothing to do with what you want.

I ran from school at sweet 16. I found work sanding and staining pieces of wood in a factory making kitchens.

I was paid £31 per week. I gave my parents £10 for food and board and had £21 per week to spend on ale. I was like a pig in shit.

Back then, if you were to ask me what I wanted to do, I would have said I wanted to work in an office. That was the sum total of my ambitions.

I didn’t want to think too far ahead because it scared me. The thought of pushing through limitations and taking on more than I could chew made me choke.

“I am enjoying myself right now. The future doesn’t exist.”

It was nothing but an excuse. I was doing what my father wanted me to do. He wasn’t physically pushing me into anything, but my internal GPS took me there.

My plans wouldn’t surface for another two decades. I would work hard and spend that hard-earned reward in the pub. My desire to work in an office was shaved away with the pieces of wood that cowered beneath my plane.

Dempsey: No regrets. But …

Stop Settling For Second Best

Nobody ever told me that I could do anything that I wanted to. My list had (a) work in a kitchen factory, (b) work in an office and (c) sign on and claim benefits.

It never occurred to me that we are all flesh and blood. That the same grey matter that churns around inside your skull is the same as mine.

There was always tomorrow. I will think about it tomorrow.

During a recent conversation with former WSOP & WPT Champion James Dempsey I asked him if he had any regrets with the way he managed the money that he won through poker.

“No regrets … but …”

Whenever you hear a “but” you can ignore anything else that proceeded it.

“I wish I bought some property.”

Example: You open-raise to 2.5 big blinds with K Q in late position, feeling comfortable because you’ve been running well. You pick up two callers, including the small blind. On a flop of K 7 3 , you decide to bet half the pot and both players fold. After raking in the pot, you realize you’ve been doing this for months without a clear plan for what to do with your winnings, illustrating how “living in the now” can overshadow preparing for the future.

You don’t make that mistake when you have a plan.

Start Creating Your Poker Plan

Dempsey had a lot of fun when he was young. He was in a position that very few people get to experience at that age. Do you think he wouldn’t have had those experiences had he invested in property?

Having fun in the moment and planning for the future are not mutually exclusive. They can, and do, exist together. Write a list of all the things that you want to do in your life. See if you can find 64 things that you desire.

Think materialism, spiritualism and memories. If you are a successful poker player then you may never be in a better situation to start ticking things off this list.

If you’re not a poker player but want to be one, then stick it on the list.

There is a certain wonder to the random moments that transform your life. Revel in them, but don’t let it stop you from planning.

Stop allowing the universe to dictate your life. Tell it what you want and sit back while it delivers.

Do it now. Whilst you have the time, energy and money. Don’t wait until you are deep in make up and can’t even find the spade.