Why we love Poker and poker Lesson 1

I started playing Poker after watching a few movies with a little poker in it. Texas holdem to be specific and not the typical showhand pokers you see in Stephen Chow's movies.

One of the movie was James Bond with Daniel Craig as 007 and the other... i can't really remember. There are many lessons you can draw from playing poker, i think everyone should play this game if not at least draw lessons from it. I am no Poker Pro but just want to share my experience after playing online poker for about a year now.

The poker game has evolved over the years and attracted many interest all around the world especially with the huge interest in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) after Chris Moneymaker an amateur won the WSOP in 2003. Everyone called it the Moneymaker effect. Chris a former accountant who earns $40k a year won 2.5 million in cold hard cash in the WSOP. It was every grown up poor man's wet dream... to put it crudely. Moneymaker delve into poker after watching Rounders, starring Matt Damon. If anyone of you is interested in Poker, you should watch it, it should at least stir some interest to play.

After the moneymaker effect, the participation in WSOP skyrocketed. Prize money for the main event in 2006 was an obscene amount of more than 12 million dollars! Jamie Gold won it that year. It was the highest ever prize money in the history of WSOP. Without further bantering, here is lesson 1.

No 1 Lesson: Read your opponents

The ability to read and understand your opponent is very important in poker. To be able to read your opponents allows you to know what hole cards they are holding. Daniel Negreanu is one of the few i seen who is able to read his opponents card so well that it sometimes it's as if he has x ray vision.

There are a few ways to do to read your opponents. One way is to look for tells. Certain action that your opponent do when he is bluffing or has a good hand i.e talk alot or start looking away from the table.

Another way is betting pattern, some players like to raise pre flop when they are bluffing and slow play when they have big hands. The way they raise, check-raise, on the turn, on the river etc.

Sometimes its just experience that allows you to read your opponent. I am sure legends like Doyle Brunson don't even have to actively think about what to do anymore. It is all automated in his mind.

Application in life:

Interaction with friends, family and even strangers or aquaintance are part and parcel of life. The ability to understand and "read" your friends intention without them telling you straight in the face is an asset. The ability to size up someone you meet for the very first time is invaluable. From their body language, the way they speak, the questions they ask. It is sometimes enough to tell you more than what can be miscommunicated through words.

This ability will make you more than a million bucks if you are in sales or in business. The ability to to size up a prospect, and learning to speak his/her language in the first 5 minutes of interaction will help tremendously in closing the deal.

The way the prospect's eye drift towards when thinking can tell you if he is an audio or visual person. The speed of his speech can tell you if he is deliberate in his thoughts or doesn't care much for details. His sitting posture can tell you if he is wasting your time or interested.

This invaluable skill can be horned with experience with your daily dealing with people and playing Poker! So start playing poker right now. There are hundreds of free site on the internet offering free poker. The easiest way is to play on facebook. That way you can play and learn the game and lose zero money. Poker in its purest form is cash games. Only this way will you learn the game properly and seriously. Even Tournaments are not its purest form. We will talk about tournament plays in another entry. I will only say one last thing:

"Let's Shuffle up and Deal!!!"

You will never walk alone

Was listening to Sarah Mclachlan's surfacing album again for the past 2 days. Every song is good. This is by far one of the best album i own. Especially like "Do what you have to do" and "Angel". Been in quite a melancholic mood lately, could be the weather, could be the haze. Could be chocolates i had yesterday during the photoshoot. I seriously don't care.

I thought the lyrics for Angel suits my mood these past few days.

"Spend all your time waiting For that second chance.

For a break that would make it okay

There's always some reason To feel not good enough.

And it's hard at the end of the day

I need some distraction Or a beautiful release

Memories seep from my veins And may be empty Oh and weightless and maybe

I'll find some peace tonight "

The surfacing of my flaws, my strengths and what is within me. Recently, i try to hold every thought that goes through my mind. Analysing them, why do i feel the way i feel. Why do i perceive certain things in certain light. You will be surprise how your mind tries to deceive you in certain ways sometimes.

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

Sometimes knowing what you want to do is not enough. It's the decision to want it, to do it that is paramount to the success of it.

Long time ago, a certain man caught the "Gold rush" fever in the west. He manage to find a Gold site and decided to spent his whole fortune buying the mining machine and paying miners to work for him to dig up all the gold. He thought to himself, this time i got it! Unfortunately, just after a few weeks of digging, the mine went dry. They didn't give up, and continued digging. After several weeks more of digging they still couldn't find the Gold Vein. The man decided to give up and cut his losses. He sold his machine to a man at the scrape yard and went his way. The man at the scrape yard thought to himself, since he has the machine he might as well give it a shot at digging up the gold.

He sought the help of professional surveyors to survey the mining site again. They discovered that the Gold vein was just 3 feet away from where they stopped digging! If only they have dug just 3 feet deeper... Of course the man went his way to start digging and dug his fortune out of the ground. Moral of the story? Do not give up easily, your Gold could be just 3 feet deeper. Also, seek professional help if needed. No man is an island, team effort yields greater and faster results.

The story doesn't end. Having found out about the good fortune of the man at the scrap yard. The man was even more determine to make his fortunes. Drawing strength from the last failure. He joined an insurance company selling insurance. Everytime a prospect says no to him, he remembered the Gold vein which was 3 feet away from where he stopped digging. Of all the cases he closed, more than 80% of the prospect initially said no to him. He sold million dollar polices and made it look easy. And he made his millions as well.

Moral of the story? You can fail as many times in life, but draw the painful lessons learnt and let it drive you on in life. Whatever you do in life.

It doesn't have to financially. Even in relationships. Work on it, don't just give up on it. Especially married couples. Trying to pick up a musical instrument? Don't give up on it after your fingers start feeling the pain from pressing the guitar strings.

There's always a reason to feel not good enough. But let it not stop you. Never let yourself tell you you are not good enough or inadequate. What is the worst that can happen if you fail?

This blog is meant for myself. Even as i type out every word. These are exactly what i am telling myself to do.

"Walk on, through the wind, Walk on, through the rain, Though your dreams be tossed and blown. Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart,

And you'll never walk alone,You'll never walk alone. "

Waiting time versus wasting time

I need to learn patience. I am someone who doesn't like to wait. Case in point, lunch time, good food means crowded. Not so good food, food served in less than 5 minutes. I will rather eat at the not so nice stall then choose the crowded bloody good food stall.

I think the year 2008 will be a very good year. It seems that God is teaching me many valuable lessons. About my finances, my career, my patience and more importantly not taking the people around me for granted.

I have been truly blessed with many good friends who cares for me. Recently i just heard from a friend that some of my ex colleagues were even asking about me if i were okay. Probably due to some of the facebook shout outs that i have been postings. It seems that my whole life i have been a pendulum. Swinging from one extreme to the other. I think i better stop swinging b4 i hit the big 3...

I am truly learning to wait, waiting on Him to show me more. I want to do more with my life, i ain't going to waste it staying in my comfort zone and waiting for my life to pass me by. God, don't let that happen to me.

A former manager from my work place years ago told me, if the cow doesn't want to drink there is no way you can force him to do so. I don't want to be that cow. Make me lie down in green pastures and lead me beside still waters, i am willing... i am willing.