my poker game part 1

I played a “friendly” poker game with my family on the Friday night after Thanksgiving.

But here’s the thing…

When I have my money on the table, I don’t take it easy on them. I play to win. To take everyone’s money, whether they’re family or not.

We only played for 25 minutes that Friday, but I won $42.

That may not sound like a lot to you. But with a $20 buy-in, $42 is impressive.

I won on Friday by playing aggressively. I made big bets, scared my family, and reaped the rewards.

It worked Friday, so I did the same when we played on Saturday.

But things didn’t go as planned.

Less than an hour into the game, I lost everything. I thought I made clever bets, but my family called all my bluffs.

I considered leaving the table to go to bed, but it was only 10:15…

The night was young, as I like to say.

So, I bought back in for $10. All I can say is…

Best. Decision. Of. The. Night.

I was dealt a full house on the first hand. If you don’t know anything about poker, a full house is one of the best hands in the game.

I bet my entire $10, hoping someone would think I was bluffing. And it worked.

That hand doubled my $10, leaving me a few dollars away from breaking even.

But I didn’t want to break even.

I wanted to win like the night before.

And at the end, I went from losing $20 to profiting $60.

You’re probably thinking: Mike, why are you telling me about winning $100 in poker?

Valid question. Here’s why…

Most people assume that poker is a game of luck. That it’s gambling.

But that’s not the case.

Poker is a game of skill. There’s some luck involved, but most of your success depends on overcoming two types of opponents.

I won on Friday because I understood my opponents at the table. I knew my big bets would frighten them, and they did. That’s the first type of opponent in poker…

Those sitting next to me.

But on Saturday, I beat the other type of opponent. The toughest of them all…

My mind.

After losing $20, I could have let the loss linger in my mind. It could have forced me to make bad bets, reckless decisions, and conservative moves.

But I didn’t let my mind trick me. I kept a cool head and, most importantly…

I played as if I weren’t losing.

I know that sounds counterproductive, but it’s the point of my story.

You play poker and life the same way.

Some luck is involved, but most of your success will come from the decisions you make.

And when you start losing or failing in life, it’s easy to let fear and anxiety control your decisions.

Those are the moments when you need to play life as if you weren’t losing.

You might be thinking, what does it mean to play life as if you weren’t losing?

Well, I’m sending you another email tomorrow morning to explain.

I know Tuesday isn’t Monday, but I’m excited to share this with you and don’t want to wait a week.