B
badelf
Rising Star
Bronze Level
Life is like poker. You have the hand you're having and the decision what to make with it is all yours. Fold it, risk it by going all in, limp it, etc... But sometimes, no matter how attractive are your cards, you must fold them. So if you know poker, you know life and it takes a lot of discipline and mental strength to make that fold that could've ruined you... and simply to not to think about it too.
Cam54
Rock Star
Silver Level
To Me poker is very much related to real life and many of the same lessons carry between...., many good examples have been listed above, I would have to say patience is the one most valuable to me. It was the one hardest for me to even get close to as well, not even raising children taught me the level of patience I learned at the poker table. Which to this day still gets the best of me sometimes : ) but I'm better these days ....
2NaCl
Rock Star
Silver Level
Poker has definitely been a valuable life lesson tool for many. For me, it taught me that you can lose everything you have as fast as you got it. I know it's an extreme analogy comparing chips to your current position in life but if you think about it factoring happiness, everyone has their ups and downs in life (just like in the poker tables), no matter how far up or far down you are in life (or in a tournament) you will be experiencing highs and lows and you just need to accept that that's the way it works. Similarly you may be doing amazing in a tournament, reach final table and get sucked out from a bad beat and ruining your night.
X
xexeu
Rock Star
Bronze Level
for me the patience, before I acted a lot by impulse both in the game and in my personal life but grace to the poker I am learning to reflect, ante of everything so much in the game as in the personal life helped me a lot.
HK_47
Rock Star
Silver Level
Every day is a new hand in it's own right. Most days are just nameless aimless grey days you won't ever remember, but when you get to play a hand you should play it for all it's worth.
People are widely different, you can't pretend any two people are even close to the same outside of small personality traits. Thinking you have an understanding of what a stranger is doing is often a mistake and every instance is unique. You should always take each hand (Or interaction) from a point of optimism otherwise you might miss out on valuable spots.
And of course luck is always a factor in everything and you need to relinquish that level of controlling everything and be response-able (I hate the way responsible is used as a word).
People are widely different, you can't pretend any two people are even close to the same outside of small personality traits. Thinking you have an understanding of what a stranger is doing is often a mistake and every instance is unique. You should always take each hand (Or interaction) from a point of optimism otherwise you might miss out on valuable spots.
And of course luck is always a factor in everything and you need to relinquish that level of controlling everything and be response-able (I hate the way responsible is used as a word).
Nathan Williams
Poker Pro
Silver Level
So many. But above all, perseverance. This game will chew you up and spit you out again and again and again. You need to develop extraordinary amounts of discipline, focus and emotional control to survive in this game over the long haul.
Viper ChipIt
Rock Star
Silver Level
XYZ2123
Visionary
Bronze Level
Poker can teach many important life skills. Patience, discipline, focus, knowing when to quit, emotional control, reading people, the value of money and how to manage it. But I think the lesson I keep learning over and over, and still haven't mastered is that my first instinct is almost always correct and that I should just, as they say, go with my gut. Every time I face a tough decision at a table, my gut feeling turns out to be correct. Unfortunately, I still tend to sabotage myself by overthinking and trying to overplay my hand.
