Todays winners, tomorrow's losers?

A friend of mine and I got into a conversation yesterday about how alot of the players we feared 7 or 8 months ago, where no longer intimidating to us. As a matter of fact, we tend to play quite well against them, and look forward to having them in our game. My friend pointed out that these players are complacent in their study of the game, and believe they already know everything, while we have continued to study the game and constantly look for more information that will help us.

As I thought about this, I went back and reread Alan Shoomakers comments on having a positive attitude towards constructive critisism. In a nutshell, he was suprised that I wasn't offended by his critisism of my response to a posters question, and went on to make a point of how rare this was amongst poker players. I took this as a great compliment, particularly coming from someone I admire.

My thoughts on these two communications are that if we are winning today, but become complacement in our studies, unwilling to embrace critisism, or are inflexible in our opinions of our own knowledge or beliefs, we are destined to become the fish of tomorrow.

Just some thoughts I wanted to share. They may be somewhat redundant, but isn't it often the obvious that's most overlooked?

this transfers over to life in general i think...


you can tell the guys going through the motions day in and day out. take their 2 weeks a year, then back to the same old. just complacent with life. same on a cardtable. which is ok, if thats the level of the endeavor you wanted to reach.


of course some/most jsut play for fun or whatever, but you can usually tell if they're done in the learning/striving dept.


im sure youve seen these types.


the real fun ones ARE the ones who think they know it all. the ones who "have played for 25 yrs, ya little punk, whattya playin that way for!?!"


thinking "uh, sir, i just made an extra 4 bets on that hand..."


nice post...


b

Beware success. Always beware success. Better yet, be paranoid of success.

The dangers of complacency were a central theme in a long series I wrote recently for Poker Digest, "Darwin at the poker table."


The final column of that series was never published because PD stopped publishing, but I'd like to cut and paste its four main points. You'll see they agree 100% with your position about complacency and failing to develop continuously.

1. Your survival as a player is not guaranteed.

2. Changes will certainly threaten your survival.

3. Your survival demands understanding, accepting, and adapting to change.

4. Your greatest enemies are your own attitudes.


Because my own attitudes are my biggest problem, I make sure to meet regularly with people who tell me the truth, especially when I don't want to hear it.


In fact, the less I want to hear it, the more I need to do so.


Regards,


Al

I think pro poker players, being in essence "business persons", should study successful businesses and entrepreneurs and learn how those businesses and entrepreneurs not only survive but thrive. Then they should integrate some of those lessons into their own paradigms, attitudes, behaviors, and habits.


Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Good to Great, Awaken the Giant Within, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Re-engineering the Corporation, In Search of Excellence, Competitive Advantage, and other business books should be must reading for the poker pro, and even those who aren't pros.

There are strong analogies between business and poker:


"Your survival as a player is not guaranteed".


Same with business.


"Changes will certainly threaten your survival."


Unless you learn to embrace it, search for it, diagnose it, and exploit it as an opportunity to make yourself more competitive.


"Your survival demands understanding, accepting, and adapting to change."


Survival is important but I think that the overriding focus of the highly innovative and adaptive companies whose successes are described in the books I've mentioned above is on thriving not on mere surviving. They are pro-active not reactive. They are opportunity exploiters not problem solvers. Granted problems have to be solved. But the primary philosophy of the "excellent company" is "If it ain't broke, fix it anyway". The ability to unlearn is just as important as the ability to learn.


"Your greatest enemies are your own attitudes".


Negative attitudes that is. But all of us players are fully capable of replacing old negative attitudes with new and positive attitudes. Ones that embrace change, values openmindedness to other people's ideas/opinions/criticisms, greediness for new knowledge, love of the new, self-honesty, willingness to replace old paradigms, values, knowledge, attitudes, habits, and beliefs, etc.


"...I make sure to meet regularly with people who tell me the truth, especially when I don't want to hear it."


Why else would successful corporations be more than willing to pay as much as $80,000 per day for outside consultants like Tom Peters, John Grinder, and Peter Drucker?

Jedi,


Loved your references to "The business metaphor." I'd like to add a couple of books to your list: "The Poker MBA" by my friend, Greg Dinkin, and my own "Business is a poker game," which will be out in a few months. Both Greg and I use poker as the teaching metaphor in the same way that countless athletes and coaches have used sports.


Al

Great minds think alike??!!

Will this be published by 2+2? I use poker theory often in my business reviews, and find the situations comprable and very transferable. I don't, however, actually mention poker.

Yeah, it does transfer to all aspects of life. I just got out of a business review last week and I was given a huge kudos, as well as my staff, by the CEO. When he left, I told them great job but don't rest on your laurels. Just keep trying to get to better. Pats on the back turn into kicks in the butt real fast!

Just like your 25 year vet that thinks he knows everything, but starts to see he got left behind.

Yes, it will be published by Two Plus Two. Why would anyone with a choice publish anywhere else?


Al