Thursday, June 23, 2011

Inherently flawed: Breaking free from the staus quo.

“If we strip poker down to its core, it’s essentially a constant emotional struggle for superiority based upon mathematical computations & interpreting the significance of intrinsically incomplete information.” – Ross Leitz

In society, we as human beings are not only inherently flawed, but we are also conditioned to practice risk avoidance & to make everyday decisions based solely upon the end result. In poker, “results oriented” thinking leans toward experiences of unprofitability & mental anguish. I feel that this type of decision making is based more upon uncertainty than the true outcome, & this is done ultimately to protect our fragile egos. But nothing in life is guaranteed, which should be all more the reason to let our inhibitions go & make it happen. Nothing hurts more than falling short of your ability or should of, would of, could of.

Once you realize that the game is not about you, & that the results do not matter, you will enable your mind to break free from the reigns of inadequacy & the indistinguishable traits of the status quo. The game is about making good situational decisions, and what happens after that is meaningless.

“Gambling is in my blood. I have never been the one to learn the easy way. I’ve been told “I told you so” on more than one occasion. I am not normal. I do not live a normal life. So why would I want to walk the straight & narrow path down mediocrity just because it was what I was conditioned to do. Why play it safe?”

Poker is a game of skill with elements of chance, not the other way around. It’s a game of many variables that include risk management, capital management, expectation, & variance which measures uncertainty. Well timed aggression coupled with a confident yet fearless demeanor are two of the necessary components that are vital to success in the long term, which is how success in poker is measured. Playing poker for a living is no different than trading stocks on Wall Street or playing professional golf. They obviously are not identical disciplines yet they all mirror each other with amazing similarities.

Perfection is something that I simply use to keep my fragile ego intact. There is no room for an overvalued sense of self-importance in this world because karma is right around the corner waiting to humble the insatiable desire of individualism that skews us from reality.