Thinking Space

Tony Hsieh, founder and CEO of Zappos shares similarities between poker and business and advises what he learned from poker could be applied to business.

Some of my favourites from that list are below

Marketing and Branding

• Act weak when strong, act strong when weak.
• Know when to bluff.

Strategy

• Don’t play games that you don’t understand, even if you see lots of other people making money from them.
• Figure out the game when the stakes aren’t high.
• You need to adjust your style of play throughout the night as the dynamics of the game change. Be flexible.
• The players with the most stamina and focus usually win.

Continual Learning

• Educate yourself. Read books and learn from others who have done it before.
• Learn by doing. Theory is nice, but nothing replaces actual experience.
• Learn by surrounding yourself with talented players.
• Just because you win a hand doesn’t mean you’re good and you don’t have more learning to do.
• You might have just gotten lucky. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice.

Culture

• You’ve gotta love the game.
• To become really good, you need to live it and sleep it.
• Don’t be cocky. Don’t be flashy. There’s always someone better than you.
• Share what you’ve learned with others.
• Look for opportunities beyond just the game you sat down to play. You never know who you’re going to meet, including new friends for life or new business contacts.
• The game is a lot more enjoyable when you’re trying to do more than just make money.