10 Poker Skills to Use for Growing Your Business

Everyone knows that poker is based on both knowledge and luck.

Yet, many people, including poker players, have no clue that poker and business have a lot in common.

In this text, you’ll get a chance to see the top ten skills typically used in the game of poker that can also prove useful for growing your business. Grab a pen and paper, and let’s go!

#1. Study the Matter

No matter what you decide to do in life, the first step is always the same — you have to learn all about it. By learning, I don’t consider only memorizing the basic rules, but getting deep into the matter to gather as much information as possible.

Whatever it is you’re trying to learn, it shouldn’t take much for you to realize why the learning process is so important. Think of yourself as a beginner poker player who had just learned the rules and went straight to a table filled with poker pros.

Understanding the rules will enable you to play the game, but it won’t be enough to beat the pros. So what is the difference between you and them? They’ve spent more time analyzing all the aspects of the game and going deep into the matter to acquire every tiny piece of information that might help them on their way to greatness.

Therefore, before you start developing a business of your choice, spend some time learning all about it regardless of whether you’re opening a giant factory or a small shop. Analyze the market and the competition, and try to learn the ins and outs of the business. If you skip this step, you’ll quickly be eaten by bigger fish.

#2. Decide What You Want

Many people have tried their luck at poker tables, but relatively few became famous poker pros. Those who succeeded in the poker industry differ from those who didn’t in a single aspect — they decided that they wanted to become great.

Once a decision like this is made, it’s easier to reach a goal — the steps you need to take become clearer. You don’t become a pro poker player overnight. Instead, you need to practice and take part in small tournaments first. Eventually, you will participate in more significant competitions until you reach the pro level and start earning a lot of money by playing your favorite card game.

The same goes for your business — set your goals and start taking small steps towards them. However, you need to be sure about where you want to be so you could divide your overall goal into several smaller ones. Otherwise, you won’t even know where to start.

#3. Analyze the Competition

The human factor plays a central role regardless of the situation. In poker, this is best demonstrated through the effect that the actions of others have on your decisions.

You need to be able to recognize bluffs and read body language well. Facial expressions can tell you a lot about the strength of your opponents’ hands.

Obviously, in business, you won’t be going around monitoring the facial expressions of your competitors. However, you should borrow the poker skill of analyzing their strengths and weaknesses.

Take some time to figure out what they’re good at, but also what they’re not so good at. This is a great way to learn from your competitors’ mistakes instead of your own.

#4. Count in Ups and Downs

Even the best poker players lose sometimes. Your success in poker depends on many factors, just like in business. Sometimes, you can play your hand right, and be left high and dry by Lady Luck and ultimately suffer a loss.

Now, you can bet that this will happen in business, too, from time to time. There’s no doubt that well-constructed plans and their careful realization will result in successful business deals, but there will be days when nothing will go as planned.

Therefore, you should be prepared for anything and accept that you can’t control the outcome of every business move. Instead, take each failure on the chin and make plans to get the best out of it.

#5. Learn to Fold Your Aces

As you probably know, Aces are the best starting cards you can get in poker. Getting a pair of Aces would make a novice player think he’s already won. However, experienced players know that things can quickly turn upside down, making those Aces worthless in the end.

Similarly, every successful business person knows that sometimes a product or service can be great, but if things don’t work out as planned, you’ll eventually have to give up this potential gold mine and wait for more favorable conditions.

#6. Stay Focused Under Pressure

The most stressful moments in the game of poker include hands with the highest stakes. As winning becomes more important, the level of stress increases. Yet, this is when you need to remain calm and focused so you could make the right decision.

As a business owner, you’ll sometimes undoubtedly come under a lot of pressure. When this happens, remember the high-stakes poker hand and try to keep your head cool. Focus on your next move, and don’t let the pressure get the best of you.

#7. Develop Bankroll Management Skills

All the best poker players take part in high-stakes tournaments, but they also know when to play small.

In other words, you need to be aware of your financial status at all times and behave accordingly.

You wouldn’t be able to play a poker tournament with a high buy-in if you didn’t have enough funds on your account. In the same vein, you need to learn how to distribute your business funds properly.

#8. Calculate Your Risks

This skill is closely related to the previous one as it also deals with your finances. Namely, poker is a game that teaches you to calculate your risks.

You can calculate the risks of most business plans quite accurately nowadays, helping you make the right move. This is particularly important for investments that carry large expenses as they have the highest levels of risk.

#9. Ask for Advice

Even if you’re an exceptionally talented poker player, you’ll come across something in the game that you won’t understand very well. When a poker player experiences such a thing, their first step is to ask a pro how to best sort out the issue.

This will undoubtedly happen in business as well, and when it does, don’t be too proud to ask for help. Today we have access to vast amounts of information thanks to the internet, so if you don’t have anyone to help you in your immediate surroundings, check the web and you’ll highly likely find a solution faster than you think.

#10. Never Stop Working on It

Experts claim that success in anything we do is 95% based on practice. This rule can be applied to both poker and business. To get better at something, you need to work on it all the time.

Therefore, whether it’s poker or business, you need to consistently practice and put in some work in every way you can if you want to reap the benefits.