This is an excerpt from What Matters Now — Poker, by Tony Hsieh.
BUSINESS IS A GAME
Everything I know about business I learned from poker: financials, strategy, education, and culture.
FINANCIALS
- The guy who wins the most hands is not the guy who makes the most money in the long run.
- The guy who never loses a hand is not the guy who makes the most money in the long run.
- Go for positive expected value, not what’s least risky.
- You will win or lose individual hands, but it’s what happens in the long term that matters.
STRATEGY
- Learn to adapt. Adjust your style of play as the dynamics of the game change.
- The players with the most stamina and focus usually win.
- Hope is not a good plan.
- Stick to your principles.
EDUCATION
- Never stop learning. Read books. Learn from others who have done it before.
- Learn by doing. Theory is nice, but nothing replaces actual experience.
- 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.
CULTURE
- To become really good, you need to live it, breathe it, and sleep it.
- Be nice and make friends. It’s a small community.
- Have fun. The game is a lot more enjoyable when you’re trying to do more than just make money.
Tony Hsieh is the CEO of Zappos.com and the author of the soon-to-be-published book Delivering Happiness. Tony’s (longer) blog post is Everything I Know About Business I Learned from Poker.
