Lesson In Life From Poker Poem by Allen Steble The Philosophical Poet

Allow me to illustrate a situation that proves that the best results can rise from the worst of circumstances.

A young man was playing poker with six of his friends. Now this young man did not have a vast amount of money but wanted to play anyway so he threw a quarter of his money in the pot.

When the dealer dealt his cards he noticed he had the worst possible hand - a high card. Since he had put a quarter of his money in the pot already, he reasoned that he would do what he could to come out victorious.

This young man knew what he was doing and did not even glance at any of the other six players. When the opportunity arose to swap all of his cards he tactfully refused and kept his seemingly worthless hand.

Now, when the time came to throw in more bets, this young man put in another quarter of his earnings. Because three of the other six observed that he never changed his cards, they assumed he had a great hand so they immediately folded and withdrew whilst the remaining three called and threw in some of their money.

Knowing that there were still three players left, he decided to put all his money in the pot. This frightened the last three and they folded. This young man came out victorious and now had ten times the amount he began with.

When his six friends asked him to show them his hand, he threw his cards on the table revealing the lowest hand. After a brief pause the young man stated:

'I knew I was going to win because the cards don't matter in poker, it is the trick of leading your opponent to believe you have an unbeatable hand'.

This is not to say we should bluff our way through life, rather we should use what we have to be the best we can.

In life, no one is dealt with a perfect hand. Some are just dealt with higher cards and some will choose to try and change those cards.

If you want to win in anything, remember that your hand is only as strong as your will and determination. Put in all your talents and never focus on what another person has because you will just be more disappointed in the end.

Your life is in YOUR hand