10 Poker Tips That Can Help You Succeed in Real Life

There’s no game quite like poker. It’s lucrative, fun to play, and incredibly deep. But even more than that, it’s an insight into human psychology. It isn’t just a fun diversion, but an exercise in lessons that can help you succeed in real life, no matter what your discipline is.

In this article, we’ll break down just how to learn and apply some of those lessons, with the ten poker tips for beginners that can help you succeed in real life.

You don’t want to think only in terms of short-term pleasures. You want to focus on long-term strategies so that you can ensure future success.

1. Think Long-Term

One of the most important things you can do in poker is to think long-term. You want to conceptualize things in terms of rounds and games, not single hands. That way, you’re able to know when to hold, when to fold, and how to win big.

Despite being specific to the game, this poker tip can help you live a successful life. You don’t want to think only in terms of short-term pleasures. You want to focus on long-term strategies so that you can ensure future success.

2. Have a Poker Face

One of the most important poker tips for beginners is to keep a poker face. If you have a stellar hand, you can’t let it show—otherwise, everyone will fold. In the same way, you don’t want to squander a good bluff by accidentally showing that you have a weak hand.

In real life, this tip is just as applicable. Whether you’re dealing with a business negotiation, trying to convince someone of something, or trying to be polite to someone who’s frustrating you, it’s important to be able to manage how you come across.

3. Stay Free of Excessive Attachments

One of the main reasons new poker players lose games—and money—is that they’re superstitious or are too attached to hands that are only middlingly good. In reality, you want to have the kind of neutral mindset that will allow you to make rational decisions.

The same is true in life. When you know your truest, deepest desires, you often need to let go of things that aren’t as important if you want to succeed. Want to get ahead in your career? You might need to let go of some bad habits. Want to cultivate a family life? You might need to spend less time at work.

4. Be Intentional

An extension of the last tip is to be intentional in what you choose to do. In poker, this means playing hands that you’ve carefully considered, not just flying by the seat of your pants.

Intentionality can make you more successful, focused, and happy when it comes to the world outside poker. When you formulate clear intentions, you can be more attentive to the things that will help you achieve your goals and avoid the things that will distract you.

5. Keep an Eye Out for the Tilt

“The tilt” refers to the phenomenon in poker when a player becomes overly emotional when things aren’t going well, taking aggressive risks that hurt them. This can be deadly for both games and your wallet.

There are many ways that the tilt manifests in everyday life, but it boils down to losing control when things aren’t going your way. The key to avoiding it is to have some stability and be patient if things aren’t going well right at that moment.

6. Don’t Take Unnecessary Risks

Amateur players think that poker is all about risk, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, it’s about calculation, which means determining which risks are worthwhile and which aren’t.

Risk management is an invaluable skill in real life. Just because something’s high-risk doesn’t mean that it’s high-reward. Some risks are just not worth making. To succeed, take risks whose upsides outweigh their downsides.

7. Listen to Your Emotions

As we’ve seen, poker is all about knowing your emotional state. Another way this comes out is in the decision to play at all. If you’re unbalanced in any way, don’t play. You’ll play best and win most when you’re clear-minded and happy.

In the same way, don’t make major commitments or take on huge responsibilities when you’re not in a good state of mind. The key to success is making clear-headed decisions.

8. Keep an Eye Out for Deception

You have to remember that in poker, people aren’t always looking out for your best interests. Even if you’re playing with friends, the whole point of the game is deception, so watch out.

In the same way, you’ll want to remember that not everyone has your best interests in mind in real life. That doesn’t mean you need to be suspicious of everyone in the world, but it should mean that you keep an eye out for people trying to take advantage of you or your resources.

9. Learn the Specifics

Every single decision in poker is predicated on knowing the specific odds of each card combination. If you know the odds that your hand is the best (or worst) at the table, your winnings will grow tremendously.

Similarly, in real life, you should know quite a lot about something if it’s your vocation. Whether it’s family life, your career, or a hobby, you’ll succeed only when you have the power of knowledge on your side.

10. Have Fun

Finally, the most important lesson of all: have fun. Poker is just a game, and if you’re not in it for the fun of it, you’ll neither play well nor enjoy yourself.

Life is much the same way. Subjecting yourself to a career or life path that you hate is no way to succeed. Find something that feels right for you, and nothing you do in life will ever be wasted.

Final Thoughts

While there are innumerable ways that poker is compatible with real life, these ten tips are some of the most essential. So what are you waiting for? Go learn how to rock the poker table—and real life, too! Check out Amphy to learn more about all things poker.