2mm Difference….

 

2mm is not very big… is it? 

But the impact it can have is!

When people want to be successful, in life, business, poker, investing, relationships, loosing weight etc. etc., they often think that there is a big magic secret to success, in reality the secret to success is usually the very small simple things.

Tony Robbins uses this example when he differentiates between someone who is “good” and someone who is “excellent”.  2mm makes a massive difference when it comes to results.  For example if you where a pilot and you started off course by 2mm, you will end up miles away from your destination!  In the pursuit of beauty many people go “under the knife”, but many cases all they require is about a 2mm change to become “perfect”.

2mm makes a big difference in everything.

In business, the simplest things can mean the difference between having a failing business, a good business, or an excellent business.  For example, customer service, after sales, image, etc. etc.  All these simple things will define the success of your business.  In my business www.zenrec.netI continuously aim to focus on the simple things, and ensure that continuous improvement is evident.

I just watched a Jamie Oliver TV programme called “Eat to save your life” shown on channel 4.  In one point of the show, they looked at what one girl ate on an average day, and calculated how this would impact her weight, if she continued to eat this way, in 15 months she would put on 3 stone (42 pounds).  To prevent this from happening, she needed to cut out one latte and one packet of crisps a day.  A small difference on a daily basis, a 2mm difference, but in the long term, the result was very significant.

On the subject of chefs, what makes the difference for a chef’s restaurant to receive a michelin star?  The difference is 2mm. It’s knowing and applying the very small differences to the dish, that the “good” chefs don’t do.

Many people buy shares and hope to make some money, but they don’t educate themselves on the simple things they can do to generate more money from their shares, like writing covered calls.  Writing covered calls is a small simple thing that anyone can do, but the results on ROI, can be very significant.

In relationships, it is often the simple things that count.  Being thoughtful on a daily basis, well make for a much better relationship, than doing something extravagant once in a blue moon! A smile, a kind word, a kind action, all impact the way we interact with people, and how people perceive us. 

Do you ever look at the big poker stars and think… “What do they do, that I don’t do?”

I know I often think this, and I used to think there must be something significant that I am missing!! But when you watch the big poker stars playing on TV, they don’t reveal any amazing secrets, in-fact, many “good” players would play the hands the same way as the poker stars.

The difference in success in poker, as in life, is 2mm. It’s the small simple things that make the big difference.

If you are a good poker player, and you want to be an excellent poker player, there probably isn’t much you need to do differently. The hard part is finding out what the 2mm differences are!

2mm differences can come in all sorts of ways, the cards you play, the moves you make, how much you raise, how you use your position, how often you re-raise, your focus, your ability to read your opponents, how you play a big stack, how you play a short stack, etc. etc. 

I am not an excellent player, so I don’t have the answers to what the 2mm differences are in all these areas, but I think the only way to find out what the 2mm differences are is to get with the people who do know!

What ever you want to be excellent at, you need to find someone who is excellent at it, and learn from them.  Its a much faster way than trial and error. 

If you want to loose weight, find someone who has lost weight and kept it off, and find out what they did.  If you want to stop smoking, find someone who stopped smoking and find out what they did.  If you want to have a successful business, find someone who built up a successful empire and find out what they did.  If you want to be a successful investor, find someone who has made millions on trading stocks, and find out what they did!

Now not everyone has access to their own pokerstar, so I the next best thing is to source out a successful professional player who is better than you and find out how they got to the level they are at.  I also think www.cardrunners.com is a great site for learning from the pros, it has a library of videos that you can watch for every type of poker game, and see how the pros analyse every hand and why they make their decisions.

Whatever you want to be successful at, I think trying to figure it out yourself, is much to slow a process, get with the people who know and learn from them!  And if any of you know any 2mm differences… please let me know!

Julz

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What You Focus On… You Get!

 

I am a big believer in what you focus on you will get, good or bad, it will eventually come true! You get what you focus on.  In life this can related to everything, and I also believe this is a big influence in poker.  In yoga, a lot of emphasis is placed on focus.  Focusing on how we want our life to be like and what we want to achieve.  To improve our situation we need to focus on what we want, and not focusing on what we don’t want.  If we focus on what we don’t want, this has a negative effect, and we will end up getting what we didn’t want!

Many people have formed habits on focusing on what they don’t want… “I don’t want to be fat”, “I don’t want to be in debt”, “I don’t want my business to fail”, “I don’t want to loose my partner”… etc. etc. 

In poker I see many people focusing on the cards they don’t want also.

Take a look at this video from the WSOP Main Event 2007.  I think this is a perfect example of how what you focus on you get in poker.  The hand I am referring to is about 18 seconds into this video, listen to what Erna is focusing on…

Ok, so you can hear Erna calling “No Jacks, No Jacks” – he is focusing on what he doesn’t want… and guess what! He get’s what he focuses on, the Jack comes.  Then we changes his focus to what he does want… “Pair the board for me dealer” and guess what! He gets what he focuses on, the board pairs.

Now Im not saying that this is a guaranteed poker strategy by any means!  But I am using it as an example because I think that in life and poker, in the long run, you will get what you focus on.  And who know’s if it works when you are calling the cards playing poker?  But I use it all the time!

I think in poker, especially in a tournament, you need to stay focused on winning, if you let your thoughts wonder, or you get bored, or you start thinking you have no chance, then you will never win!  I also see people reading newspapers, or books when playing live games!?!? I have never seen anyone who does this make a final table though! Have you? Focus is everything, and staying focuses and believing takes some effort!

Many people say “Why do bad things always happen to me?”, “I always get sucked out on!”, “I could never win a big tournament” etc. etc.  Change your focus and start believing that you can and that you will!

I think for focus to be real, you need to believe it, and that can be the hard part, removing doubt.  If you want something and you focus on it, but you have doubt, then you aren’t truly believing on focusing on it. 

In poker and in life I play a lot on feeling, when I get the feeling that I believe something good will definitely happen, it normally does.  

I believe this simple thing, called focus, is the biggest influence in success, in all areas of life and in poker!

“Our thoughts create our reality — where we put our focus is the direction we tend to go.” ~ Peter McWilliams

“Focus is the ultimate power, that we can change the way we feel, the way we think, the way we feel,  and what we do in any moment.” ~ Tony Robbins

Circle of Poker Concern / Circle of Poker Influence

In the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, talks about the circle of concern and the circle of influence. 

I think this is a great example of how to view poker.  There are some things that we have control over and some things we don’t. Many people focus too much energy on the things they don’t have any control over, the cards, the fish that sucks out on them, the bad beats etc. etc.

Circle of concern / Circle of influence

In life and poker we all have things that matter to us. In life we are concerned about where we live, our health, our finances, the economy, the war in Iraq, the weather, etc. etc. In Poker we are concerned about what cards we get, what table we sit at, bankroll management, playing a hands correctly and being a winning player etc. etc. 

We can place all these things and more inside our Circle of concern, but there are certain things we have influence over and that we can control.  In life we can control our finances and our health, and in Poker we can control our bankroll and our ability to play hands correctly ~ these things lie in our circle of influence.

Some things just lie in our circle of concern, they are out of our control, there is nothing we can do to change the weather, the war, the economy… and in poker you can’t decide what cards you get dealt, or what table you sit at in a live tournament.  These things are in our circle of concern.

In life and poker to be effective and successful we can’t spend too much energy focusing on our circle of concern, there is nothing we can do to change it.  We need to focus on our circle of influence, and take action to improve the things that we can change.  The more we do this, the more the circle of influence expands.

Proactive people control their feelings.  No matter what the weather, rain or shine, they carry their own weather with them.  Proactive people are still affected by external stimuli – the weather, their upbringing, the economic situation – but they choose to respond in a way that is driven by their own values.

For example; I think every poker player knows the feeling when you play a live game and you sit down at a table with strangers. Some times you get a “good table”, its nice and friendly and the atmosphere is good, however sometimes you can get a table that is not to your liking, maybe the table is unusually quiet and there is a bit of an atmosphere, maybe some one is being rude and there is tension at the table. An effective poker player won’t let these external stimuli negatively effect their behaviour and game.  These are things that are mostly outside of their control. 

Some players however will focus so much on the things that they don’t like about the table and all the things outside of their control, which has an even more negative impact on their game, because their focus is on their circle of concern and not their circle of influence.

Control

The problems we face all fall into one of three areas:

•  Direct control
  • From our behaviour
• Indirect control
  • From other people’s behaviour
• No Control
  • From past or situations

We can solve our direct control problems by working on our habits.  These fall within our circle of influence.  In life we can give up smoking, take more training. In poker we can manage our bankroll more effectively, improve our game through learning more, etc. etc.

Indirect control problems can be solved by working on our methods of influence.  We can employ empathy, for example, in order to encourage people to change their behaviour towards us, we can do this for example in our job, our relationships and also at the poker table.

As for our no control problems, we have to control our response to them.  We have to choose to smile and accept.  They are outside our control, but can still be inside our circle of influence.  Our influence lies in our response.  In poker this is very important, especially when we experience bad beats, or run into a monster hand. We need to learn to accept these things and not allow them to put us on tilt.

Inside-out

To be successful in life and in poker you need to realise that change comes from the inside and works out.  We need to strive to change ourselves in order to change the world around us.

Suppose you have a friend who appears to be more successful than you.  They have more things – a holiday home, a boat, etc.  They have a better paid job.  More friends and respect in the community.  Worry about these things and being jealous or envious is focusing your energy on your circle of concern.  All of these things are out of your control and there is nothing you can do about them.  If you desire the same things, then you must focus on your circle of influence.  You should be more productive, improve your employment prospects, be more sociable, get involved in your community.  That’s the route to the job, the holiday home and the respect.

In a poker tournament you can’t look at the person with the big chip lead and be consumed with jealously or frustration, that is not going to help you win the tournament!  Or if you are playing 0.25/0.50 cash games you can’t be jealous of your mate playing 5/10, you need to take more action, to learn more, practice more, and play better to get your bankroll to a stage where you can play at this level also.

Consequences and Mistakes

Everybody makes mistakes!  In Life and in Poker, you will always make mistakes.  Because mistakes happen to us, they are in our circle of concern, however our response to our mistakes are in our circle of influence.  It’s not so much the mistake that matters, but it’s what we do after the mistake.

The most successful and effective people in life and poker make mistakes, but they acknowledge it, learn from it and move on.  Some people keep making the same mistakes over and over again, they don’t acknowledge it was their mistake, they don’t learn from it and they dwell on it, rather than moving on.

So I guess the moral of the story for anyone is not to focus on all the things you can’t control, focus on what you can change and improve on, focus on the things you can influence, learn from your mistakes, and when bad things happen, just accept them and smile!

A little luck helps

In my last blog entry I discussed how important timing is poker and in life.  I know some people will view good timing just as luck… so i thought I would share my views on how important the element of luck is in both poker and life. 

Some people think poker is “just” luck… they think it’s a game of chance… and that skill has nothing, or very little to do with it.  In poker you definitely need some luck, you need to win your races, you need to to hit that card on the river, etc. etc. etc.  But poker isn’t just luck, skill is definitely a major component of consistent success and profit in poker.

In my experience many of the people who say poker is just luck, are loosing players, they haven’t studied the game, they don’t learn from their mistakes, and they keep making the same stupid plays, and wondering why it didn’t work for them, but it worked for the pro when they seen it on TV.  Im pretty sure the same people who think poker is “just luck” probably think the guy they went to school with who didn’t have 2 brian cells to rub together and is now a self made millionaire… well he is probably just lucky too.

Luck is an important element in poker, but luck is also an important element in life.

Everyone experiences good luck and bad luck at the poker table and also in life.  Sometimes you do everything right and you just get unlucky, but that’s life, it doesn’t just happen in poker, it happens in every day life.  When these instances of bad luck happen, the effect of the consequence of this bad luck, is more to do with how we deal with it, and what it means to us.  Some people dwell on it and go on and on and on about, they focus on the bad luck they have experienced, instead of focusing on what positive action they need to take to recover from it and get back on track.

“All of us have bad luck and good luck. The man who persists through the bad luck – who keeps right on going – is the man who is there when the good luck comes – and is ready to receive it.” ~ Robert Collier

Any poker player will have heard the saying “A Chip and A Chair”, meaning that in a tournament no matter how short stacked you get as long as you are still in there, you can win it.  The phrase was coined by Jack Straus, who won the 1982 world championship, coming back from just a single chip.  Did he get lucky to win this? Yeah! Of course he did! But my bet is he looked at that one chip as an opportunity, where as many people would have looked at it as failure.

Luck happens to everyone, lucky opportunities present themselves to people all the time.  Some people see it, and some people don’t. Of the people who do see it, not all will benefit from it, some people don’t have the knowledge, skills, experience, or just the guts to act upon it. 

“Be ready when opportunity comes…Luck is the time when preparation and opportunity meet.” ~ Roy D Chapin Jnr 

When the property market was going up and up and up, everyone could see it, it was all around us, some people took action and invested in property and got lucky and they are now millionaires.  When apple was releasing it’s new iphone, it was talked about in the news, newspapers, magazines, internet, every where, some people seen the opportunity to buy shares before it was released, and they got lucky and made a good profit.  I recently started up a new online business www.zenrec.net, a unique and simple concept for the recruitment industry, some people might think I was lucky to come up with this idea.  The point is there are opportunities to get lucky everyday but not everyone takes the action required to get lucky.  You also see this in poker, many times watching a game on TV and you can see everyone’s hands, noone has connected with the board, many people may know if they bet they could get lucky and steal the pot, but they dont take the action, and someone with the worst hand bets, and they get lucky and win the pot.

Sometimes good luck happens to people who don’t deserve it, and any poker player knows the feeling when some donk sucks out on you.  Almost every time I play a tournament, in the beginning you see some people building this big stack, but more often than not, these players who are leading in the beginning and relying on luck alone, they don’t last, and very few make it into the money or to the final table.  You also see this in life, people get lucky but many times their luck runs out, and they end up worse off.  You can’t rely on luck.

Some people are viewed as a lucky person.  The key characteristics of lucky people include taking risks and knowing when the time is right.

Marc Myers outlined a few myths about luck in his book How to Make Luck: 7 Secrets Lucky People Use to Succeed.

Dispelling myths about luck:

Myth 1: Good luck is just another word for hard work and determination. Actually, Myers states that hard work has nothing to do with good luck! Success requires smart moves – which isn’t the same as working hard. Working hard can mean missing excellent opportunities that will take you further than intensive labor. Working hard can mean a too-narrow focus and passive acceptance of more hard work. A characteristic of lucky people is that they don’t necessarily work hard.

In poker some people play way too may hands, try to make too many moves, and get involved in too many situations.  They are working way too hard! A lucky poker player won’t work as hard, they make smart moves, and they know when to make them. 

Myth 2: You can’t influence good luck…you just have to let it take its course. Actually, you can take some of the randomness out of luck by taking an active role in your life. Instead of obsessing about whether you can actually get what you dream of, focus on ways to make it happen. Don’t look at “what if” or “it’ll never happen.” Convince yourself that it WILL happen, and you WILL get it eventually. A characteristic of lucky people is taking an active role in life.

I remember watching a poker documentary about Phil Helmuth and he had a piece of paper stuck to his wall or mirror that said “I am the luckiest player in the world”.  If you believe you are lucky and that you will win, you stand a far better chance of getting to the final table than someone who believes they are unlucky and tells anyone will listen a list of all their bad beat stories.

Myth 3: To improve your luck, you need to meet the right people. Actually, Myers says that knowing the right people is only half of it. You can meet all the right people in the world but if you don’t know how or are afraid to pursue opportunities, you won’t achieve your goals. Knowing the right people is one thing; speaking up and taking risks is another. A characteristic of lucky people is that they take risks.

In No Limit, there is No Fear.  You can’t be afraid in poker, you need to take risks.  I love the saying “No Guts, No Glory!”  Sooooo true!

Myth 4: Good luck happens when you aggressively promote yourself. Actually, being too aggressive can offend people. The more people you rub the wrong way by being pushy or overbearing, the less help, ideas, and resources you’ll have (and the less luck). Instead, be “gently persistent” when you call attention to yourself. A characteristic of lucky people is that they’re assertive, not aggressive.

In poker you need to be aggressive, but if you are too aggressive and you start making enemies at the table, people will be out to get you.  Being assertive and using well timed aggression is the key to success and luck at the poker table.

Myth 5: Good luck is just good timing. Actually, Myers states that being in the right place at the right time is in your control! You can take steps to be right there when opportunity strikes. You can choose to include certain people, activities, and places in your life. The more wisely you choose and the more open you are, the more likely you are to experience “good timing”! A characteristic of lucky people is good timing.

Thanks for reading my blog, if you have any views on this topic please feel free to leave a comment. I will leave you with a very lucky hand, the final hand in the WSOP 2007.

 Good Luck!

Timing is Everything!

Timing is everything in life… as in poker….

As the Full Tilt advertisement says “Poker is a game of patience and well timed aggression” 

In poker timing really is everything.  You need to wait for the right time to make the right move.  How many times do you see someone sitting for ages, and then finally making a move, but they run into a monster hand… the right move at the wrong time.  Or how many times have you had pocket aces on the big blind and everyone folds round to you? (sick – I hate that! Especially if im short stacked)  No matter what hand you have in poker, timing is everything.  You get your timing wrong in a poker tournament, it can mean the difference between winning millions of dollars or loosing.

Timing is everything can be applied to everything…

INVESTING:  This is absolutely true when you adapt any stock market investment strategy.  If you buy or sell at the wrong time, it will mean the difference between profit or loss.  Timing is crucial and those who watch the markets, and learn to recognize opportunities as soon as they arise, learn how to predict how local and world events will shape things financially will benefit from investment opportunities that others miss – and more importantly you will see them in time to get in early. Knowing when is the right time to borrow and when is the right to not borrow, is the difference between financial freedom or financial ruin.

COOKING: Again Timing is the very basic success principle to cooking.  How long you cook something is crucial to how good it tastes, how good it looks, how safe it is to eat and also how well you feel after you eat it! 

LOVE:  Meeting your true love, your soul mate, well again it’s all kinda a matter of timing isn’t it? Being in the right place at the right time. Saying the right thing at the right time. Or just being ready for love at the same time as someone else…  You get your timing wrong in love… it can mean the difference between having a fantastic relationship or ending up old and lonely. Timing is everything in finding your true love.

BUSINESS:  The art of good timing is crucial in business.  When releasing a new product, or launching a new business, a new movie, book, whatever it might be… timing has to be right, the market needs to be ready for it, and your team needs to be ready to do what it takes to make it a success. 

PERFORMING:  Performing artists like actors and comedians know that timing is everything. Without the right pause, the right word, the right gesture, the piece falls apart.

MEDICINE: If you catch a problem in good early time you will be able to treat it more effectively.  Your timing is everything in taking medicine.  Take it in the times instructed and it will be helpful. Skip doses and it loses its effectiveness, take too much of it and it can be fatal.

Timing really is everything, 1 minute can make a massive difference, making the right decisions and doing the right thing at the right time… that is the secret to success… in life and in poker.

You only get out what you put in… YOGOWYPI

“You only get out what you put in”

Its an old phase that can be applied to many aspects of life… Poker, Business, Investing, Relationships, Social events, Networking events, Fitness Training, Personal development etc. etc.

POKER: I love poker, its a great part of my life, I play most days and I also study the game, I have read numerous books and I also subscribe to http://www.cardrunners.com/ (a great site to help you improve your game.) My dedication to learning about poker is paying off, as I now make a modest profit from the game.  A common situation that I see when I play poker is how many times people with the best hand don’t get their money in the pot! Then they get paid so little for what could have been a monster pot. In poker you can only win what you put in, you need to maximise every opportunity when you feel you got the best of it by getting your money in the pot. So for success in poker, put in the practice, the study and most of all put your money in the pot when you have the best hand!

BUSINESS:  I have recently started up a new innovative online recruitment service www.zenrec.net  I put a lot of time and energy into making this new business venrure a success, but I am always aware of having a good work/life balance. I read an interesting article on this, that I can apply to many people I know.  People who work hard and not smart.  I recently attended a seminar in London that Keith Cunningham spoke at, and success in business isn’t about having a great idea or working every hour god sends, its about figuring out what people want and giving it them.  The more value you can put into your business the more you will get out of it.

HEALTH AND FITNESS:  Many people (including myself) moan about being overweight, but they arent willing to put in the effort to change their lifestyle to include a healthy diet and exercise plan. This is another key area of life that you really need to put in the effort to get the body and health that you want.  I recently read a magazine article about the “fat bird from eastenders” who has totally transformed her body and is the picture of health.  Im sure she put in a lot of hard work – but she looks amazing!

LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS:  Many people concentrate on what they want to get out of a relationship.  Maybe it is better to look at it the other way… what do you want to put into a relationship? You only get out what you put in.  I think this is very true, the more you give in a relationship the more you will receive.  If you look at people who do have a great relationship, you will normally find that they both put a lot into that relationship and they both get a lot out of it in return.

Life is like a game of poker…

 

Everyone has heard of the saying “Life is like a game of poker”…

I am fascinated by poker and the more I learn about the game of poker the more I can relate it to EVERYTHING!

This is my first ever blog, so I am entering a new world where I can ramble on about poker and how I relate it to everything in my life.  The same principles of success in poker can be applied to almost everything.  I think it is a fascinating subject and I hope that you do too! 

I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts on poker and life with the world. 

Here are some poker quotes that reflect how similar life is to poker…

“Poker is a microcosm of all we admire and disdain about capitalism and democracy.  It can be rough-hewn or polished, warm or cold, charitable and caring, or hard and impersonal, fickle and elusive, but ultimately it is fair, and right, and just.”  ~Lou Krieger

“Poker is the game closest to the western conception of life, where life and thought are recognized as intimately combined, where free will prevails over philosophies of fate or of chance, where men are considered moral agents and where – at least in the short run – the important thing is not what happens but what people think happens.”  ~John Luckacs