This is the first post for a new category called Poker and Business. I’m an avid poker player and find the game to be quite fascinating. It is one of the few games that is very easy to learn but has an endless potential for fine tuning and improvement. Like other games and sports there is also a varying degree of involvement. You can play for fun with the family, have an ongoing social outlet with friends, play at a casino (or online), take it even more seriously and study for competitive play, or make a living of it as a professional. As a game found in a casino or card room, it is one that the house has no outcome in who wins — meaning players play against each other, NOT the casino. This is one of many reasons that poker requires more skill than luck.

I’ll have posts dedicated on the above continuum, but an area of poker that interests me in particular are the parallels with business and entrepreneurship. Outside of the fact that there can be a lot of money exchanged, there is a lot to learn at the poker table about business, and many takeaways from the entrepreneurial world that can help improve your game; or at least provide some meaningful insight.

Outside of specific similarities, poker itself is a huge business. It is one of the most watched sports on TV,  players such as Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, and many others have become A-List celebrities, online poker sites (not to be confused with online casinos or sports betting) generate annual revenue in the billions; and the list goes on.

My personal experience with poker has been somewhat cross-functional. I always enjoyed the game growing up and playing with friends in college, but after winning the 1st tournament I ever played — at Mandalay Bay Casino, Las Vegas — I started taking the game more seriously. On the poker business end, from 2005 to 2007 I was involved with an international technology start-up that provided financial infrastructure technology to online poker sites. Traveling around the world and collaborating with executives at top poker sites provided great insight into the business world of poker. In the summer of 2007 I placed in the top 175 (out of a field of over 3000), at a WSOP event in Vegas and since then I have been trying to find time to improve my game while running my businesses that are unrelated to poker.

I hope this new blog category provides some added perspective to players wishing to improve their game. If you are exclusively on the business end, I hope there will be some takeaways that can benefit your area of work. At the very least, let’s have some fun.

Cheers,

Forest