I really do love how close poker and life are linked. Its like they both go hand in hand with each other. If ever you are stuck for an analogy for life, chances are you can find the right one if you relate it in some way to poker.
Even driving is like poker. I drive about 45 minutes to work in the morning, and 35 minutes on the way back home. All the time I am looking for tells and information about my surroundings. The guy behind me that is 4 inches form my bumper (aggressive), the doddery old dear who takes forever to pull out at a junction (passive), the brightly coloured sports car with the top down (here for pleasure), the steel-grey BMW with the suit hanging up in the back (here for business) – its all there if you look for it. Every time I am out driving I try to spot tells that give me information on the other drivers on the road. Its really good practice for picking up on tells at the poker table once you get into a regular routine of doing so.
Even down to choosing which lane to drive in. I will often take a longer queue in one lane because I know that further up the road most of the traffic in this queue will split off and leave me to advance further. Sometimes I will take the shorter queue and hope that the traffic lights are in my favour so I can nip in front of the rest of the traffic. It’s all about taking calculated risks and having a bit of a gamble.
Sometimes it pays off and I shave a few minutes from my journey, other times it completely back fires as I get stuck in a queue while the other lane whizzes past me.
Either way, I am looking at other drivers for tells, assessing the traffic light situation and making calculated decisions based on the information available to me. This is good advice when playing at any level of poker.
