Quote:
Originally Posted by antialias
Any business that does not strive for this will more than likely be put out of business by those competitors who do apply this attitude.
This is the gist of a guy who councils new startups impressed upon us at a seminar: In all his decades of helping people set up shop he's seen many reasons why someone wants to go into business for themselves: To have free hours, to no longer have to take orders, to follow a dream, to create something they have always wanted, to make the most money, ...
...and almost all of the above - with the exception of the "make most money" type of businesses - go busto within the first 3 years.
Note that I personally think that this "money first" attitude stinks to high heaven -but that's just the way societies (particularly capitalistic ones) operate.
You can do all kinds of spiritual things on the side. Sure. But if you try to bring spirituality to the table and let it influence your decisions about maximum EV play in any way people are gonna take your money.
Fast.
If you aren't robbing them they will rob you.
There are many layers to poker outside of the card game itself. If we want to refer to the actual game of poker, then yes, each player must make the most optimal decision to maximize his profit. That is also business. What most people do not fully comprehend is the concept of 'Optimal' because in Poker, there isn't always a right or wrong answer, but there is usually an optimal answer. In business, the optimal business is one that creates the most value, not necessarily the most Bottom Line.
But the layer we want to talk about is above this one; the layer of Metagame, Metaphysics, Mysticism, such as:
-Rather than phoning through your Facebook Feed, we use our time at the table to observer our emotions and thoughts
-Rather than judging a player based on their actions and behavior, we try to understand their thought process and their state of emotions
-At the deep core, poker is a tool that you can use to train the mind for Mental Wellness (perception, observation, logical deduction, self-knowledge, self-awareness, emotional balance, higher state of consciousness), which is the essence of Spirituality.