I loved playing cards as a kid with my relatives. It was an inexpensive way to have quality time as a family. Canasta was one of my favorite games, but we played a wide variety of games.
As I got into college, I was exposed to different variations of poker games. We would break out our jars of pennies and gamble on the games in the evenings. No one really made any money or lost any over time. The stakes were pretty low. It was more about enjoying the challenge of the game.
The biggest poker game now days is Texas Hold Em. The object of poker is to have the best value (combination) of cards out of those people that are playing. The twist is that if they “bluff” and get you to give up on the hand, they win the money. They may have a horrible group of cards, but if they convince you that they have a better hand, they win. One way to do that is to “go all in.” This means that they are willing to gamble all of their money on that hand to win it. If they lose, they are through and have lost all of their money. In our game of pennies it would not be a big decision, but in Las Vegas there are people that gamble with thousands of dollars.
They would have to be fully committed to winning that hand of cards to do that. Are you willing to “go all in” on your goals? What are you willing to give up to be fully committed? There will always be a price if it is a meaningful challenging goal. If I want to lose a lot of weight, I will have to give up many of the foods that I love. If I want to go on an expensive vacation next year, I will have to skip some of the smaller purchases throughout the year to save the money. It may be eating at home instead of at restaurants. Your goal may take more of your time that you may have spent on something else if you did not have this goal.
Have you heard people say that they were dealt a “bad hand” in life? People playing poker win many hands that would be considered “bad hands” because of their approach. Do not use this as an excuse for not being successful if life. Take control of your situation and make something of it.
Tell me what kind of a hand you have made the best of lately? Leave your comments below.
