Dull thoughts in a sharp world.

A tweet from Tony Hsieh got me thinking about how poker skills directly translate into entrepreneurial skills.  There is a valid argument that no poker experience is applicable to business.  In fact, most poker players are poor entrepreneurs because of their propensity to gamble, risk-seeking attitude.  But if you are a great poker player, here are the skills that make you an incredibly dangerous (as in great) entrepreneur:  

5)  Understand when to gather more information to make a decision

Average poker players consistently make wrong assumptions too early.  They extrapolate too much information from limited data, making large logical jumps.  However, great poker players understand when they have too little information to make a sound assumption.  They wait an additional card to bluff, fold for another opportunity, and are patient before defining another players strategy.  Great poker players even call a hand, known they lost, just to confirm a hypothesis and gather more information.  When starting a company, it is important to not make great assumptions on the marketplace, competition, or business model, but gather enough information to formate a sound hypothesis. 

4)  Consistently make correct decisions

Similar to any business decision, great poker players are able to consistently make correct decisions, sometimes on limited information.  Bad poker players tend to make couple of bad decisions that cripple them.  Sure they get lucky once in a while, but the players that are able to consistently make correct decisions put themselves in the right positions to win.  

3)  Capitalize on large advantages, and not small ones

A classic example of great poker play is folding when opportunities are available and focus their efforts on a few players. When there is a large advantage, great poker players are able to capitalize.  When you start a company, as your develop your model and explore your marketplace, you’ll consistently find opportunities you can explore.  But great entrepreneurs focus and win the big battles. 

2)  Understand the macroeconomics of the game

Poker is not about risk. In fact, most great poker players are boring and super risk-adverse.  It is because they understand the long-term, macroeconomics of the game, analyzing each decision as if they were forced to make it millions of times.  You want to take calculated risks, but take risks that will not debilitate your company. 

1)  Trust your intuition

In the end, you’ll have limited information, tough competition, and need a great deal of luck.  So sometimes, you’ll just have to trust your intuition and go for it.