It doesn’t matter if you’re playing Seven Card Stud, Omaha or Texas Hold’em online, poker and business definitely have a few things in common, and succeeding in either requires a combination of perseverance, strategy, skill and a little luck. A poker tournament can, in many ways, be reminiscent of an important business meeting – both require a sharp mind and observation skills, anticipation of the next move, noticing any bluffs and playing your cards right. 

Observe these skills the next time you play poker online and see how you can benefit by transferring them to the business world so that you can make them a part of your business strategy. Let’s take a look at these easily transferable skills.

Mindset

There’s no doubt that your mindset can make or break your success in a poker game. This is because poker is a game that requires you to show up in a good headspace and be ready and mentally prepared for a challenge. No matter what other poker skills you have, if you step into a game with the wrong frame of mind, these other abilities will be worthless as you won’t be able to implement them properly.

Focusing your mind before the start of each day, each meeting and every important decision is crucial in business too. 

Reading people

Being able to read people is as essential to poker as it is to business. When you’re playing poker online or at a land-based casino, you need to be able to stay one step ahead of your opponents by anticipating the other player’s moves. You can do this by observing them and learning their tells, which will help you gain a good idea of when they’re bluffing or under pressure, as well as learning many of their strengths and weaknesses when they play poker. 

In business, whether it’s colleagues, customers or competitors, reading people is undoubtedly an essential skill. Understanding people and being able to assess the situation clearly allows you to engage meaningfully, get through to people, motivate and inspire, and respond appropriately – whether it’s seeing the potential of an employee and placing them in the right position, selling to a potential client or responding to a competitor’s campaign.

Risk calculation

Whether it’s in poker or in business, it’s important to get good at calculating and managing risk. Would you put all your chips into a mediocre hand? Probably (hopefully) not – and you wouldn’t in business either. Both poker and business can be unpredictable, which makes measuring potential gains and losses, factoring in every possibility and reflecting on the types of risk involved key to making the right move. It doesn’t matter whether that has to do with a bluff, raise or fold, or with marketing decisions, budgeting allocations or project plans. Both at the poker table and in the boardroom, risk calculation involves performing some quick math, making assessments and using your instinct.

Money management

Money plays an integral role in both poker and business, so managing it effectively is a top priority for both. No matter how good a poker player or entrepreneur you are, poor money management is the surest route to failure and loss. 

Professional players consider their starting hands, opposition and the stakes when assessing the risk and always play to their bankrolls to avoid severe losses. They play at the right stake (not the highest,) set predetermined loss limits and reinvest winnings into their bankroll rather than mindlessly spending it all. 

When playing online poker for real money, an inexperienced player does the opposite: there are no limits to their losses, they’re always hungry for more and they delay cashing out in fear of missing out. It’s not uncommon for beginners to raise with a hand that has no real prospect of winning, go all-in as a bluff or simply play a bad hand. This uncalculated behavior is risky and unfounded. 

Just like poker players, entrepreneurs are responsible for keeping personal and business money separate, spending wisely, minimizing losses and increasing revenue. 

Patience under pressure

Whether you’re playing online poker, at a poker tournament or casually among friends, poker requires patience. Because you cannot play every hand you get, players who lack patience rarely do well in the long run. Poker tournaments require a tremendous amount of patience and being able to function well under pressure. They start off with large groups of people who drop out as the days go by. 

The same applies to the business world. Starting a successful business requires commitment and endurance because it can take years before you start to break even, let alone see a profit. Moving too quickly and making rash decisions creates unnecessary risk and endangers the longevity and integrity of your business. When applying poker tournament strategy to business, we see entrepreneurs working hard, day after day, striving towards long-term goals, all the while understanding the risks involved. 

Ultimately, those who are patient in poker and business are those who are successful in the long term.

Poker face

Ah, the famous (or possibly infamous) poker face. This refers to a face that does not display any emotion, good or bad, so as not to give anything away. Whether a player is excited about a hand or in a desperate position, they should not flinch or give any hint or information away to their opponents. The lesson here is the importance of controlling your emotions and remaining level-headed. In business, while it may not be necessary to keep a poker face 100% of the time, good leadership skills include the ability to remain cool, calm and collected, no matter the situation, as well as not basing important decisions on intense emotions.

Being outcome independent in the short-term

Everyone likes to win in poker, but sometimes you can play a hand perfectly and still lose due to bad luck. This is why it’s important to remember to be outcome independent in the short term. If you’re making the right calls in your poker games, things will slowly but surely move on an upward trajectory in the long term. 

This lesson is equally applicable to business, where random events, such as acts of nature, can derail even the best-thought-out business plans. This is why it’s important to focus on long-term results as well.

Hone your poker skills at Borgata Online

This piece just goes to show you how poker is not simply a thrilling game where you put your poker skills to the test, but can also be a great game to learn some interesting skills that can be translated into valuable business tips. 
If you’re ready to join in the best online poker games, don your best poker face and register to play at one of the best online poker sites, Borgata Online. Not only do we offer a variety of poker games, both classic and live dealer and some cracking tournaments, but you can also find many other popular casino games to play at our online casino, including roulette, craps, online slots and live dealer games.