Texas Holdem  

This has nothing to do with leadership, however there is so much written on the subject that I have decided to add my own thoughts on the subject.

Many do not really understand or appreciate what is really happening behind texas holdem online. A family friend joked that they had taken many peoples bonuses over the christmas period. How did they do it?

Few people understand that there are special programs that online texas holdem players purchase that read your moves, when you go all in, when you fold, what your betting behavior is. Thus when you play online the odds are stacked against you.

Its like insider trading and the online casinos do nothing about it, these people take literally millions from innocent people and laugh all the way to the bank. However it then comes down to the real question, and that is why do people play texas holdem?

Some may argue that they do it for fun? However from my personal experience (yes I have played), I have not yet met someone who lost and had fun. They then want to play again to win their money back. There is always a looser. It is very different to work, in work everyone makes money from the cleaner to the CEO, all at differing levels, however no one walks away empty handed. In texas holdem not everyone wins, someone walks away empty handed.

Even those who say they just play for fun when they go online, they don't know who they are playing against. They dont know who they are taking money from. It could be that they are taking money from a family that has nothing and by winning they have effectively placed that family in a position where they can't eat.

The real winners as always are the casino's that run these programs, they take their cut on every hand and make millions. They also try to encourage users to move to other games of chance. But wait you say texas holdem is not a game of chance its a game of skill. Really? if that is true then why is it that a person with 4 a's could still loose to a person with a royal flush? Why is it that you hope and pray that when the dealer drops the cards that your cards come up. The skill part in your mind is how you play your hand, how yu bluff, how you bet, how you get others to bet i order to take their money, yet you still hope inside that your cards fall. Watch poker on tv and see the pro's perform, when they go all in they stand up and shout that their cards fall and often it boils down to the river card to decide who will win or loose. How many times have I seen in poker tournaments on tv where the one player is 80% favorite to win the and and yet still looses due to the rivercard. Thats a mixture of skill and chance. Relying on the fall of the cards to determine the winner and looser. Or to be a good lyer oh sorry I meant bluffer.

Yet I ask you this question? Texas holdem or any gambling for that matter has no product that people walk away with, there is nothing to show for it only winners and loosers and the winners are few. Thus think about this if the whole world that had no texas holdem skill decided not to play, then how would those with skill make money? And if a computer program could pick up whether players had software to read peoples betting behaviour and disable these programs how many so called skilled people would still win?

If you know you have the best hand on the table and know it can't be beaten and you try to get everyone else to bet so that you can take their money, is that not pretty much like stealling or like insider trading? You know that the person next to you will loose and yet you still try to make them bet so that they can take their money.

So why do people play texas holdem? To win other peoples hard earned money. That's the only reason why they play. You say thats nonsence, great I challenge you to loose every time you play on purpose and walk away loosing everytime. Do this for ten straight days and tell me how much fun you are having? You would be lying if you said you are still having fun.

Its the thrill of bluffing, getting others to bet when you have the best hand and most of all the rush of winning that makes you play. But please remember that everytime you win there is always someone that is loosing. Like the two men confronted with the lion, who is going to be eaten? The one that runs slower.

Very last thought, every time you see that someone has won three million dollars please realise that lots of people lose three million dollars to the one that won.

The person that works hard and honestly and builds a company and employs people and provides for familys that is the one I most admire.