(COMIC) I’m All In: 11 Reasons Why Entrepreneurship is Like Poker

By Kriti B Vichare on August 21, 2013 14 Comments / 1483 views

I played my first poker game recently. Although my hope for beginner’s luck didn’t pan out, I learned a lot during that first game and saw many parallels to starting a company. And the more I understood poker, the more it made sense as to why poker was declared a game of “skill”, instead of a game of pure chance.

Entrepreneurship is much more like poker in that:

Success is the combination of luck and skill.

The more rounds you play (the more experience you have), the better you know yourself and how you react to certain situations.

Even if you do not have the best hand, you can come out as the winner.

Bluffing is a mandatory – sometimes you have to act as if you have the best hand even if you don’t necessarily have it (yet).

You have to know the rules really well. Similarly, to start a business you have to know the industry really well.

After every round, you may have to alter your strategy as new cards are revealed.

You have to learn the habits of your opponents (and competitors).

Every round is a new round – very little carries over.

You have to know the risks and probability of success when you need to make a decision.

Small things can completely change the whole strategy

You have to know when to fold – sometimes it’s ok to give in if your hand you’ve been dealt won’t win.

The #entrepreneurfail comes in when entrepreneurs decide to go all-in too quickly. Yes, you have to think positively and you have to work and act as if there is no other option except success. But, liquidating your retirement accounts, assets, savings, and family jewels is a bit too hasty especially if you don’t have market validation yet. For the same reason, it’s extremely important to know when to walk away. And if you play your cards right, you always have a good chance of winning the pot!

Poker enthusiasts and entrepreneurs, in the comments below, tell me where I’m wrong and where I’m right in my comparison!

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Comments

Kriti B Vichare

14 Comments

asha chaudhry August 21, 2013, 4:06 am

kriti,

i simply loved this one. to me, this is one of your best!! i’m a huge fan of analogies 🙂
Kriti B Vichare August 21, 2013, 4:26 am

Thanks so much Asha!
Sumit Panjabi August 21, 2013, 6:41 am

super cool Kriti. Since i’m an active poker player, i could so relate to it. Keep it up

– Sumit
Kriti B Vichare August 21, 2013, 6:44 am

Awesome Sumit, thanks! I’m sure you can even think of some more parallels between starting a company and poker that I missed!
Prateek Shah August 21, 2013, 6:59 am

Superb! Simply loved it! I happen to be playing some poker off late on my phone and can so very well relate to what you’ve written! 🙂
Prateek Shah August 21, 2013, 7:02 am

haha and loved the part of ‘Ego’ also being put at stake along with everything else.
Kriti B Vichare August 21, 2013, 7:03 am

Thanks Prateek! You and Sumit can teach me a few things tricks about Poker! 🙂
Prateek Shah August 21, 2013, 7:05 am

Much like entrepreneurship, one learns it as one plays more, keep playing! 🙂
Kriti B Vichare August 21, 2013, 7:06 am

True true 🙂
Mayank Batra October 12, 2013, 7:44 am
Some more analogies
1. You cannot win every round, you have to play for a marathon to come out on the top
2. You have to be patient when you lose a round you thought u could win, blow off some steam before you start getting aggressive.
3. Control your emotions, dont jump in only with your emotions. Your gut would be right, if you have enough knowledge of the market. Number and statistics matter as much as your gut.
4. You dont always play the cards you have, you also play the people opposite to you. Get to know people in your industry and reactions of the industry, other players involved. ONly having the best cards would never put you on top.
Kriti B Vichare October 13, 2013, 3:58 pm

Awesome Mayank! I would love to edit my original post on http://www.entrepreneurfail.com and include your points and credit you if you are ok with that!
Mayank Batra October 13, 2013, 6:41 pm

Sure go ahead.. Big believer in sharing information..
Kriti B Vichare October 16, 2013, 1:46 am

Thanks Mayank! Updated and attributed to you! https://www.entrepreneurfail.com/2013/08/entrepreneurshipandpoker.html
Mayank Batra October 16, 2013, 10:37 am

Thanks for the attribution..