Being the Other Person

In poker, some of the most important skills have nothing to do with cards. One such skill is the ability to transport your consciousness into the body and spirit of another person. The poker player becomes the other player. As hard as that sounds to do, its actually very logical and a common skill among top tier players. In fact, how often have you looked at a hand that you may have just been observing and you thought; "Its obvious he had that hand. What other hand would he have played like that."

Sure its much easier to understand a hand once you see the cards at the end, but the skill of putting a player on a hand is not some mystical skill that requires ESP or a sixth sense. Its a two fold process. You use logic to determine what the range of hands could be. Then you fit that logic with the capabilities and style of the player(s) involved. The result is often a very few number of possible hands that are likely. As you become a better player, you'll start to incorporate more personality traits, more setting specific facts and there is actually no end to how good you can be at this. That is why even the best players claim that they are still improving all the time. Of course I talk about this extensively and provide exercises in my online poker courses.

This skill is also a critical skill in business. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I'm involved in some long and tedious negotiations regarding the sale of an Internet company I founded ten years ago. It surprises me how weak many business people are in this critical skill. I think it is ego more than anything else that keeps people from trying to put themselves in the other persons shoes. The hardest thing for many people is the process of letting go of all your wants, needs, tendencies and personal characteristics. These traits are what make us who we are. Its like letting go of the self. But this must be done before you can refill the now empty vessel with the traits of the other person. This takes practice and a will. Then you have to have the faith in yourself to follow through on the resulting read.

This is not what they teach in Business School. I should know after two business degrees and 15 years of university teaching experience. What would really be useful for the budding and mature businessman and woman is an intense course in reading an opponent in poker. The only way to get into the head of your competitor, vender, buyer or customer is to get out of your own first. I'm in the process of setting up a Poker/Business Skills Conference in Vegas in the near future. It'll be the business training of the future. See you there.