Archive for August, 2009
Woman Basketball Star teaches Poker Life Lesson
August 29th, 2009 | 
Author: share Common Ground
When Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie powered the Los Angeles Sparks to another victory this past Tuesday, I went looking for one of my journal entries from last year that answers that exact question. You see, I don’t regularly follow other sports these days, just concentrate on poker and the occasional golf match when Tiger is playing.
However, during the 2008 Olympics, I surfed into the gold metal game of women’s basketball. USA and Australia USA
This is what I observed during that 2008 Olympic game. Each time Candace went to the free throw line and prepared for the shot, she did exactly the same thing. It was her personal ritual: She settled herself on the line. She bounced the basketball three times. She touched her left upper arm with her right fingertips…That tap got my attention and intrigued me…Then, she took one more bounce and shot. Repeatedly, you heard that familiar whoosh of a perfectly positioned ball as it flushed the net.
Poker is Like a Kiwi
When New Zealand exporters first introduced the kiwifruit to the United States in the 1950’s, they had a big, image problem: The kiwi is ugly… really ugly.
With a fibrous, dull brown-green skin, kiwi was unappealing, far from mouth-watering. So what, if it’s fun to eat and pretty inside? Few people ever saw its bright green and yellow flesh with tiny, black edible seeds. No one cared that it had a yummy, unique taste. Imagine a strawberry, melon, and banana all rolled up in one.
Resistant consumers rarely got past the drab outside look of the fruit, and grocers were naturally reluctant to stock much of an item that rarely sold. Sounds just like casinos reluctant to invest in poker rooms prior to the game’s boom.
Relegated to an obscure area of the produce isle, the poor, unappreciated kiwi just sat there and mostly rotted. Even 60 years ago, people knew we eat with multiple senses, and that our taste buds are often the last to be engaged in the dining experience.
How? It wasn’t as if you could buy new clothes and change its look. When viewed just from the outside, the kiwi would always be an ugly, little fruit. That fact was indisputable.
Twenty years passed, and kiwi was still a little, ugly fruit hidden away in a dark corner of the supermarket. Then a group of college students came up with the answer. I’m proud to say I was part of that team at North Texas State University, now UNT.
As a financially challenged undergrad in my tenth year of a five-year degree in advertising, I welcomed ways to combine income production and studies. My work-study class formed an ad agency, and against all odds, we won a contract to change the image of the kiwifruit.
The story of how the campaign evolved is a riot, more like Animal House meets the Abbott and Costello baseball sketch "Who’s on First." For now, let me bottom-line it. Since it was obvious kiwi had a crappy image, we knew we had to confront its biggest flaw and help people think of it in a different way.
One guy’s comment, "At closing time, everyone’s a 10," prompted the focus of our campaign. Our slogan realigned how people thought about kiwi and triggered its rise to popularity: "Kiwi. Ugly is only skin-deep."
Poker’s image, just like the kiwis, dramatically improved over the last decade as a household hobby exploded into a global phenomenon. On February 20, 2009, Associated Press announced, "An estimated 55-million Americans play some form of poker." Other online sources report upwards of 100-million worldwide, college age through senior citizens.
Unfortunately, even with the game’s rise to the level of an international, competitive sport, an old image of smoke filled back rooms and illicit activities still lingers. I intend to be part of the force that alters this perception. Poker is finally coming out of the shadows into full legitimacy.
Ugly is still only skin-deep. Poker is like a kiwi… it looks a lot different once you see and experience the real inside.
Tom Hanks, “Get out of my head!”
Is your image of a coach the person who stands on the sidelines during a game shouting our directions and sending in plays? Granted, when I think of coach, I can’t help but see Tom Hanks as Jimmy Dugan in the 1992 movie A League of Their Own. His eyes nearly popping out of his head as he yells at the fragile, sobbing Evelyn, "There’s no crying in baseball!"
Whatever your image of a coach, it is probably of a person who focuses primarily on results. However, some of my favorite movies revolve around stories of coaches who go beyond the score to create an environment where players move to another level. In effect, the coaches are the catalyst for a shift in consciousness. Movies like Remember the Titans and We Are Marshall are prime examples that touched my heart.
For me, a 2000 movie directed by Robert Redford made that shift by way of a perfect swing. The Legend of Bagger Vance was the big screen version of the 1995 book whose subtitle is even more on point: "A Novel of Golf and the Game of Life." Will Smith added his smooth touch to Bagger’s Hindu flavored wisdom: "I hear you lost your swing. I guess we got to go find it."
Coach n. One who instructs or trains players in the fundamentals of a competitive sport and directs strategy.
Men-tor n. A wise and trusted counselor or teacher.
"There’s only ONE shot that’s in perfect harmony with the field… One shot that’s his authentic shot, and that shot is gonna choose him… There’s a perfect shot out there tryin’ to find each and every one of us."
Even though I never thought of this before, you could say poker chose me. I know I have found perfect harmony within the game.
Am I a poker coach or a poker mentor? I would like to think of myself as some of both, always focusing on how to better your life. Although as the years fly by, I realize that I am more of a student than a teacher. As for wisdom, well, I’m wise enough to know that I will always have mentors in my life. In fact, I would not want a mentor unless she or he also had trusted counselors of their own.
In my quest for self-improvement, I must grin and confess… my head trash sometimes still echoes Jimmy Dugan’s words in Tom Hanks’ voice, "Start using your head… that lump that’s three feet above your ass!"
The Crossroads of Poker and Transformation
During my search for life's secret, I stumbled onto poker… a simple card game anyone can play. At first, it was a diversion from my humdrum everyday existence. Then, it became my passion.
As I mastered the game, my world improved. I was stronger, more confident… even happier. Other people noticed and wanted to know how that happened. They wanted some of whatever it was I was on, and, as if by chance, I became a poker coach focusing on improving people's lives. Here are my intentions and my pledge:
- To reduce the time it takes you to learn to play winning poker.
- To give you tools you can immediately use that may also improve the quality of your life.
How? By approaching learning through the whole you. Rather than look at the game as separate and distinct from the rest of you, see it as an extension of you. When you sit down at a poker table, as if by magic, a transformation occurs. The result is a clear, uncluttered view of you without all your daily distractions.
This is a fact. The more secure and at peace you are in your own skin, the more confident and at ease you are at the table. What's more, the reverse is also true. As you gain expertise at the table, your life improves. In short, poker and life mirror each other.
Your game profits from your daily skills, and your life benefits from your poker. Each time I sit down, the experience helps me take another step toward personal excellence.
It is no longer a secret: Poker is a concrete, transformation tool that is easy, fun, and profitable. What an interesting crossroads.
I promise to share my skills, ideals, and insights with you as your poker coach, mentor, and friend.
