A few say poker is just a game of cards which involves just luck and no skills, but I say it’s an archaic viewpoint. I feel that it involves an analytical thought process with a strategically oriented approach in place, amidst instantaneous situation based adjustments and decision making. I got introduced to this beautiful game of poker in 2010 and played poker professionally from 2014-2017.
In due course, I realised that the characteristics an individual should possess to excel in the game of Poker are quite similar to what many business managers would be having. For example, consider investments in the stock market, now in Poker, Staking helps a poker player to attract investments from investors, who analyse the performance of a poker player & invest accordingly.
I observed a lot of players, and when I communicated with them and understood their flow of thoughts, I started loving the strategic bent. For instance, Poker is not just a game of cards; it’s psychological warfare played out on tables to outwit your opponents. So, the basic strategy involves assessing once position on the table, preflop play dynamics, analyzing flop, turn and river cards and calculating Expected values, Pot odd, Implied odds, Fold Equity at every street as one progress in the hand.
If we try to look at the strategic decisions in the game, then advanced strategies include Game Theory, Optimal Solutions for NL Holdem (a form of Poker) and calculation of Nash Equilibrium which are a set of strategies that drafts one strategy for each player such that no player has an incentive to change his strategy unilaterally. My exposure to poker for all those six-seven odd years, right from the nascent stage to those when I played it professionally, gave me the surety that even though this game is a passion for me but as a career, I would be more suited for work that involves designing strategy on a professional front. I realized that an area that demands to assess what my competitors would do and accordingly act or react is something I should pursue in the long run. And henceforth, the inclination towards an MBA came into the picture.
A player can excel in poker only with the proper application of analytical techniques, game theory and appropriate decision making. And when I researched about MBA courses across IIMs and other prominent B Schools in India, I found out that all these subjects are available across IIMs & few top-notch Non-IIMs as well. Those subjects and courses were not only specific to Poker but also as concepts that are applicable in business scenarios. Eventually, I ended up writing CAT and opted for the PGP program at IIM Nagpur. From the 2018-20 PGP batch, IIM Nagpur has started offering Corporate Strategy as a specialization as well.
Going ahead in the future post my MBA, I would like to take up roles in the Strategy and consulting area which would be in resonance with my analytical and strategic capabilities.
Today, I can say that we don’t assess the power that a hobby, or a passion or even an interest can help you direct your career choice in the right direction.
