

A Story about Losing - georgeoliver
http://www.ultimaratioregum.co.uk/game/2014/09/07/a-story-about-losing/

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diogofranco
Recommended read, from a fellow ex-poker player. I was expecting a bad beat
story at some point, but you got around it nicely :)

This kind of emotional roller-coaster is your every day life as a poker
professional, especially if you play tournament poker which is the highest
variance form of them all. Even as you get used to a certain amount of pain,
your worst downswing is always ahead, if you play enough hands.

The one way I know to handle it is to train yourself to never think about what
could have been. What's in the past is in the past. You decided not to do that
and quit though, which is always a sensible decision and I'm glad you wrote
about it so beautifully.

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empressplay
Poker is a pretty good analogy for entrepreneurship -- you constantly need to
re-evaluate your position, re-judge your market and your competitors,
calculate probabilities, have a plan, and bluff your ass off =)

And, of course, if you seriously mis-step in either pursuit it can cost you
the farm. The trick is not to do that.

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jacquesm
Bluffing in poker is a strategy that can work from time to time.

In business bluffing is simply very stupid unless you have a once-in-a-
lifetime shot at something where the bluff is the only thing that can make it
happen. In that situation the future value of your reputation is possibly
worth less than the potential gain and you might consider the bluff.

Unlike poker in business we don't get to start another hand or another game or
tournament so when your reputation is marked 'bluffer' your credibility drops
like a stone. Poker players use bluffing cautiously for that very reason.

So, if you 'bluff your ass off' I don't think you'll be going very far before
your balloon is punctured. (And that goes for poker playing too!)

~~~
GFischer
I equate bluffing in a startup with the "customer validation" part where it is
advised to take preorders or signups for a product you don't have yet.

It's something that many startup gurus advocate, but I've always thought it a
bit unethical (it's not like Kickstarter where you know it might not get
built).

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jacquesm
I much prefer the 'pilot customer' myself where you create the product in
close collaboration with the first customer. That way you get the benefits of
instant validation, a chance to build a lasting relationship, immediate
cashflow once some part of what you deliver is ready _and_ you don't have to
lie to anybody.

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grimmfang
If you don't play poker this makes you realize why YC considers poker players
to be good founders.

