Play Every Hand

For serious players of card games like poker, part of the game is sitting through a lot of hands. A lengthy hand could last 10 minutes or more.  A short hand could be over in less than 30 seconds.  Most hands are mundane, some are intriguing, and a few are exciting. It's common for a given player to fold 60% or more of their hands before they even reach the flop (the first opportunity to see community cards). And the game goes on for hours.

To the casual observer, it can seem like there's a lot of waiting around.

But there's something to learn from every single hand.  The player who's really paying attention may discover a new strategy from watching the other players. Or they may notice another player's tendency that they hadn't seen before. Or they may simply gain a better appreciation for the flow of the current game by observing how tight or loose the other players are playing.

From this perspective, play every hand doesn't mean making a bet on every hand. It simply means being engaged, paying attention and participating.

The same dynamics are there in baseball. And parenting. And countless other life activities.

On the surface, it seems like there's a lot of dull repetition, with flashes of excitement.

But the wisest individuals know that the secret to succeeding in the exciting moments is being engaged during all the other slow ones.