So you want to make it to the top, huh?

I’m not just talking about poker but anything. Say you want to become the next Tiger Woods, Lebron James, Alex Rodriguez, Warren Buffet, Phil Galfond. I’d argue that work ethic, practice and sheer time spent working on something is the main thing holding you back and chances are, you’re not catching up anytime soon. I don’t just mean sheer number of hours doing something either, I’m talking about quality practice.

Take poker for example, can you really think of anyone that’s critically thought through more hands while playing them than Phil Galfond? I mean sure plenty of people have played more hands, more hours even but Phil literally thinks about every decision of every hand and every possible decision he will have to make later. He does this for every single hand he plays. Nobody I know who plays poker comes close to having done this for anywhere near as many hands as Phil.

I recently read an article in the WSJ(I can’t find it, I looked. It was in the personal journal section I believe though) saying something along the lines of the only difference between the average joe and Tiger Woods is hitting a golf ball a million times (it didn’t give an exact number, which is irrelevent btw, but let me explain). It went on to say that the typical amateur golfer goes to the driving range once a week and pretty much just mindlessly smacks 100 golf balls. It’s relaxing to him and afterwards he feels good about himself because after after all that practice he’s just done he’s becoming a better golf player. Fact of the matter is, the study found that if you are not critically thinking about everything you do before, while and after you hit that ball (which should be very mentally exhausting if you’re doing it right) you’re probably not improving. Now, surprise surprise, can you think of anyone’s who’s probably done this more times than Tiger? The dude’s been doing it since his father was coaching him when he was five. I’m sure critiquing everything about his swing. Just look at his routine before he makes a putt. It takes him 5 mins of prep time to gauge the green surface, wind, get his feet set, etc etc and make sure everything is exactly right before he hits the ball. He’s been doing this every day for about 30 years. Now, anyone can probably become just about as good as him if they take the time to put just as much mentally exhausting practice in as him (about 30 years worth), but the fact of the matter is, nobody is going to because people are lazy. They are going to become mentally lazy, physically lazy, burnt out after so long, or past their physical peak by the time they have the experience.

Now, I hope you can see the parallels to the typical pro poker player who mindlessly puts in 20 hrs a week 8 tabling. There’s a reason Leatherass and Phil have more money than you. They work harder and longer than you. This brings me to my next realization. I’m a lazy mofo. I’ve put in less than 10k hands this month. I’m coming to the realization that I’m never going to become that elite player playing nosebleeds or even a sick grinder like Leatherass because of my laziness and I’m okay with that. Fact is, I don’t like working very hard. I’m perfectly comfortable enjoying my free time doing other things and only playing when I want to work. I don’t want to be on call 24/7 or 12 table 8 hours a day every single day. Do I want a million bucks? Sure just as much as the next guy, but the fact is I don’t really have what it takes to make it quickly like those guys. A lot of people say they want to become like their idol who’s risen to the top of their profession, but before you make that your goal, truly ask yourself “Are you willing to do what it takes?”