Last weekend I got a poker game set as a housewarming gift. So we started playing, and before you know it, we were addicted. In fact, we stayed up till 7am two nights in a row playing poker (though one of those nights was due to daylight savings, so it’s actually till 6am then).

I think the beauty of the game lies in its simplicity on the one hand, and in its deep psychological implications on the other hand. You are constantly trying to second guess your opponents’ thoughts, while knowing that they are doing the exact same thing. Luck is definitely a factor, but being able to keep your cool in the middle of all those mindgames is just as important.

Which is something I definitely have to work on. The first few games in a round usually go pretty well. That’s when I am able to look at the game rationally. That's when most of my bluffs work, and that’s when I’m able to get other people lay in more chips, even if it’s just a couple extra, if I have a good hand. And things may not immediately go my way during that stage, but I tend not to get too worried.

But for some reason, during some point in a round, I invariably start to get impatient. I just start to play a bit too recklessly, especially if I feel the game is starting to drag on a little bit. And when you play recklessly in poker, you almost always make stupid mistakes. Which is the reason I almost never win the entire round (in fact just once in more than 15 hours of poker, or twice if you count the first few games when we didn't play for money yet).