The 9 emotions of playing POKER – here’s what poker taught Me

Author: Nikhil Araballi

I have been playing POKER for some time now. No, I am not the gambler type. I have enjoyed playing POKER with my friends. It’s wonderful how a game can add value to your life (of course when played right!)

Here is what a poker game taught me or let me call it the benefits of playing poker,

• Icebreaker

It has been a great ice breaker. It’s easy to make friends. There are times when you meet someone and you wonder what to talk next, well while playing poker you don’t have to focus a lot on what you talk but the best thing about this is you are building a relationship and a game is helping you do that.

• Gathers People

It brings along your friends with whom you have been missing fun from a past few days or months or even years.
It’s after one or two games they would want to come back again and play with you.

• Experience

And the best part about this experience is to experience it with friends. There are times when you realize you have built a stronger relationship in the name of a game.

• Emotions- One of the nicest things the game has thought me

Emotion1: Happiness
You have a good deal (cards) and you win and who wouldn’t enjoy this small happiness? Winning something and looking ahead to win more exhilarates your mood.

Emotion 2: Looking forward, hope
When you have bad cards you don’t play. That doesn’t disappoint you much. You hope and look forward for  a better one.

Emotion 3: Even if you have, you know you can’t will it all
Sometimes even if you have a good deal you lose because someone else has got better.

Emotion 4: Handling frustration
What do you get when you continuously get bad deal? Get frustrated? Yes ! That’s what happened and that is what will happen, but you do realize you will something better ahead and hope for it happen soon.

Emotion 5: Pressure handling
The game makes you understand yourself better. Especially, in terms of handling pressure, it tells you how much you can handle and how much more you can.

Emotion 6: Winning and Losing
A game always has a winner and a loser or many losers. Winning is always a pleasure and losing? Well….. It depends on how much you value a winning. But there is always something that losing teaches you. And in the game of poker, for me, it has been handling pressure, disappointment, frustration and many more emotions that we term negative.

Emotion 7: You can’t win everything
Even if you win a game or 2 or 3 games, at the end of the day you wish you had won more of it. This tells you to enjoy what you have for the moment and not focus on what you don’t have. And yes, you have to accept that you can’t win everything. But that’s OK, you need not win all.

Emotion 8: A sense of victory in losing
It’s not losing the game disappoints you, but it’s how you lose it. Yes, losing in a better way does make you feel better.

Emotion 9: Addiction
Am I addicted to poker? Well… yes! But I know when to stop it and when to extend it. It can be very addictive, but if you are mindful of what you are doing, you are at the right path.
I have seen my addiction side and the controlling side of my mind. It’s great to know you are capable of controlling your mind over something.

As long as you like it and having fun, it’s definitely a great experience. These have been the positive impact by playing the greatest card game POKER. There were a few negatives too but now I know I can tackle it and convert it into something good. The emotions I have undergone has made me take wiser decisions in life and has made me a better person. I wonder how we sometimes ew don’t notice what a game is doing to us.

A game is not just a game, it is much more. You will realize what it is doing to you if you are mindful enough. Enjoying playing poker and enjoy to get in touch with the unseen side of you.