Giving to get

The first game I ever loved was chess. I still love it. One of the hardest lessons to learn in chess, and one which I still haven't fully learned, is that many times, you must give in order to get. Indeed, "give to get" is a common chess puzzle hint. Over the last nine years, I've learned that in poker, too, you must give to get. In a poker context, giving to get means that you must have a willingness to take temporary losses when your goal is to achieve long-term gains. This willingness must be unconditional. You must be fully prepared to take these losses, and you must not regret them when they happen. This is a tall order, but achievable.

Last night, I gave to get. Though I had a losing session, I played the away I wanted to play, staying true to my poker principles. There's really nothing more that you can ask yourself to do at a poker table. And nothing less :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

SNG   NLHE    17000  3000       9    21      18    4    13        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    67      80   18    40        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   108      76   18    16   370000

delta: $-200,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $4,946,000
2017 balance: $5,905,825
balance: $17,323,655