{"id":25055,"date":"2020-11-04T11:28:50","date_gmt":"2020-11-04T17:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/?p=25055"},"modified":"2020-11-04T11:28:51","modified_gmt":"2020-11-04T17:28:51","slug":"why-you-need-to-act-like-a-poker-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/why-you-need-to-act-like-a-poker-player\/","title":{"rendered":"R. Paul Wilson On: Why You Need To Think Like A Poker Player To Avoid Being Manipulated"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In today\u2019s world, we are surrounded by forms of\ndeception that work their way into every aspect of our lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corporations, institutions and politicians seem\nable to lie with impunity; new forms of technology open the door to potential\nthreats, and we are targeted from all sides by a constant flow of information\nthat\u2019s designed to influence or manipulate us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Worst of all, it\u2019s become so familiar to us that\nmost people can be manipulated easily by aligning with their biases or beliefs,\nopening the door to a new generation of con artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This may sound like a bleak outlook but if you\nwant to protect yourself, your loved ones and your interests you need to adopt a\ndefensive outlook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In life, you need to be a poker player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust No One<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Just like poker, in life you can\u2019t believe\neverything or you\u2019ll soon go broke and become an easy mark for anyone at the\ntable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine if modern life was like a game of\ndeception and you\u2019re a step closer to what I\u2019m about to propose; a way of\ninterpreting the world around us in the same manner we would a poker game;\nwhere many types of player with all sorts of experience and all kinds of luck\nwill sit down and play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life is a little different from poker, which is\na game where friends must become enemies across the felt in the name of\ncompetition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believe life is (and should be) more\ncooperative and we should help and guide others when appropriate so I\u2019m not\nadvocating you act in life as you would at poker, where kindness can be\nweakness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, I am suggesting you regard\neverything you see, are told and learn as you would regard information\navailable to you in a poker game. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t Believe Stuff\nJust Because It Aligns With Your Beliefs <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We all play with our own nuances but for the\nmost part, at the card table our type we can be identified with a handful of\nlabels and life is the same, though harder to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In life, how we interact with others is\ndetermined by levels of trust that are dictated by society and social norms and\nthese mechanisms have been imported into the relatively new forum of social\nmedia and online communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, human interactions online have\nbeen \u201cgamed\u201d and the result is a form of ideological magnetism that leads\npeople to self-sort based on biases that can be used to predict how people\nmight act or react based on their residing categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we have seen from firms like Cambridge Analytica, by manipulating the billions of people using services like Facebook, information-based campaigns can be used to turn the tide of opinion, challenge seemingly obvious truths and effectively influence elections<\/a> or world events.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cambridge
Image: Wikimedia Commons<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And with traditional media sources clearly\ntainted by bias on all sides, the result is a canvas awash with shades of grey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strange outcome of this constant flow of\ninfluence in what we watch and see and hear is that our outlook becomes more\npolarised and less nuanced than ever before, causing people to choose a side\nthen fight themselves deeper into the furthest corner from anyone who opposes\nthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t care if you swing left or right, the\ntruth is that we all need to stop letting the forces of influence affect us or\nwe will become familiar and comfortable with being manipulated by our own\npreferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is not about your political or\nreligious beliefs one way or another, it is a warning that if you allow your\nown bias to filter the information you accept, it becomes all too easy to deny\ndata you don\u2019t like and embrace lies that fit your current perspective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This builds a powerful muscle that can be\nmanipulated by anyone for any agenda – especially by those who seek to deceive\nand defraud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To protect yourself, you need to think like a\npoker player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why You Need To Question Everything <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Rear
Image: Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Imagine that during a poker game, a player\nalmost splashes the pot as they eagerly check-raise you in a large pot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is he or she trying to tell you with that\nmove and their attitude? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are they trying to deceive you with nothing in\ntheir hand, or are they exactly as over-excited as they look and really do have\na big hand?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The smart move is not to act right away but to\nthink things through and consider all the possibilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of reacting to the bet or the way it was\nmade, we consider how they played each round, their position, what type of\nplayer they are, what they\u2019ve done in other hands, what cards they\u2019ve shown in\nthe past and how you both got to this particular showdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now you can make a decision based on information<\/em>,\nrather than potential manipulation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s how we should interpret everything we\nlearn from any and all forms of media in the modern world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of media influence, most of us call or\nfold almost immediately and do the same for thousands of interactions a day,\nresponding to influence according to pre-conceived notions about the world we\nlive in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Predicted by our own bias, we constantly get\nnudged by blatant subtle signals designed to attract tribal instincts and\npreferred choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not a new idea but what is relatively\nnew is that thanks to social media, we have each created a powerful database of\nour own particular personalities complete with a roadmap of what we like to\nbelieve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine how easy it might be to manipulate\nsomeone if that information fell into the wrong hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think Critically, Like A Poker Player Would<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I promise, this is not about politics though it\nwould certainly be a lot better for all of us if we could discuss and debate\nmore than we argue and fight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only way to do that is to find a middle\nground where compromises can be proposed and progress might be made. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s frustrating and takes time and patience and\nno one gets everything they want but in the big scheme of things, thought and\nconsideration can lead to slow but effective improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As David Mamet<\/a> wrote, \u201cIn a committee, the meeting\u2019s not over until everyone is unhappy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to consider politics since the\nwestern world has dissolved into a mess of misinformed opinions and biases\nfuelled by misinformation and manipulation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years, I have said that if I know what you\nwant, I can take everything you have. And the polarisation of politics and\nideology has made it much easier to identify how people think and feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a con artist can align themselves with a\nparticular worldview, they can build instant rapport with millions of people\nand use that shared perspective as the foundation for deception. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s my firm belief that if we all (myself\nincluded) questioned everything we see and hear just for a second, the result\nmight be a trend to clearer critical thinking in all interactions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do not allow yourself to be instantly swayed or\nconvinced because you encounter someone or something that aligns with your own\nworld view, or you might become easy prey for a master of deception. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the time to shift gears occasionally and\nlook at any kind of proposition critically, whether that be a supposed fact or\na business opportunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decide what you think and how you feel based on\navailable information rather than emotional reaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, polarisation of beliefs and ideology\nopens the door to easier and more profitable manipulation for those willing to\ndeceive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best defence in all walks of life is to take a moment to think like a poker player before you call or fold any kind of proposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other great reads by R. Paul Wilson:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
R. Paul Wilson On: “The Tip” – A Classic Poker Confidence Game<\/a><\/blockquote>