“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” I say bull! Ray Kroc was 52 years old when he started McDonald’s Corporation and turned it into the most successful restaurant chain in the world!
I know people in their 30’s just now starting to get serious about learning to play a musical instrument. Taking lessons and learning, practicing, making mistakes but learning from them. Guys that play golf and are very good at it. Did they wake up one day and say they were going to play golf and know they would be good at it? The answer is no. They had to work at it and play and practice. That’s how I feel about poker. At my age (yeah, I’m an old fart), with only one year under my belt playing cards, I am learning something new. One of the goals that I have made for myself is to play at least one hour everyday. Some people say I am crazy and wasting my time. I say it’s no different than working out every day in the gym for an hour (which I need to do as well) or practicing your skill playing a musical instrument or taking a class to further one’s education. If you are going to be good at something, you have to work at it, understand it and know it better than everyone else. My approach to learning poker is the way I play, aggressive. It is hard to find balance sometimes between work and family and playing but like I always say, you have time for whatever you want to have time for.
An update on the tournament I was in a few weeks ago. It was my first live event in a casino and there were 80 entries. I finished in 25th place. My good friend George said, “25th looser!” That cracks me up. I was pleased with where I finished but make no mistake, disappointed that I didn’t end up higher. What I was pleased about is yes, I did it and I also learned that live play is no where close to the number of hands you see online playing. I have to remember that as I develop my strategy for live play.