Ways Losing Weight is Like Poker

My buddy Sean at The Daily Diary of a Winning Loser dealt me an interesting challenge the other day: write a post detailing the similarities of poker and weight loss.

I’m a pretty good poker player, but I have what they call in the poker lingo a “tell”: I urinate wildly in my pants whenever I get a really good hand. I also have a bad habit of making my face cards talk to each other in a high, falsetto British accent (“Oh heeeeelloooo Miss Queenie, how is every little thing in Clubland?”) It’s just something I like to do to lighten the mood of the table and get everyone’s mind off the smell of urine in the air.

Anyways… let’s shuffle up and deal.

• Both involve overweight people that are used to sitting around the table for way too long.
• You feel a sense of sadness and regret when all your chips are gone.
• It takes a lot of strategy in order to be successful.
• It’s really embarrassing to bust out.
• Along the way, you’ll find yourself swearing a great deal.
• Sometimes good things are just not in the cards.
• Some folks make it look easy.
• Anyone can participate, but it definitely takes skill to be effective.
• You have to know when to leave the table.
• It's a good way to lose your shirt.
  
• You learn quite a bit when you’re losing.
• Every once in a while, you’re going to be dealt a bad beat.
• It helps to think long term.
• There are times when you simply need to up the ante.
• Everyone thinks they know what they’re doing, but few actually do.
• Nobody wants to quit when they’re losing.
• It takes a lifetime to master.