Life can be played like a poker game. Most of us have played Texas Hold’em at some point in our lives, or not. You will never find a successful player pushing All- In on every hand, nor would a player fold every hand before seeing the next cards or the Flop as it’s called. Here is a little lesson for those who have never played this game. You are given two cards face down. Each player bids on his two cards until all bets have been Called. Then the Flop which is three cards from the deck turned face-up. Each player uses those three with their two cards to make a hand. Two more cards are added at the end while bidding stops on each card. Those cards are named “The Turn” and “The River.” Don’t ask me why someone picked those names, they just did.

How does this compare with playing the game of life? You are dealt a set of cards for this experience or lesson. Each experience is different therefore the cards are different. Each person on earth has their own cards to start with. I don’t give up every time, even if my cards are not perfect to start with. There are times when giving in would be the correct action and other times I fight, even with a bad hand. Even if the cards dealt are not high numbers or matching, the luck of the draw can still be on my side. Each lesson has to be looked at and appraised on its own merit before a decision is made.

Of course, if I have excellent prospects, I could play on to see what the next phase will bring. Unfortunately, life isn’t always predictable. I could start with a good set of cards, like a pair of aces and draw completely dead the rest of the hand.

The whole purpose of this comparison is to show how life isn’t always fair, but for the most part, it’s predictable to some degree. I have won more hands with a pair of aces than I have lost.

I experienced this when I opened a bookstore in Western New Hampshire.  In the beginning, there was plenty of money in the bank from a severance package I received after leaving a company I had been with for 22 years. Within three years, while in the middle of the lesson, the business closed. Right, when I thought this was my worst decision ever, the last two cards I received were Aces, and I won the game. My big win wasn’t through financial gains. This time it was a spiritual lesson which has far more value than money.

Each of life’s situations has to be weighed while it’s unfolding and how much I commit will depend on the cards I draw.

Personal relationships have a tendency to unfold this way. The secret is to “Know when to hold’em, know when to fold’em, know when to walk away and know when to run.”