Texas Hold ‘Em poker has gained monumental popularity over the past 5 or so years thanks in large part to ESPN and online poker sites.  The game has been around since early-1900s but really began to gain notoriety in the early 1970’s with the introduction of the World Series of Poker (WSOP).  Today, millions of Americans play Texas Hold ‘Em.  If you know the game, you’ll appreciate our texas hold ‘em business analogies:

• Pocket Cards = Business & market potential
• The Flop = Early adopters to your product line
• The Turn= Committing to the business concept
• The River = Reality

When making business decisions, hedge your bets and don’t go ‘All-in’ too early in your decision making process.  Some things look like a no brainer, but how many times have you had ‘Big Slick’ cracked when you were too aggressive too early?  When you are ‘pot committed’ in business, you better be playing one helluva hand and have a very strong idea of your future outcome.  Once in a while a ‘Bad beat’ will come in business, such as a market down turn or elements out of your control.  Be sure you don’t go on ‘Tilt’; stay focused and calm and fall back on the sound fundamentals that have previously made you successful.  Adapting to your business environment and planning for the future gives you many ‘outs’ to win the hand.