You don’t know how many people write to me and tell me that my calling in life is to play poker. I say that laughingly because not only do perfect strangers tell me that, but so does my own husband. He has been begging me to learn for years hoping and dreaming that I could be his ticket to a million dollars.

I keep telling him to “Dream on!“. If only it were that easy…

What people don’t realize is that all people are influenced by their emotions, regardless of their ability to spot the truth, and emotions, when heightened, are the biggest deflector for anyone to see reality. When people are emotional, and I am no exception, our brain tricks us and makes us think things are “blacker than black” or “rosier than red,” when in reality it is never that stark. In a life or death situation, this can save our life, which is good. But in a situation where we don’t get that “fight or flight” response, we often make horrible decisions that greatly cost us.

Emotions, when desire and fear are the opposing elements each tugging at each other simultaneously, blur reality. That much I know. It usually results in the worst endings. That, in and of itself, stops me from playing poker.

More than that, to win, I must be a master at bluffing myself.

Think about it. What makes a good poker player? Someone who can remove themselves from their emotions, and not have any remorse for lying to others to take them for all they got. Whew. What picture does that paint for you?