Can playing poker really help people succeed in the business of life? For many, a poker table looks like nothing more than a way to unwind, but for a surprising number of high performers, it’s where they first learned the decision-making skills that carry them through their careers.
Poker teaches you business skills
For example, take the owner and chairman of Brighton & Hove Albion football club, Tony Bloom, who says poker still influences much of his approach to work:
“It uses so many different skills. It’s about risk, calculated risk, understanding of situations, reading people, there’s a lot to it. I miss poker. It can teach people lots about life, about individuals, about personalities, character — the psychology is big. There have been parts of the game that have helped me in terms of making decisions and certainly running a football club — the calculated risks in particular.” — Tony Bloom, The Times
At PepTalk, we work with a number of business and poker polymaths who use their experience with the game to help audiences understand risk, uncertainty and other people more effectively. On her YouTube channel, Liv Boeree uses her poker background to explain game theory and counter-intuitive thought experiments alongside science and astrophysics insights. Maria Konnikova, a psychologist and journalist, writes and speaks about how to recognise which details matter and master the science of deduction.
Jennifer Shahade uses her prowess across the board to highlight ways to achieve gender equality in sport; she’s not only a poker pro but also a national chess champion and Olympic silver medallist.
Some other poker skills that anyone can apply to the business world include developing a growth mindset, learning from mistakes, developing focus and determination, and maintaining ethical and fair standards in games and business dealings. These are many of the same qualities we cover in Mindset: Thriving Under Pressure At Work — even bankroll management has its place at the boardroom table.
7 Tips For Thinking Like A Poker Pro in Business
The most impactful lesson poker can give is how to think differently and critically about any given challenge. Here are seven PepTalk tips you can put into action immediately on how to think like a poker pro:
Know When To Think Hard. Sometimes, we spend too long on trivial decisions when it’s the irreversible ones we need to focus on.
Don’t Be Scared To Bluff Big. If you never get adverse reactions, you might not take full advantage of the cards you’ve been dealt.
Think Ahead & Sideways. Rather than analysing a singular move, it recommends considering options and thinking a few steps ahead across each.
Play The Player, Not Just The Situation. Numbers only tell part of the story; reading the people across the table, or the stakeholders in the room, matters just as much as reading the odds.
Manage Your Bankroll. Protect your resources so one bad decision doesn’t take you out of the game entirely; the best players size every bet to what they can afford to lose.
Know When To Fold. The instinct to chase a losing hand usually costs more than walking away early — the same is true of a failing project or a bad hire.
Stay Emotionally Disciplined. Poker players call it staying off “tilt” — not letting one bad outcome cloud the judgement needed for the next decision.
Together, these habits are less about the cards themselves and more about training a calmer, more deliberate way of thinking under pressure — the same discipline we explore in From Boardroom to Breakroom: Real Experts, Real Impact.
What This Looks Like In A Live Session
In a PepTalk keynote or workshop, this translates into practical formats: a facilitated hand of poker used as a live case study, a decision-making exercise built around real hands, or a Q&A that ties the table straight back to a leadership challenge in the room. Speakers adapt the format to the audience, whether that’s a 45-minute keynote for a leadership offsite or a longer interactive workshop for a smaller team.
Frequently Asked Questions
What business skills does poker actually teach?
Poker sharpens skills that map directly onto business: calculated risk-taking, reading people and situations, managing resources under uncertainty, and staying emotionally steady when a decision doesn’t pay off. These are the same skills covered by PepTalk’s poker and game theory speakers.
Can a poker-themed talk work for a non-finance audience?
Yes. The lessons are about decision-making and psychology rather than the game itself, so they apply just as well to marketing, operations, sales or leadership teams as they do to finance and trading audiences.
Who are PepTalk’s poker and decision-making speakers?
PepTalk represents poker professionals including Liv Boeree, Maria Konnikova and Jennifer Shahade, each of whom translates competitive poker experience into talks on risk, mindset and decision-making for business audiences.
Amber is VP of Talent & Marketing. She has 20 years of international experience in the creative industries, including as a copywriter and Head of Customer Experience in the music industry, using storytelling to drive behaviour change. Amber holds an MA in Digital Management and an MSc in Organisational Psychology and is always looking for inspiration.
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