Andrew Goetsch, Cryptologic's new vice-president of poker, shares the lessons he's learned from the game with WALLACE IMMEN.
After a hard day at the office, Andrew Goetsch likes nothing better than to do battle against wily competitors at a poker table.
While his wife considers the game nothing more than "gambling and luck," he says he's found being a skilled poker player is the best training you can have for the competitive life of the executive suite.
<!-- /Summary -->"I've found poker is the same as strategic business negotiation. It teaches you to continually analyze your position and assess your opponents," says Mr. Goetsch, who has finished "in the money" in more than 200 poker tournaments and played in nine World Poker Tours, finishing 83rd out of 452 entrants in the most recent championship in April.
He says his poker skills have served him well over his 20-year career. In fact, Mr. Goetsch, has just been named vice-president of poker by the Toronto-based gaming software company CryptoLogic Inc., where he will use his experience to help develop on-line tournaments the company licences worldwide.
Here's his advice on applying the lessons of a winning hand to a winning career:
Read your competition Whenever Mr. Goetsch sits down to a poker table or to make a deal, he takes time to assess the competitive styles of his fellow players.
"I plan to fold for the first few hands, unless I get dealt aces and kings, and just observe how the rest of them react," he says. This gives him insights into how they'll behave when the chips are down.
He's found that people tend to fall into one of four categories that he relates to animal behaviours:
Alligators: These are very aggressive, ego-driven opponents who won't back off, often try to press their luck with marginal hands or ideas and tend to become flamboyant deal-makers.
"They can be effective and get to lofty places quickly. However, alligators tend to risk it all at certain key points without a backup plan," which can wipe them out, Mr. Goetsch says.
You can beat them if you play offensively with a strong hand and don't get into an ego contest.
Elephants: This type of player or manager tends to be passive and tight, and is all too common among managers of mature companies.
"They simply do their jobs but are not emboldened with the burning flame to strive to succeed above and beyond through creative means," he says. "Because poker and life are not dealt with a consistently favourable deck, the elephant is destined to mediocrity."
Even when they do have a powerful hand, elephants tend to doubt themselves and not to raise the stakes high enough. The way to win against them is to stay confident.
Chameleons: They readily adapt their approach to changing situations. But that's quite difficult because being able to shift strategies rapidly on the fly is not instinctive behaviour and needs to be learned and consciously worked on, Mr. Goetsch says.
Adept chameleons are formidable opponents because you can't predict their next move or plan a long-term defence against them.
Jackals: These are wild cards who will play almost anything and use bluster and uncertainty to scare off the competition. Their strategy depends on aggressiveness, intimidation and luck, and jackals tend to burn out quickly.
Jackals can get lucky several times, but in the long run, if they keep betting, no matter what their cards, they will go broke, Mr. Goetsch says. The best defence is not to follow their example.
Use your position to advantage
In poker, your betting position is important. Being the "button," or dealer, means you are the last person to have to respond as the bets go around the table. That's powerful, because you don't have to commit yourself until you've seen how everyone else has played.
At work, too, it's good strategy to not to reveal yourself straight off. Positioning to be the last one to react gives you power "because those who come before you don't know what you are capable of," Mr. Goetsch says.
Don't play by the book
"I read the popular books on poker and business strategy not because I'm going to play that way but because I know the people I am playing against are reading them and are likely to play that way," Mr. Goetsch says.
Read up on what people are saying about how to get ahead in your career, then gain an advantage by coming in with a twist the competition won't expect, he advises.
Don't be predictable
Mr. Goetsch says he works hard at being a chameleon because being unpredictable keeps competitors off balance. If you become known for using the same approach throughout your career, people will learn to work around you.
But there are times when he becomes "positively alligator-like." That's when he realizes he has "the nuts -- a hand so strong it is virtually assured of winning, or a deal that will guarantee him a promotion. Then he becomes unwavering in pursuit of his goal.
Know when to fold 'em
Most of the time, in poker or at work, outcomes aren't that clear, and Mr. Goetsch says it's important to not waste time and effort on marginal efforts.
When he looks at tournaments in which he has come out ahead over the years, "I find often I have only played between 13 and 15 per cent of the hands before the flop. That means I fold at 85 to 87 per cent of the opportunities I am given."
In his career as well, he has chosen to sit it out about the same percentage of opportunities. He finds he is better off devoting full attention to a few big opportunities than over-extending himself on too many smaller ones.
And in all of his jobs, he's always avoided going "all in" -- betting it all on one venture or client.
That's the important difference between the game of poker and the game of work, he concludes.
In poker tournaments, you must take ultimate risks to win, but if you lose it all one day, there is always another game the next.
In your career, though, it's a lot harder to get back in the game if you bet it all and fail, Mr. Goetsch says. "But if you do the appropriate planning, you should never have to."
The Globe and Mail.
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After a hard day at the office, Andrew Goetsch likes nothing better than to do battle against wily competitors at a poker table.
While his wife considers the game nothing more than "gambling and luck," he says he's found being a skilled poker player is the best training you can have for the competitive life of the executive suite.
<!-- /Summary -->"I've found poker is the same as strategic business negotiation. It teaches you to continually analyze your position and assess your opponents," says Mr. Goetsch, who has finished "in the money" in more than 200 poker tournaments and played in nine World Poker Tours, finishing 83rd out of 452 entrants in the most recent championship in April.
He says his poker skills have served him well over his 20-year career. In fact, Mr. Goetsch, has just been named vice-president of poker by the Toronto-based gaming software company CryptoLogic Inc., where he will use his experience to help develop on-line tournaments the company licences worldwide.
Here's his advice on applying the lessons of a winning hand to a winning career:
Read your competition Whenever Mr. Goetsch sits down to a poker table or to make a deal, he takes time to assess the competitive styles of his fellow players.
"I plan to fold for the first few hands, unless I get dealt aces and kings, and just observe how the rest of them react," he says. This gives him insights into how they'll behave when the chips are down.
He's found that people tend to fall into one of four categories that he relates to animal behaviours:
Alligators: These are very aggressive, ego-driven opponents who won't back off, often try to press their luck with marginal hands or ideas and tend to become flamboyant deal-makers.
"They can be effective and get to lofty places quickly. However, alligators tend to risk it all at certain key points without a backup plan," which can wipe them out, Mr. Goetsch says.
You can beat them if you play offensively with a strong hand and don't get into an ego contest.
Elephants: This type of player or manager tends to be passive and tight, and is all too common among managers of mature companies.
"They simply do their jobs but are not emboldened with the burning flame to strive to succeed above and beyond through creative means," he says. "Because poker and life are not dealt with a consistently favourable deck, the elephant is destined to mediocrity."
Even when they do have a powerful hand, elephants tend to doubt themselves and not to raise the stakes high enough. The way to win against them is to stay confident.
Chameleons: They readily adapt their approach to changing situations. But that's quite difficult because being able to shift strategies rapidly on the fly is not instinctive behaviour and needs to be learned and consciously worked on, Mr. Goetsch says.
Adept chameleons are formidable opponents because you can't predict their next move or plan a long-term defence against them.
Jackals: These are wild cards who will play almost anything and use bluster and uncertainty to scare off the competition. Their strategy depends on aggressiveness, intimidation and luck, and jackals tend to burn out quickly.
Jackals can get lucky several times, but in the long run, if they keep betting, no matter what their cards, they will go broke, Mr. Goetsch says. The best defence is not to follow their example.
Use your position to advantage
In poker, your betting position is important. Being the "button," or dealer, means you are the last person to have to respond as the bets go around the table. That's powerful, because you don't have to commit yourself until you've seen how everyone else has played.
At work, too, it's good strategy to not to reveal yourself straight off. Positioning to be the last one to react gives you power "because those who come before you don't know what you are capable of," Mr. Goetsch says.
Don't play by the book
"I read the popular books on poker and business strategy not because I'm going to play that way but because I know the people I am playing against are reading them and are likely to play that way," Mr. Goetsch says.
Read up on what people are saying about how to get ahead in your career, then gain an advantage by coming in with a twist the competition won't expect, he advises.
Don't be predictable
Mr. Goetsch says he works hard at being a chameleon because being unpredictable keeps competitors off balance. If you become known for using the same approach throughout your career, people will learn to work around you.
But there are times when he becomes "positively alligator-like." That's when he realizes he has "the nuts -- a hand so strong it is virtually assured of winning, or a deal that will guarantee him a promotion. Then he becomes unwavering in pursuit of his goal.
Know when to fold 'em
Most of the time, in poker or at work, outcomes aren't that clear, and Mr. Goetsch says it's important to not waste time and effort on marginal efforts.
When he looks at tournaments in which he has come out ahead over the years, "I find often I have only played between 13 and 15 per cent of the hands before the flop. That means I fold at 85 to 87 per cent of the opportunities I am given."
In his career as well, he has chosen to sit it out about the same percentage of opportunities. He finds he is better off devoting full attention to a few big opportunities than over-extending himself on too many smaller ones.
And in all of his jobs, he's always avoided going "all in" -- betting it all on one venture or client.
That's the important difference between the game of poker and the game of work, he concludes.
In poker tournaments, you must take ultimate risks to win, but if you lose it all one day, there is always another game the next.
In your career, though, it's a lot harder to get back in the game if you bet it all and fail, Mr. Goetsch says. "But if you do the appropriate planning, you should never have to."
The Globe and Mail.
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