If you or your friends are looking for a new job or trying to upgrade the one you have, see what POKERprimaDIVAS CEO Ellen Leikind has to say about how the principles of poker can help you get what you are looking for.

Q It’s a tough job market out there and people are either looking to find something new or upgrade what they have. How can Poker help you in this very tight Job market?

A There are many valuable career boosting lessons based on principles learned at the poker table even if you have never played a game of cards. Poker rewards initiative, assertiveness, fearlessness and calculated risk taking all of which are needed for a successful job hunt. Real life stories in my book PokerWoman illustrate how poker has helped many women in business.

Q What is the first thing you would tell women when looking for the right job?

A The first thing I would say to them is stop betting like a girl. This is not meant as a slight to women but they need to bold and take risk and play to win as opposed to avoid losing. They need to project more bravado and confidence and not be modest when it comes to selling their capabilities.

Q What is the most important skill in getting ready for the job interview?
You can stack the deck in your favor by researching the company and people you want to work for. Poker Players are always sizing up the players at the table so they can play the right way against the right people. You need to know a companies objectives, products and financial situation before you walk in the door. And try to also find out something about the person interviewing you. With Google, face book and linkedin you can learn a lot. Be smart and be prepared.

Q Once you are in the interview what is an important for the interviewee to be aware of?

Pay attention to non-verbal cues or “tells” during the interview both yours and the interviewer. Poker players are always looking for tells, to help get a read on another player. You have to pay attention to the cues you project. Do you make eye contact and sit up straight to project confidence or are your eyes down and hands fumbling projecting fear or lack of interest. On the other side of the coin, pay attention to the person interviewing you. If they look distracted or bored you need to look for ways to re-engage their interest. Women have good intuition in this area use it.

Q What is the best way to bluff in an interview?
You need to be careful here. In a poker game you are expected to be deceptive but in a business situation your reputation is on the line. There is a big difference between a little embellishment and a total lie. If you have done something and are 70% proficient at it and know you can learn the rest it is fine to say you are good at it. But if you have never has any exposure to finance before don’t pretend you are an accountant. Remember if you are called on a bluff which is an out and out lie you have a lot to lose.

Q What is the best way to put on a Poker face in an interview?

Save your poker face for after you have gotten the job offer. You need to be enthusiastic and animated during an interview to convey interest. Once you have an offer and are negotiating salary or benefits then use your pokerface to try to up the ante and get a better deal. The first offer is rarely the best offer they will give.

Q What happens if you don’t get the job or interview you expected?

Remember not every hand is a winner. You are not going to get every interview or job offer even if you are the most qualified. In fact sometimes in life as in poker you do everything right and still lose. Make sure you do not let what poker player’s call a “bad beat” ruin the rest of your hands or job interviews to come. Going on tilt, or being overly emotional about your loss will hurt your ability to go on to the next opportunity. There’s always another hand or interview. Compose yourself and go on to the next. Don’t let your emotions undermine your intelligence.

Q. But it seems like I just keep losing one after the other.
There is a great poker story in PokerWoman about a man name Jack Strauss. He was playing in the 1982 World series of poker and thought he had gone “all in “ and put all his chips in the pot during a hand. He lost the hand and thought he was out of the tournament but when he got up to leave it turned out he had 1 chip left. He went on to win that tournament. Out of that experience came the expression “all you need is a chip and a chair’ Keep motivated, keep playing and stay in the game and you will land something good.

Q. What can I do if I have a job but I am very unhappy and need to find something better.

It’s a tough economy out there but sometimes you have to have to know when to fold’em. Getting out of a bad job is sometimes a necessary evil in helping you preserve your sanity. Yes it is a risk but sometimes you need to take a risk to up your odds for a long term win. Best to look for the job while you are still working but don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and acknowledge that it is time to move on to the next game.

Q Anything else we can learn from the principles at the poker table.
In poker and in life the prizes go to the bold. Be confident, have no fear show some bravado and bet on your self to become a winner.

Published in Women’s Poker Magazine.

Read what happened when a reporter from The Glass Hammer learned how to play poker from POKERprimaDIVAS.

AskMelissa hosted a contest to win a free poker lesson and a free copy of Poker Woman. Visit AskMelissa’s Facebook Page

” Tears, Texts, Tweets and Texas Hold’em” along with a night of telephone calls, I was able to see my 21 year old step-daughter through a rite of passage . She moved into her first rat-hole NYC apt with her boyfriend when his buddy shows up , duffel-bag in tow and moves in too. Boy-friend didn’t tell her the buddy was coming to STAY for the whole summer. It was her first day at her new job, her bf isn’t around and I’m the parent -on-call. An inconsolable 21 year old is formidable. So, I take out the cards and start putting out hands. With great patience and position ( i know she needs me), she eventually comes around. When there are cold cards i tell her how to make a good fold before getting to invested. When there are middle cars , I show her how to bet for information . When 2 Jacks show up in the hold , I show her how it may look good but to procede with caution. When pocket aces come up , it’s time to be happy and watch what the others do because trip deuces can indeed ‘trip’ you up.
The whole game become allegory for the night. It was wonderful !!

When you’re in a public place, it’s inevitable that you’ll rub elbows
with various loud and obnoxious characters.
And of course it always seems that these characters will sit at your
poker table, frequently right next to you.
Add money and booze to the equation, and the number of people with
questionable behavior will inevitably increase.
 
So, what’s to do? 
A. Do you leave the table?
B. Do you engage this person in conversation?
C. Do you call over the floor person?
All of the above could be done.
 
However, just as the game of Poker itself is one of patience and
waiting for the right opportunities, the art of working a table is
also one of patience.
 
I have found that there is a direct correllation between how loud and
obnoxious a player is, and how soon they’ll “Flame out” at the table.
 You can be assured that although this loud person might win a hand
or two, over time their over-confidence will spell their demise just
as surely as it will for any player.  The only difference is that
these players will blame everyone but themselves for their downfall.
 
So, just bide your time, be more choosy about the hands you go in on
with this person, and also try to take advantage of how they’ll
frequently raise the pot with less than optimum hands.
In the worst case scenario, you can either move your position on the
table, or take a break for a round or two while waiting for this
person to bust-out.
 
When I was playing recently, a person who goes by the name of “Loud
Al” was complaining about how quickly the dealer happened to pick up
discards.  The person to my left was discussing this issue with him. 
This guy was pretty big himself.  However, (to myself) I questioned
his judgment.  I find that it works best if you never get yourself
involved in any table dispute with either an obnoxious player and the
dealer.  Chances are that nothing will happen to you.  However, you
don’t want to take the chance that they’ll eject both Mr. Loud and
yourself.  Certainly you should answer any questions if the floor
person gets involved.  However, like stated above, eventually the
problem will go away.
 
In the meantime, sit tight, learn what NOT to do, and if there are
fireworks, just lay back and enjoy a little bit of human drama played
out in front of you.  After all, nothing says that although it’s
“Real Life”, it doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the show.

The big debate in poker is how much of winning is luck and how much is skill. Well both matter. Skill will win out over time but no matter how good you are if someone is on a lucky streak you better be cautious. Keep getting rivered by the same person? Does your boat get beaten by quads. Time for a dinner break. Yes sometimes  luck trumps  skill. Just as it does in life.

 Among the frequently debated topics at the poker table, is whether or not to show your cards at the end of the hand. Read the rest of this entry »

I was excited, because I just saw Kd, Jh, and I was the Dealer.
I figured that I could increase the pot and knock out some marginal hands or players by raising the maximum $ 3. Little did I know what this would turn into.

Read the rest of this entry »

After much debating I , decided to play in a WSOP no limit event. I had always wanted to play but something held me back. I’m not sure if it was fear or money or a combination of the 2 . But it turns out I was going to be in Vegas for business during the event so i thought it was an omen. Read the rest of this entry »