Don't split the pot (at least not at this table)

I got kicked out of the only regular poker game I was ever a part of.

The first week I won a few bucks.

The second week, I broke even.

The third week, the betting got serious and there was a lot on the table--maybe as much as $30(!). Realizing that this sort of risk didn't work for me, I turned to the last two people left in a hand and said, "why don't we split the pot three ways?"

In the long run, that might be a good way to go home flush. In real life, it's a totally sensible way to deal with risk.

But at a poker game?

When you sit down at a poker table, you're acting as if. As if you're gambling. And if you don't want to gamble, don't play. That's what they told me and they were right.

The same thing is true when you go to a brainstorming session, or to therapy or even an Ethiopian restaurant.

If you don't want to want to engage with what's on the table, don't sit down.