The Symbolism of Gambling
Life is a game. And in life, like many games, how far you go and where you end up is often the result of skill, will, and a little luck. Discipline, above all things, is the factor that you have full control over which holds the greatest power to remove luck and return to you full control of your life.
But life also requires calculated gambles. Every day we must weigh risk with reward. Every decision we make affects our future to varying degrees -- the results of which can sometimes be seen, but often times are not.
To symbolically remind us of the roles that skill, will, luck, discipline, and decision making play in our lives members of the Fraternal Order of the White Tiger meet monthly to participate in the game that best represents life: poker.
Each month, to give some of our select brothers and sisters the opportunity to improve their lives through financial means, those who show the most discipline, skill, and luck will be sent to participate in a live out-of-state poker tournament. Travel expenses and tournament buy-in are covered by with the Order while the chosen few retain full rights to any winnings they earn.
Why Poker
Many games that involve gambling allow for very little discipline to come into play. In a casino, rules for how the house plays are set, minimizing one's strategy.
However, poker is not played against the house. It is played against your fellow man... as is the game of life. But in life, we can be affected by forces outside of any person's control. In poker, the cards – stacked randomly – represent these uncontrollable forces.
At some point, a decision must be made. Once that decision is made, after weighing risk and reward, outside forces take control of the turn out.
In life, you may make the decision to take a higher paying job with fewer hours, better benefits, with every aspect of your decision being clearly the right one. Odds are you'll be better off for your decision. But it's what you can't see (the cards that are yet to be dealt) that will affect the final outcome.
Monthly Poker Tournaments
The game of poker symbolizes in many ways the game of life. This is why our membership meets once a month to play each other in a grand poker tournament. By helping each other improve our poker game, we come to a better understanding of our own lives and thereby improve our lives as well as the lives of those around us.