Ping Pong

The other night I got involved in a marathon ping pong battle with Leo, Paul, and the Wolf. All three of them were in the zone and I got crushed repeatedly. Normally I play these guys pretty even but on this night I had no chance.

It got me thinking. I don't really get into "the zone." I tend to play solid and feed off the mistakes of others, be it in ping pong, frisbee golf, ultimate frisbee, or poker. It's very rare for me to play "above the rim" and beat people. My victories come when people beat themselves. I don't know anyone who has had more success playing frisbee golf and poker than I have, though I know friends who are more talented at these games. I tend to surpass them because I do not make as many mistakes as they do. If they play flawlessly, they should beat me almost every time.

It's important for me to stay patient. Sometimes when I am losing I press and force things a bit. When I think about my greatest successes in poker, they came when I was patient and gave myself the chance to get lucky. I lose when I try to outplay people and I make mistakes. If an opponent plays his best against me, he will usually win. But most people don't play anywhere near their best, no matter what the game.