Negotiations, Poker,and the Presidency

Negotiations Are Like Poker
Presidents Like to Play Poker

On NPR Radio yesterday, the guest author was saying that many US Presidents liked to play poker. Apparently Eisenhower and Nixon were big-time poker players and many other Presidents liked the game, but the stakes were lower. Obama started a poker group in Illinois while he was a state senator. The question posed in the interview was whether Obama would continue to play poker in the White House.

Negotiations and poker are very similar so it seems natural that Presidents would like the game. The language of negotiations includes many references to poker. In negotiations we keep" bargaining chips" to get something that we want. Since we don't want the other side to know what we are thinking, we have a mask or "poker face." When we have a bad hand, we sometimes "bluff" so the other party is lured into thinking we have a good hand and might give up.

Maybe poker is a good thing in the White House. It hones negotiations skills that can be used beyond the poker table



Mary Greenwood, Mediator, Attorney and Author of
How To Negotiate LIke A Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes, Winner of six book awards
Best How To Book, DIY Festival
Runner Up, New York Book Festival, E-Book and Self-Help Category
Finalist ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards
Finalist, Best National Book Awards, Self-Help Category
Honorable Mention, London Book Festival
How To Mediate Like A Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes
Winner of five book awards
Best National Book AWard, Law Category
Best E-Book, New York Book Festival
Best How To Book, Beach Book Festival
Best E-Book, Indie Excellence Awards
Spirit AWard, South Florida Writers Association
Email: howtonegotiate@aol.com
www.marygreenwood.com