Caption: What on Earth could programmers have to learn from poker players? It turns out, quite a lot!
Other than sharing the same first letter, the similarities between programmers and poker players are not immediately noticeable. Our image of a professional poker player might be rather glamorous, a person used to the bright lights and a party atmosphere. Our image of a professional programmer, on the other hand, might be a more secluded type, lit by a computer screen, poring over numbers. It could be a professional role in cybersecurity or software development – any programming position will usually require time, analysis and plenty of peace and quiet. You might be surprised to find out then that both occupations have a lot in common. As a programmer there’s a lot to be learned from a poker player – and perhaps vice versa too!
Any great poker player will tell you that learning the rules of the game is simply not enough. Great poker players practice hands over and over, they familiarise themselves with all the different variations of the game, they obsess over the details. This kind of dedication is exactly the sort of thing that a good programmer should be practising. Learning code is like learning a new language; you only become truly bilingual when you immerse yourself in it. Dedicate half an hour a day to learning a new code, set aside a new project in it, read up on it in your spare time. You’ll be amazed how quickly you begin to pick it up when you dedicate time to it regularly and often.
Perhaps you have a general understanding of a couple of secondary codes, alongside the one that you primarily code in. Make a point of really going over the finer details and not only will you feel more confident, but you might also have tripled the opportunities for work. Programmers tend to be naturally curious types, so learning more about codes you already understand and even picking up some new ones should be an exciting task, rather than a daunting one.