Playing Card Games Online

I’ll let you in on a little secret, tearing my ACL was the best thing that ever happened to me. Once upon a time, I was an ultra-competitive athlete. Gradually, I discovered I was better than almost everybody but not quite good enough to make a career out of sports. As age diminished my opportunities to go out on the playing field to try and beat my opponents in sports I still became the guy that was way too intense in a Rec league. Sure, in high-school and college I had an outlet for my releases, but after that adult leagues where they took winning as seriously as I did were fairly few and far between.
Suddenly, when I ripped my knee apart I didn’t even have that as an outlet. I reexamined myself and I learned that anything that could be made competitive had become competitive for me. If I was helping to pack gift bags for charity, sure enough, I was going to race the volunteer next to me. When I and a friend were driving to the same place, I was going to beat him there. I had become a pretty terrible person to hang out with because everything was about winning. Then I discovered Card Games online.
I had always played spades or hearts for fun, because if it was competitive I was in, but I wish I had took card games online more seriously back when people looked at me funny if I challenged them to a footrace in my suit. It was only when I needed an outlet because my knee had me laid out, and that I realized card games online could become that outlet. Unlike conventional video games (though I admit they’ve changed a good bit), you actually get to interact and best other players. Instead of matching stamina and strength you battled wits and strategy.
Eventually, winning heads up games wasn’t enough for me. I needed something tangible to win. I moved to tournaments and played games that offered prizes to the best players. In short order, I found myself a champion and all those elements of sports were revisited. Winning was the only thing.
Naturally, I was drawn to poker and other card games online, because they offered the competitive release and something tangible to win. I could enter a poker tournament and have a goal to strive for, not only that, I got to reap the benefits of self-improvement and betterment as I did as an athlete. Instead of getting bigger, stronger, faster and better, I transformed into smarter, mentally quicker, and better in a well rounded way.
My self-actualization actually had benefits in my everyday life. Now, instead of wanting to outrace somebody I wanted to out think them. I constantly view my work place and career from a viewpoint of strategy and self-improvement. As I’ve excelled in online card games I’ve also excelled in other areas in life.
I make better decisions; I weigh the long term results against short term gains. I’ve become a better money manager and I’ve become a better friend. Now that I have a release for my competitive desires I treat my friends less like opponents and more like friends. As I’ve grown as a player I’ve also shared tactics with other card players I’ve met online. As a competitor I’ve learned to appreciate the diversity of skills necessary to be successful in online card games and how they translate to being successful in life.
One of the best things to ever happen to me was tearing up my knee. At the time I thought it was the worst thing to happen. Sure, I was dominating my adult sports leagues and I lost that satisfaction of physically beating rivals, but what I gained were competitive skills that translated to life more readily. I wasn’t good enough to be a professional in sports but I discovered I could earn money from skills in card games online. Who needs a 28 year old who can smash a softball for miles? Nobody really. But everybody needs a 28 year old that can think critically, strategize and outwit the competition.