A Poker Hobby Will Make You A Better Songwriter — Seriously

A Poker Hobby Will Make You A Better Songwriter — Seriously

W

hen you think of connections between music and poker, you probably jump to song lyrics and themes before anything else. From iconic gambling songs like “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers to some of Lady Gaga’s best work (“Poker Face” is still stuck in our heads), there are a lot of examples to point to. In this piece though, rather than providing the internet’s thousandth list of good poker or gambling songs, I want to approach the connection a little differently and talk about how a poker hobby can actually improve songwriting skills.

This does not mean that a few trips to the poker tables will turn you into Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, or Eminem. But just as so many other aspects of life factor into lyrics and songwriting, a bit of poker can lend you some real skills that help with your own music.

---

Real-World Psychology

In a VeryWellMind.com piece on psychology, there are some good cases made as to how we can all benefit from studying the subject. But a lot of the perks noted — understanding yourself, improving your understanding of others, becoming a better communicator, and so on — can be particularly helpful to writers of all kinds. Whether we’re talking about novelists or lyricists, writers need to be able to grasp character, see into the minds of others, and understand their own thoughts. Now, poker isn’t a full-fledged psychology course by any means. But it may be about the closest thing to it when it comes to recreational activity. You’ll be surprised how much you learn about processing your inner thoughts and understanding others at a poker table. It can heighten your psychology in general, and by extension make you a better songwriter.

---

Focus

Even more than psychology, poker teaches focus — and not on pure results so much as how they come about. As an expert on human behavior put it in a Fast Company article on poker (specifically on how it helped some people through the COVID-19 pandemic), poker teaches you to focus on your process. This is a tip most songwriters would do well to heed. All too often there’s a tendency to care only about the end result, to the detriment of the writing process. Of course that process differs from that of winning a poker hand, but the thought process is similar.

---

Perseverance

Playing poker even for a short time, and even with low stakes, will teach you to accept losses and setbacks in pursuit of bigger goals. You might lose a big hand but play well in the longer game; you might lose three games but win a fourth with a bigger pot, and so on. Through these experiences, the game teaches real perseverance — which, like the skills here, can translate to other aspects of your life. In songwriting, this same skill can be the difference between completing a masterpiece and leaving an unfinished notebook in the bottom of a drawer. Things won’t always go smoothly, but learning to accept difficult writing sessions and push through will often lead you to your best work.

---

Sense of Belonging

Newer poker players, particularly when playing live, also learn to act like they belong — or to “fake it ’til they make it,” so to speak. A Poker.org guide to playing poker in casinos explains that this is actually a crucial strategy. Making it obvious that you’re new exposes you to more experienced players who might take advantage of you. By acting like you belong, however, you give yourself a better chance to ear your place. This doesn’t mean “fake it ’til you make it” is viable in songwriting. But poker can teach you to approach new environments with a sense of self-confidence. In songwriting, that can keep you from feeling inadequate, or like an imposter (as so many experience).

---

Experience

In the end, a poker hobby also leads to real-world experience, which is invaluable currency for a songwriter. One doesn’t have to write about the tables, or pen the next “The Gambler” in order for that to matter. But there are enough social interactions and miniature dramas built into poker to fuel a songwriter’s imagination, and that, too, certainly counts for something!

---

[📷 : Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype, Naomy Quiñones, Pixabay]

---