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Other, Review, Intermediate, Other, Psychology
Looking at why The Beatles became the biggest band of all time, how Bill Gates came to own the world’s biggest company and the shared traits of world-class ice hockey players, Gladwell attempts to apply a scientific approach to discover the factors behind extraordinary success.
While the three hundred plus pages identifies a range of factors and cultural influences, a common theme runs throughout; something Gladwell refers to as the “10,000-Hour Rule”. This, put simply, is that becoming very good at something not only requires talent, but it also requires a lot of hard work too.
The examples Gladwell gives in Outliers are compelling, including his assertion that a key factor behind the Beatles developing a unique sound was the 10,000 hours they spent playing live over a four year period spent gigging in Hamburg.
While Gladwell is clear that the 10,000 hour rule isn’t the only factor behind success, he does think its key. He also considers a reasonable time period for completing the required 10,000 hours is ten years, which equates to spending twenty hours a week on your chosen speciality.
The concept of the 10,000 hour rule has interesting implications for those aspiring to be top level poker players, and it perhaps is a neat yardstick for explaining the rise of the young online poker player. The endless liquidity offered by the online game allows players to rack up the necessary 10,000 hours of experience quicker than ever before. Where once it took decades of regular trips to the casino to rack up 10,000 hours of play, young internet pro’s can now hit that milestone in as little as three or four years.
It’s arguable that this time can be further shortened by multi-tabling, which effectively allows players to double, treble or quadruple their gaming hours at the click of a mouse. Where Lennon could only play one guitar at a time, Cristiano Ronaldo play just a single game of football, any online poker player can easily play several concurrent games.
The implications of this are astounding – four tabling for just ten hours a week would allow an online player to reach the magic 10,000 hour mark in just five years. While that may seem a long time it should be viewed in perspective with the rewards on offer. It might take five years of work to get there, but professional online poker players can expect to earn an annual six figure profit – and the best earn far, far more.
Of course, it’s not as easy as just putting in the hours and watching the money roll in. Tom Dwan, Phil Galfond et al didn’t get to the top of the tree through playing time alone. It also requires talent, a willingness to learn and a fierce determination to succeed. And it also requires the discipline to adhere to strict bankroll management rules.
But if Gladwell’s right, poker fame and fortune could just be a few years away.