Chris Sparks
@sparksremarks.bsky.social
executive performance. productivity. writing about refining systems and thinking. investing. and always game theory/ game obsessed. based in NYC.
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Chris Sparks
@sparksremarks.bsky.social
· Nov 30
Play to Win: Meta-Skills in High-Stakes Poker
In poker—as in life—those making the most money are playing a different game.
Chris Sparks spent fifteen years studying poker’s dark matter: the hidden dimensions of the game. Chris never considered h...
www.forcingfunction.com
I've played 2 million hands of poker.
Here's what I've learned:
- Life is the product of your bets.
- Most people are playing the wrong game.
- Models are a crutch.
- Edge comes from exploiting information asymmetries.
- Discipline beats ability.
www.forcingfunction.com/articles/pla...
Here's what I've learned:
- Life is the product of your bets.
- Most people are playing the wrong game.
- Models are a crutch.
- Edge comes from exploiting information asymmetries.
- Discipline beats ability.
www.forcingfunction.com/articles/pla...
There are two inconvenient truths about decision-making:
Good outcomes are not always the result of good decisions.
Good decisions do not guarantee good outcomes.
Good outcomes are not always the result of good decisions.
Good decisions do not guarantee good outcomes.
December 1, 2024 at 3:45 AM
There are two inconvenient truths about decision-making:
Good outcomes are not always the result of good decisions.
Good decisions do not guarantee good outcomes.
Good outcomes are not always the result of good decisions.
Good decisions do not guarantee good outcomes.
The key to success in any endeavor is to fully commit to a culture of continuous improvement.
December 1, 2024 at 3:44 AM
The key to success in any endeavor is to fully commit to a culture of continuous improvement.
The Kelly Criterion, aka "Fortune's Formula," is my favorite framework for determining bet sizing. The larger your Edge, or advantage, and the Odds received, the more resources you can deploy.
December 1, 2024 at 3:44 AM
The Kelly Criterion, aka "Fortune's Formula," is my favorite framework for determining bet sizing. The larger your Edge, or advantage, and the Odds received, the more resources you can deploy.
Advice I learned the hard way re service-based business:
1. Relentlessly focus on solving one client problem. Be a specialist.
2. Client results make marketing superfluous.
3. Create a monopoly of one. Who are you most qualified to serve?
4. "Hell yes or no," on both sides.
1. Relentlessly focus on solving one client problem. Be a specialist.
2. Client results make marketing superfluous.
3. Create a monopoly of one. Who are you most qualified to serve?
4. "Hell yes or no," on both sides.
December 1, 2024 at 3:43 AM
Advice I learned the hard way re service-based business:
1. Relentlessly focus on solving one client problem. Be a specialist.
2. Client results make marketing superfluous.
3. Create a monopoly of one. Who are you most qualified to serve?
4. "Hell yes or no," on both sides.
1. Relentlessly focus on solving one client problem. Be a specialist.
2. Client results make marketing superfluous.
3. Create a monopoly of one. Who are you most qualified to serve?
4. "Hell yes or no," on both sides.
It’s always easiest to course-correct a moving ship.
When in doubt, make your best guess and move on to the next decision.
When in doubt, make your best guess and move on to the next decision.
December 1, 2024 at 3:43 AM
It’s always easiest to course-correct a moving ship.
When in doubt, make your best guess and move on to the next decision.
When in doubt, make your best guess and move on to the next decision.
Opportunities don't last forever.
If we wait until we are certain, many opportunities will pass us by.
Thus, failures to decide are still decisions.
If we wait until we are certain, many opportunities will pass us by.
Thus, failures to decide are still decisions.
December 1, 2024 at 3:42 AM
Opportunities don't last forever.
If we wait until we are certain, many opportunities will pass us by.
Thus, failures to decide are still decisions.
If we wait until we are certain, many opportunities will pass us by.
Thus, failures to decide are still decisions.
If you want to win, recognize that your absolute level of skill is much less important than where you choose to compete.
When success demands superiority, if you are not the smartest in the room, you’re in the wrong room
When success demands superiority, if you are not the smartest in the room, you’re in the wrong room
December 1, 2024 at 3:42 AM
If you want to win, recognize that your absolute level of skill is much less important than where you choose to compete.
When success demands superiority, if you are not the smartest in the room, you’re in the wrong room
When success demands superiority, if you are not the smartest in the room, you’re in the wrong room
Reframe obligations as opportunities.
example:
I count *down* reps in the gym.
Instead of “getting through them”, each is now an opportunity.
To nail my form.
To remove invisible boundaries.
To discover something new.
Is a repetition another redundancy?
Completely up to you.
example:
I count *down* reps in the gym.
Instead of “getting through them”, each is now an opportunity.
To nail my form.
To remove invisible boundaries.
To discover something new.
Is a repetition another redundancy?
Completely up to you.
December 1, 2024 at 3:41 AM
Reframe obligations as opportunities.
example:
I count *down* reps in the gym.
Instead of “getting through them”, each is now an opportunity.
To nail my form.
To remove invisible boundaries.
To discover something new.
Is a repetition another redundancy?
Completely up to you.
example:
I count *down* reps in the gym.
Instead of “getting through them”, each is now an opportunity.
To nail my form.
To remove invisible boundaries.
To discover something new.
Is a repetition another redundancy?
Completely up to you.
Great decision-makers are constantly searching for the ways they are wrong.
The infinite game is to enjoy the process of excavating false beliefs as you asymptotically approach truth.
All knowledge has a half-life.
The infinite game is to enjoy the process of excavating false beliefs as you asymptotically approach truth.
All knowledge has a half-life.
December 1, 2024 at 3:41 AM
Great decision-makers are constantly searching for the ways they are wrong.
The infinite game is to enjoy the process of excavating false beliefs as you asymptotically approach truth.
All knowledge has a half-life.
The infinite game is to enjoy the process of excavating false beliefs as you asymptotically approach truth.
All knowledge has a half-life.
Something unappreciated about bluffing is that it’s not static (to bluff or not to bluff).
A small bluff works less often, but needs to work less often.
A small bluff works less often, but needs to work less often.
December 1, 2024 at 3:37 AM
Something unappreciated about bluffing is that it’s not static (to bluff or not to bluff).
A small bluff works less often, but needs to work less often.
A small bluff works less often, but needs to work less often.
Plan starting with a blank slate. Instead of thinking “more of this, less of that,” imagine you have an open calendar.
If you could do anything with your time, how would you make the most of it?
If you could do anything with your time, how would you make the most of it?
December 1, 2024 at 3:37 AM
Plan starting with a blank slate. Instead of thinking “more of this, less of that,” imagine you have an open calendar.
If you could do anything with your time, how would you make the most of it?
If you could do anything with your time, how would you make the most of it?
The meta-skill of athletics is proprioception: bodily awareness.
If you can exercise precise control over all the little parts of your body, it's a lateral move to then go into another sport and say, "Show me what I need to do with my body.”
If you can exercise precise control over all the little parts of your body, it's a lateral move to then go into another sport and say, "Show me what I need to do with my body.”
December 1, 2024 at 3:36 AM
The meta-skill of athletics is proprioception: bodily awareness.
If you can exercise precise control over all the little parts of your body, it's a lateral move to then go into another sport and say, "Show me what I need to do with my body.”
If you can exercise precise control over all the little parts of your body, it's a lateral move to then go into another sport and say, "Show me what I need to do with my body.”
What we think of as wisdom is the unfolding awareness of the depths of our confusion.
Wise people do not claim the title.
Wise people do not claim the title.
November 30, 2024 at 7:55 PM
What we think of as wisdom is the unfolding awareness of the depths of our confusion.
Wise people do not claim the title.
Wise people do not claim the title.
There is a space between stimulus and reaction.
In that fleeting instant, if we're looking, we might catch a momentary glimpse behind the curtain.
"Oh. I see myself about to do that thing again. What if I change the narrative?"
In that fleeting instant, if we're looking, we might catch a momentary glimpse behind the curtain.
"Oh. I see myself about to do that thing again. What if I change the narrative?"
November 30, 2024 at 7:54 PM
There is a space between stimulus and reaction.
In that fleeting instant, if we're looking, we might catch a momentary glimpse behind the curtain.
"Oh. I see myself about to do that thing again. What if I change the narrative?"
In that fleeting instant, if we're looking, we might catch a momentary glimpse behind the curtain.
"Oh. I see myself about to do that thing again. What if I change the narrative?"
Cities are best explored on two wheels.
Find a bike, pick a direction, and be open to serendipity along the way.
Find a bike, pick a direction, and be open to serendipity along the way.
November 30, 2024 at 7:53 PM
Cities are best explored on two wheels.
Find a bike, pick a direction, and be open to serendipity along the way.
Find a bike, pick a direction, and be open to serendipity along the way.
Cause and effect do not exist. Everything in nature is circular and interdependent.
Rather than reshaping reality, strive to move in harmony with it.
Rather than reshaping reality, strive to move in harmony with it.
November 30, 2024 at 7:53 PM
Cause and effect do not exist. Everything in nature is circular and interdependent.
Rather than reshaping reality, strive to move in harmony with it.
Rather than reshaping reality, strive to move in harmony with it.
Simple systems minimize downtime. Optimize for consistency by stripping away all complexity.
November 30, 2024 at 7:52 PM
Simple systems minimize downtime. Optimize for consistency by stripping away all complexity.
There is no such thing as self-sabotage. Everything we do serves us in some way. Sometimes we just optimize for the wrong value.
The shift happens when the motivation to achieve our goal overrides our fear of leaving our comfort zone.
The shift happens when the motivation to achieve our goal overrides our fear of leaving our comfort zone.
November 30, 2024 at 7:52 PM
There is no such thing as self-sabotage. Everything we do serves us in some way. Sometimes we just optimize for the wrong value.
The shift happens when the motivation to achieve our goal overrides our fear of leaving our comfort zone.
The shift happens when the motivation to achieve our goal overrides our fear of leaving our comfort zone.
Surround yourself with quality and it will rub off.
November 30, 2024 at 7:52 PM
Surround yourself with quality and it will rub off.
Things I never regret doing:
Stretching, dancing, meditating, soaking up the sun, being immersed in water, and putting my feet in the grass.
I don’t know the secret to a good life, but a good start is doing all the things we never regret.
Stretching, dancing, meditating, soaking up the sun, being immersed in water, and putting my feet in the grass.
I don’t know the secret to a good life, but a good start is doing all the things we never regret.
November 30, 2024 at 7:51 PM
Things I never regret doing:
Stretching, dancing, meditating, soaking up the sun, being immersed in water, and putting my feet in the grass.
I don’t know the secret to a good life, but a good start is doing all the things we never regret.
Stretching, dancing, meditating, soaking up the sun, being immersed in water, and putting my feet in the grass.
I don’t know the secret to a good life, but a good start is doing all the things we never regret.
Happiness is the road.
Instead of trying to figure out what makes me happy (or energized, fulfilled, etc), I pay attention to when I feel that way.
Happiness is what those times have in common.
Instead of trying to figure out what makes me happy (or energized, fulfilled, etc), I pay attention to when I feel that way.
Happiness is what those times have in common.
November 30, 2024 at 7:51 PM
Happiness is the road.
Instead of trying to figure out what makes me happy (or energized, fulfilled, etc), I pay attention to when I feel that way.
Happiness is what those times have in common.
Instead of trying to figure out what makes me happy (or energized, fulfilled, etc), I pay attention to when I feel that way.
Happiness is what those times have in common.
A lack of prioritization —> a lack of progress.
Solve for inputs before tinkering with approach.
Solve for inputs before tinkering with approach.
November 30, 2024 at 7:50 PM
A lack of prioritization —> a lack of progress.
Solve for inputs before tinkering with approach.
Solve for inputs before tinkering with approach.
Understanding is a form of grasping.
Entertainment we justify as productivity.
It’s like lugging around a suitcase for so long, we forget we were even carrying it.
You know you can just put that suitcase down, right?
Entertainment we justify as productivity.
It’s like lugging around a suitcase for so long, we forget we were even carrying it.
You know you can just put that suitcase down, right?
November 30, 2024 at 7:50 PM
Understanding is a form of grasping.
Entertainment we justify as productivity.
It’s like lugging around a suitcase for so long, we forget we were even carrying it.
You know you can just put that suitcase down, right?
Entertainment we justify as productivity.
It’s like lugging around a suitcase for so long, we forget we were even carrying it.
You know you can just put that suitcase down, right?
Play the hand you’re dealt.
November 30, 2024 at 7:49 PM
Play the hand you’re dealt.
A fantastic way to squander a life is to achieve an endless series of impressive-sounding goals only to realize afterward that you actually wanted something different.
November 30, 2024 at 7:49 PM
A fantastic way to squander a life is to achieve an endless series of impressive-sounding goals only to realize afterward that you actually wanted something different.