Business Lessons From Poker – Guy Laliberté

In July I did a feature on Guy Laliberté (Stick To Your Dream – Guy Laliberté), founder of Cirque Du Soleil.

I wanted to expand on that profile today by sharing how Guy compares running business to playing poker (Guy is also a skilled poker player in his free time).

“You know, in life you always have to give yourself some sort of challenge,” says Laliberté, “and for me the game of poker, because of the mathematics, the personality aspect of it, I feel very comfortable in it. It’s a great experience.”

In 2007, Laliberté shocked many onlookers by placing fourth in the fifth season of the World Poker Tour championship held at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. His total winnings of $696,220 were meager compared to his earnings from Cirque du Soleil, but they nevertheless demonstrated his poker prowess. And, as he has come to learn in his few years of playing poker at an advanced level, the game is not too different from business itself.

“I have a lot of shows here in Las Vegas, so in my free time, I go into the poker room and play there,” says Laliberté. “In life I’ve learned one thing; if you want to be good you have to connect with the best people. So I got very close to the high-stakes players here. I get to watch them and play with them a little bit.”

Connecting with the best people is not too far off from what he was trying to do with Cirque du Soleil. From scouring the globe to hire the best performing talent to partnering with the likes of Steve Wynn, the famed Las Vegas casino developer behind the likes of The Mirage and Bellagio to create his permanent Las Vegas shows, Laliberté insisted on only working with and learning from the best.

But poker, like business, is not just about who is sitting next to you; it is also about your ability to read them. “You can get killed pretty fast,” he says, “so you develop the ability to read people. If somebody is trying to take advantage, there’s a natural rejection.” To that end, Laliberté credits his time on the street with his abilities to read people well. “In the street you have to develop that instinct of trusting people and reading people because that instinct is your life saver,” he says. “That’s something you can definitely apply in the game…In some ways, we’re still a bunch of little street kids.”

Poker, like business, is also about knowing when to take risks and when to sit back and let others play the round out. Laliberté is cautious, both in poker and in business, but still a proud risk-taker nonetheless. He just first makes sure that the moves he does play out are those that he can win. “Well today I have had no hands, so I had to be very careful,” Laliberté said after one particular game of poker. “I’m kind of cruising around; I have a couple good moves but that’s about it.”

To that end, learning how to bluff has also become an important skill for Laliberté. With Cirque, he convinced the Quebec government to give him a large contract even though his production could not even get its tents up. In poker, Laliberté has learned that even a hand that may not be perfect can still be a winner.

Finally, Laliberté has learned the importance of never overestimating his own capabilities. The difference between confident and cocky is a fine line to walk, and could make all the difference in the world. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in this tournament,” he says. “I have some meetings tomorrow and Friday; I didn’t expect to go that far here. So if I go farther than today I’m in trouble! I’ll have to reschedule.”

What do you think? Is business like poker? Do the skills transfer over between the disciplines?

Matthew Toren

Matthew Toren is an Award Winning Author, Serial Entrepreneur, and Investor. He Co-Founded YoungEntrepreneur.com along with his brother Adam. Matthew is co-author of the newly released book:Small Business, Big Vision: “Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right” and also co-author of Kidpreneurs.