Something that Texas Hold'em illustrated for me is the difference between good decisions and good outcomes. People often conflate the two, tending to judge choices by their results. If something works out, they pat themselves on the back. If it crashes and burns, they beat themselves up. But poker shows why this thinking is fundamentally flawed.
In Texas Hold'em, you're dealt two private cards and share five community cards with other players. These community cards come in stages - the flop (first three), the turn (fourth card), and the river (final card) - with betting after each round. Your goal is simple: win as much as you can, and in hands you can't win, lose as little as possible.
During this process you're working with limited information. You don't know what cards your opponents hold or what community cards will appear next. You make decisions based solely on what you can see (your own cards), what you observe (other's betting patterns), and what you've learned (other's tendencies).
This creates situations where good decisions can lead to terrible outcomes. Take pocket aces - the strongest starting hand possible. If someone goes all-in pre-flop and you have pocket aces, the mathematically correct decision is to call. You're heavily favored to win.
But sometimes you'll lose anyway. Does that mean calling was wrong? No. It was the right decision with an unfortunate outcome.
The key is to separate process from results. Focus on making the best decisions with the information you have, not on trying to guarantee a perfect outcome. Because in the long run, if you consistently make good decisions, the outcomes will take care of themselves.
