Passion

"Lots of pros aren't passionate about what they do, and it shows. I love poker. I love everything about it. It's the best game in the world. I'm always trying to improve my game and to move up. I have a huge advantage over those of my opponents who only play because it's their job." — Phil Ivey

Everything starts with passion ...

That said, this kind of passion isn't one that I seemed predestined to have. We often assume that children inherit their parents' quirks and qualities, even though it's seldom the case. But neither poker nor any other betting game ever made it past the doorstep of our house while I was growing up. My father, Luc Duhamel, who has worked as a machinist at Pratt and Whitney for the past 30 years, and my mother, Johanne Grenier, a teller at the Desjardins credit union in Boucherville, taught me from a very young age that money doesn't grow on trees ... or on cards.

My parents instilled in me the values of hard work, self-discipline and integrity early on. They taught by example. At 13, I was spending most of my summer picking strawberries on farms in the Montérégie region. At 16, I was putting in more than 30 hours a week in the stockroom of the Provigo grocery store in Boucherville. I've never been afraid of work, be it physical or intellectual. That's still true today. It wasn't until I was in my early twenties that the idea that I might be able to make a lot of money playing poker started to germinate in my mind.

* * *

I remember very clearly the first time I played poker. I was 15 or 16. It was a Friday night in Boucherville, and I was hanging out with some friends in a friend's basement watching TV. A totally typical night, one like so many others from that time in my life. And that's when my initiation took place. The older brother of the friend whose house we were in came down to hang out with us and suggested we play a game of five-card draw. We ended up playing all night, without any stakes — just for fun.

I don't know if you can use the term "love at first sight" to describe such unremarkable circumstances, but let's just say that I was immediately taken by the game. It was simple and complex all at the same time. It had strategy, suspense, doubt and excitement, and it involved calculations that appealed to my mathematical side. And then there was the luck factor. The game might not have been so appealing if it wasn't for that key element. It was like a game of chess with a dose of chance thrown in. The combination of all of those elements led me to fall in love with poker, and it's a feeling that has never wavered.

Soon after that night, I started playing several nights a week with some kids from the neighborhood, but always for very small stakes. Betting made the game more complete and thrilling, but it wasn't the heart of why we liked to play. That had more to do with the game itself. We started out playing five-card draw and then moved on to all sorts of other variations. Initially, Texas Hold'em didn't appeal to us much because we thought it didn't offer much action. We preferred a variation where we could bluff more, which seemed to open up the game and make it a lot more exciting. But as we got better, Texas Hold'em became our favorite variation. Hold'em requires much more skill and strategy than the traditional five-card game, partly because five of your seven cards are community cards that are shared by all players. And the fact that it's easier to play and to understand makes it easier to find other people to play. That's why it's become so popular over the past decade.

I think back fondly on that period of learning and discovery. I spent a lot of time on the internet in those days, seeking out information, adding to my body of knowledge, studying strategy and, eventually, playing at free-to-play tables. At some point, one of my friends put down $20 online, and I watched as he played it. After that, I started betting small amounts, and participating in online tournaments in which I had a moderate amount of success. I think I've proven by now that I have the qualities necessary to get to the top of the game, but you'd be wrong to think it all happened by magic. It isn't magic for anyone. I lost more than I won, but I was constantly improving and, more importantly, my thirst for knowledge and my passion for the game always remained strong.

* * *

Passion for the game can take many different forms. For people who are motivated by risk, that passion can extend to any game of chance, from roulette to blackjack to backgammon. But that passion can also begin and end with poker, as it does with me. Or it can be conflated with the allure of easy money, which, I should stress, doesn't make for a very long career. And then there are people who have a real and ongoing infatuation with poker but who never feel the need to scale up their study of the game.

One thing's for sure though: anyone who's ever had real success at poker started out feeling that passion for the game, and they still feel it in one way or another. It's the trigger, the first step and the prerequisite for moving forward and winning in a consistent way.

ACCORDING TO JONATHAN: "I believe passion is a prerequisite for success — it's the fuel for the fire. You can work to keep it lit, but you can't create it if there isn't already a spark. That's what makes it such an invaluable asset."

The passion I'm referring to here is for the game of poker itself. I'm not talking about a lust for money or fame or victory, even though they tend to be the goal of most competitions. I'm also not talking about the enthusiasm of the casual player who likes to play but doesn't feel like investing in the game. What I'm talking about is an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and self-improvement. The foundation of that passion is humility, an awareness of one's weaknesses and shortcomings and the unshakeable belief in the possibility for improvement that comes from devoting time and effort to the game and being willing to make all the necessary sacrifices. Passion isn't the sole factor, but everything else follows from it. It's what compels you to do everything it takes to move forward, to acquire discipline, self-control, a good sense of observation and all the other skills I'll talk about in this book.

In this respect, the poker player's passion is no different from the passion that drives people to excel in other fields. Think of hockey players who start off with a love for the game and the skills to advance, but who have to put in years of practice and sacrifice to get to the NHL. Think of those young players who at 16, or even sometimes younger, leave their families and friends to go play in the junior leagues, where they spend hours every week traveling on buses from one small town to the next, bound by a rigorous routine and required to put in the effort that's needed to excel in an extremely competitive environment every single day. And they all do it without any guarantee they'll make it to the NHL. The thing that makes these kids willing to give up the regular life of a teenager is passion for the sport, and the hope that they might one day be part of an elite group.

I'm thinking here too of Guy Laliberté — founder of Cirque du Soleil — a man I'm lucky enough to know and whose company I enjoy immensely. Here's a guy who turned his...