Step 6. Performance Analysis – Preparation

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”

The above quotation is said to have been stated by Peter Drucker, a renowned management consultant.  It was targeted at the world of operating companies, where Drucker was pointing out that if a management team is not able to measure an aspect of a business it will never be possible to manage it properly.  Obviously this is because management will be unable to ascertain how performance of that aspect is evolving and how it responds to changes in strategy.

The more appropriate quote for Texas Holdem poker and investing is “If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it”.  Apart from replacing “it” with “yourself” the other one word difference is important – the first “can’t” is replaced with a “don’t”.  In business sometimes there are processes that are difficult to measure, and so perhaps management have to come up with an alternative method for measurement.  No such excuse exists for poker players and investors.  The statistics that need to be measured to monitor and analyse performance are well known.  And typically it is relatively easy, with a little bit of self-discipline, to both obtain your results and analyse statistics using computer software.

One of the most important parts of monitoring performance is the preparation necessary to ensure that a poker player / investor can adequately record results and then convert the results into information that can be used for performance analysis.  Without sufficient preparation before starting to play poker and invest, trying to monitor performance will be very difficult down the road.

And not measuring and analysing performance is likely to make it very difficult, and perhaps impossible to achieve positive returns from both Texas Holdem and investing.

This section deals with the issue of making the appropriate preparations to ensure that you can easily and effectively monitor your returns in as much detail as required to help consistently improve your skills and results.