Losers! How to Avoid Becoming One

The chances of a person drawing a royal flush is the same regardless of who he is. But why do some people lose so much and why do other people seem so damn lucky. You know the rules and you know the odds, why is it your still losing. Loser? Probably not, but to make sure check out this list. It won’t guarantee winning but might help you avoid the loser tag.

1. Decide on how much you are willing to lose (and win)

People lose a lot of money gambling due to lack of planning. They gamble way over their head because they don’t know when to stop. The reason being they didn’t plan when to stop.

2. Don’t borrow other people’s money to gamble

If you can’t afford to lose money, don’t play in the first place. The added pressure of playing someone else’s money is too much. Losing your own money is difficult enough, so if you don’t have some, don’t play.

3. Set the alarm.

If you’ve already decided how much you’re willing to lose, well and good. Now it’s time to set a time limit. You can’t play forever and you shouldn’t., especially if you’re playing in a casino. The games favor the house in all cases, the longer you play the chances of you losing increases. So, set the alarm and then leave when it goes off.

4. Time out

Don’t play continuously without a break. The excitement and the adrenalin can probably get you going non-stop but when fatigue sets in, you start making bad decisions and make mistakes. So, rest up and relax. Then go back in.

5. Do other stuff.

Preoccupying yourself with only gambling breaks your inner balance. True, focusing gets good results but focusing only on one thing alone leads to bad things. Doing other things gives you a different perspective on other things that you do, it gives you possible insights that you may miss when focused on one thing only.

6. Don’t gamble when you're stressed or emotional

Not being in the right frame of mind can cost you big on the table. The most obvious thing that you would be lacking is focus. If your mind is preoccupied with other things and the state of your emotions is a mess. Those things lead to poor judgment and critical mistakes.

Simple plays become more difficult and most things become confusing. The poor emotional state you are in means playing emotionally instead of smartly.

Becoming a Great Networker: Connecting With Others

If you are hiring people now, you know that there are plenty of great candidates. How do you discover the best of them? Often, great candidates come to your attention because of their networking. That means if you want to be a great hiring manager, you need to pay attention to and cultivate your network.
I was coaching a manager recently who was going through a rough patch in his organization. I asked what the worst thing was that could happen. He said, “I could be fired and have to find a new job.” Since he’s been working for more than 20 years, I said,
“You have plenty of contacts, surely you can at least network with people, right?”
He sheepishly said, “I have not been keeping up with my networking.”
Ouch. Managers need to develop and maintain their networks, especially
if they are not looking for a job. People will see you as a resource. You will hear about the people looking for jobs before others do. You can provide candidates information on people in your network who are hiring. You can introduce people. People at all levels will want to stay in touch with you.kk
(If you’ve been to any of my management talks, you know I talk about getting rid of people who can’t jell with a team or can’t do the work. If you have one of those employees, you can find someone in your network to take that person off your hands. People work better in some places rather than others. Take advantage of your network to move those people out of your organization. Yes, this is why
you should network with your competitors.)
Here’s what I do:
Decide which networking site you decide to use. I like LinkedIn. You might decide to use some other site, but for me, LinkedIn is right for business.Make sure you have a complete profile on whatever site you choose. I’m always amazed when people ask for help networking and they don’t have a recent professional picture, or they haven’t completed their experience portion of their profile. When you ask people to connect, they may not remember you. Seeing your smiling face will help them remember.Make connections with your colleagues at organizations you’ve worked for in the past, alumni groups from those organizations, managers you’ve known, school alumni groups, possibly even religious affiliation groups. Connect with people you know are professionals and will be willing to network with you.Affiliate yourself with like-minded people. If you’re serious about networking, make sure you join a group or two. (If you are like me, you can’t help but join lots of groups.) Then make sure you connect directly with the people in those groups.If you have a blog or personal site, link to it. If you don’t have a personal site, link to your company’s site or blog.
The more work-based information people can discover about you, the more valuable you will be to them in their networking. And, once they find a job, they will think of you and how valuable you were to them. Now, you may well be the person they think of first. And that is the essence of networking–how to be the person other people think of first.
Hiring managers, or even plain managers, or technical leads, or anyone who thinks they might need to find a job in the future: pay attention to your network. Spend a few minutes every week asking people to connect. I’ll talk about recommendations in the next post.

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More of the past is becoming the present

I like cheap cars, and I cannot lie. Not that I mind testing $70,000 luxo-sedans or $98,000 sports cars, but reviewing entry-level, bottom-of-the-line cars is my true passion. Let's face it: Anyone can build a nice car to sell for fifty grand, but providing good value for $15,000 or less -- especially considering all the safety equipment now mandated by the Fed -- well, that's no easy feat.

The 2011 version of my cheapest cars list once again highlights the 20 least expensive cars in the US market, telling you which ones are best buys and which ones are best left on the dealer's lot. Compared to last year's list, there are two new additions: The $13,995 Ford Fiesta takes the #8 spot and the $14,795 Mazda2 premieres at #11, knocking the Toyota Corolla and the Scion xB off the bottom of the list. Another last-minute addition is the all-new 2011 Hyundai Elantra. After seeing the car at the Los Angeles Auto Show, I expected it to be priced right off the list, but surprise, surprise! The new Elantra is only $685 more than last year's model, and so it stays on, down just one spot to #12.

At this point, the list is a work in progress; Smart has yet to announce exact pricing for the mildly-redesigned 2011 ForTwo, and the same goes for the Honda Fit. Scion is also holding out on its new iQ minicar, but it's sure to wind up on the list. Chrysler has announced pricing for the Fiat 500 -- $15,500 -- and assuming the destination fee is the same as other Chrysler models ($750), it'll be taking up residence on Page Two once it goes on sale.

I'm starting to ramble (see, I told you I love cheap cars!), so if you want to get the skinny, check out the list: Cheapest cars of 2011. -- Aaron Gold

Photo ? Mazda

Greetings from Arizona! We decided to get a jump on the Thanksgiving holiday traffic by heading out to my folks a little early. I see every road trip as a potential for experimentation, and this time I decided to try a four-cylinder SUV. Read more...

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Tonight at 10 pm (9 pm central, and goodness knows when in Arizona) on the History Channel, Top Gear USA will finally hit the airwaves (or, I suppose, the cable-waves). I've been waiting a long, long time for this -- and I don't just mean the last few months of making the show. I mean, like, years.

I'm really happy with the way the show came out, and I'm not just saying that as a staffer -- I'm saying that as a true Top Gear fanatic. Amazing cars, fantastic cinematography, lots of idiocy, and plenty of tire-smoking antics courtesy of Tanner. Episode One is pretty darn good, and the show will get even better in the coming weeks. Check it out tonight and be sure to let me know what you think. -- Aaron Gold

The Los Angeles Auto Show is now open to the public. So how is this year's show? It's good...but a bit quiet.

One thing that was missing was the pessimistic attitude that hung over -- well, pretty much every major auto show for the last couple of years. Still, the show is a little short on flourish but pretty solid on substance. Rather than hold a press conference for the nifty little Urban Luxury Concept, for example, Cadillac simply put the car on display with little fanfare. World premieres were few and far between, though they did include some notable cars such as the Nissan Quest and Mazda5 minivans, as well as the Porsche Cayman R and Nissan's whimsical (and production-ready) Murano SUV convertible.

Not that everything was quiet. Ford probably has the best booth of the show -- not only are they showing the all-new 2012 Focus, but they have a slot-car track modeled after the Laguna Seca raceway (complete with elevation changes!) and will be doing real-live dynamometer runs with a real-live Mustang Boss 302.

By far, my favorite vehicle at the show was the Jaguar C-X75 concept. Not only is it breathtakingly beautiful, but it's got the niftiest powertrain I've ever seen. It's a range-extended EV, with a plug-in battery pack that powers four electric motors (one for each wheel) for up to 67 miles. When the battery runs out -- or when extra power is needed for high speed -- the C-X75 has on-board generators driven by a pair of miniature jet engines. No, I am not making this up. Sadly, Jaguar will not be doing any demonstration runs of the car -- I'm sure the car's exhaust temperature (680 degrees F) wouldn't sit well with the fire marshal...

Anyway, you can check out all the new and notable cars in my Los Angeles Auto Show photo gallery. If you're thinking about visiting, my LA Show Visitor's Guide will tell you when to go and how to get there. Special thanks to Dwane Ferry for helping out with the photos. -- Aaron Gold

Photo ? Aaron Gold

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