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Life is Poker, Not Chess - by Robin Guo - The Bird's Nest

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Before we get into the essay, this week we’re hosting Nigel Eccles (founder of Fanduel, valued at $31B) for office hours to talk all things consumer / sports betting / crypto. Link here. Very pertinent to the essay. Friday the 19th at 1PM PT. If you missed it subscribe to our substacks so you don’t miss the next one! On to the essay. Four years ago I walked away from a guaranteed promotion at McKinsey and a $300K private equity offer to go work in gaming for a third of the salary. I moved across the country from NYC to LA, leaving behind friends and family I'd spent my entire life with. That's called going all in. I've been fascinated with poker since I was a kid, playing games with my parents at 12, grinding through late night college sessions, studying game theory optimal strategies and probability tables. But it wasn't until I'd been in VC for a while that I fully appreciated what poker really teaches us about life. See, in chess, the "correct" move is correct regardless of outcome.

Life is Poker, Not Chess On applying lessons from the felt to real life Robin Guo Sep 18, 2025 602 28 101 Share Lemme deal you some life wisdom Before we get into the essay, this week we’re hosting Nigel Eccles (founder of Fanduel , valued at $31B) for office hours to talk all things consumer / sports betting / crypto. Link here . Very pertinent to the essay. Friday the 19th at 1PM PT. If you missed it subscribe to our substacks so you don’t miss the next one! On to the essay. Subscribe Four years ago I walked away from a guaranteed promotion at McKinsey and a $300K private equity offer to go

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