Gladiator is considered one of the best films of the 2000s. This epic won various accolades at the box office and earned a lot of praise from the critics as well for its visuals, dialogues, story, and most of all – its characterization. The powerful Roman general turned gladiator, Maximus Decimus Meridius is one of the greatest movie characters of all time. Maximus got betrayed by his own people and sold into slavery. But he overcame all the obstacles in his life with his determination and ultimately took his revenge by killing Commodus –the evil emperor and killer of his family.
But, it is not just an action movie!
Maximus teaches us so many precious lessons about honor, optimism, discipline, patience, and bravery. In context of Poker, here are some of his amazing personality traits which might inspire you to make your inner ‘Gladiator’ wake up and provide you with a new sense of direction to your approach towards the game. You will be amazed by knowing how much you can accomplish applying these learnings in your game.
1. Fearlessness:-
“Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back.”
No matter how chaotic the situation is, Maximus never lets the fear of uncertainty stops him from doing what he wants. That’s something you can relate to when you play Poker. Sometimes, players hesitate to take bold decisions due to the fear of losing money. Poker is a game of incomplete information. It is difficult to determine the best and worst decision in any given situation. If you play scared, you won’t be able to implement critical thinking and decision making ability at the tables effectively. Your every move at the table on the basis of your observation of your opponent’s gameplay as well as your understanding of pot odds and human psychology. Never get afraid of leaving your comfort zone and take calculated risks.
2. Never Give Up:-
“I am required to kill, so I kill. That is enough.”
Regardless of the severity of the circumstances, Maximus never loses his calm or allow grief to consume him. Even during his slavery period, he doesn’t complain about the situations thrown at him because he understands the fact that to climb a mountain, you need to pass through several hurdles. It is true that whenever we suffer a bad beat, we find ourselves consumed with negative thoughts and feelings like anger and anxiety. But, how many times you can get upset over a certain thing? Losing control over your emotions simply means losing control over your game. We start making bad decisions due to ‘tilt’ and ultimately lose all our remaining chips. A good player knows how important it is to train the brain how to avoid thinking negatively in order to take quick and rational decisions at the game table.
3. Commitment:-
“I will have my vengeance.”
Maximus had the motivation of another level, which pushed him to pursue his goals. He always felt that something is coming his way that is going to change the situation in his favor. In Poker, if you don’t have the passion for the game, you can’t think of winning big. Learning the basic Poker rules, concepts, and techniques to play is not enough. You need to spend a good amount of time and effort practicing the game. Commitment towards constant improvement provides you energy and enthusiasm to do your best. Don’t wait for any aid or external influence to motivate you to improve your performance. Always stay positive, build on your strengths, and work hard to eradicate your weaknesses that impede your success.
Maximus was a larger-than-life character and Poker is a larger-than-life game as well. So, in order to achieve great levels of success at the Poker tables, start implementing the traits of this warrior in your game.
