Celebrity Apprentice is a lot like poker!

Sunday, March 22, 2009 - Annie Duke

When I found out that I was going to be part of the new season of The Celebrity Apprentice I had actually never seen the show, Celebrity version or otherwise. So, in full games player style, I got a hold of the first season of the show and watched every second of it to start devising a strategy for the game. Because that is all Apprentice is, a game. And all games have an optimal strategy.

It turns out that Apprentice is a lot like poker and I could really bring to bear quite a bit of the skill and strategy I apply to poker to this new game. First, there is a similar random factor. It helps if you happen to get tasks that are already in your skill set. Sometimes you screw up and would end up on the chopping block but your team wins so you get a pass for the week. That is luck. And sometimes Trump just takes a shine to you (or doesn’t) and that can be very helpful or really hurt you and you often have little control of that. So, just like when you get all in with AA vs 55 and a 5 hits, there are things on the game Apprentice that you really have no control over and kind of just really need those things to go your way.

That being said, you really do have control over the vast majority of things in the game. And those are the things that I really focused on. The first thing I knew what that I did not have enough celebrity to get any kind of pass early in the game. That meant that I needed to take control of the table, just like you take control of a poker table. Make people know you are there and be afraid of getting involved in a pot with you because you are dangerous. I knew I had to do this in this game so Trump would see that I was valuable on the show, that I naturally would cause controversy.

So I came in the game raising. Being aggressive. Because when you are the aggressive one, your opponents then are forced to make decisions in regards to you and that gives them opportunities to make mistakes. Taking an aggressive stance at the poker table gives you control and stops you from being nearly as handcuffed to the cards. Taking control in the Apprentice gives you a similar advantage because it allows you some leeway in the boardroom. The aggression just makes it less likely you will get fired because that is a show it is good to make waves on, just like at a poker table.

Now, when you play poker you also need to be able to change gears. Because once you have established the aggression players will start coming after you and stop giving you credit for quality hands. When that happens you need to change gears, slow it down, play against image so that players now giving you too little credit will impale themselves on the great hands you are now playing.

I did a similar thing on Apprentice. Having come out aggressive, getting focus on me, and pissing off some of my team members, I pulled it back by the time episode three rolled around. I had done my job in the first couple of tasks, gotten Trump to pay attention. Gotten my team to pay attention to my presence. But now it was time to go against image. I became the completely cooperative person who just worked my ass off and raised a ton of money. Without saying a peep. That shows versatility which is really important in the game. Players with no versatility, only one note, tend to only make it midway in that show and I was trying to play a strategy that was more likely to get long term success.

Playing the more conservative approach in episode 3 was my gear change. I sat back and started watching my competitors to see how I could manage their expectations of me in a way that would help me succeed…exactly what you do at a poker table every minute you play. Poker is all about managing people’s expectations of you. So is Apprentice.

Keep watching to see how it all plays out.