How Poker Helps Sales: Strategy, Confidence, and Connection by Jo Living

In 2016 I was pregnant and sat in a smokey, dimly lit Moroccan casino at 4am -  I had just beaten 200 men to win my first big international poker tournament.

The adrenaline was wild. Even before I’d made the top table, walking into a sea of men - all vying for dominance with their bravado and sharp tactics - was extremely intimidating.

As a woman working first in Investment Banking and more recently in startups and sales, I’ve often found myself navigating spaces that can feel similarly unwelcoming at first glance. But what I’ve learned - both from poker and my career - is that there’s space at the table for anyone willing to lean in.

So I was disappointed to find that even my own home games that I hosted lacked diversity. So to ‘grow the funnel’ I started teaching women in my network poker and inviting them along. I saw my them rapidly grow in confidence at the table and in their every day lives - closing client deals and landing promotions at work, and asserting healthy boundaries in their home lives too.

Negotiation: Playing the Long Game

Everyone thinks poker is about bluff, bravado and bullying, but it’s actually about deep listening, reading body language and knowing your value. Similarly, I used to think negotiation was about winning, but I’ve learned it’s about creating value for everyone at the table. In poker, you’re always balancing risk and reward, knowing when to push forward and when to step back. It’s the same in sales negotiations.

Poker has shown me the importance of patience, of not rushing to close just because the stakes feel high. Sometimes the winning move is waiting and listening - assessing the situation - before making your move.

Reading the Room: The Power of Observation

In poker, you spend as much time watching your opponents as you do playing your own hand. You’re reading their body language, tone of voice, and even their hesitations. The same is true in sales. I’ve learned to spot when a client is hesitating on a proposal, not just by their words but by their subtle cues - the pause before they respond, the way they shift in their chair, or even the tone of their emails.

Poker teaches you to listen deeply, beyond what’s being said aloud. And when you pick up on those subtleties, you can adjust your approach to meet the needs of the person across the table, whether it’s a client or a manager.

Confidence in High-Stakes Situations

Initially, playing live tournaments the nerves were off the charts. Poker is a contact sport - and it’s the same for sales. Whether it’s presenting to a room full of senior executives or negotiating a pay raise, I’ve learned to trust my preparation, play to my strengths, and stay calm under pressure. Poker has been an incredible training ground for building that confidence.

One of the most valuable lessons poker taught me is that losing isn’t failure. It’s feedback, a data point. Every hand you lose teaches you something about strategy, timing, reading the room, and also - resilience.

Aces High: A New Way to Build Sales Skills

So with this in mind, I wanted to bring poker to a new audience - to tease out essential business skills that are often hard to train for. With zero gambling and no experience necessary, Aces High uses the poker table as a proxy for the boardroom table, building skills in communication and negotiation - all skills that have helped me in my career. I’m on a one-woman mission to smash the poker stereo-types to make it inclusive, fresh and fun. By the end of the session, even the most hesitant participants are reading the room, learning about themselves, and raising the stakes.

Going all-in

If you’ve ever felt out of place at the “table” - whether it’s in poker, sales, or leadership - know this: there’s room for you. You don’t have to mimic the loudest voices or conform to outdated stereotypes to succeed. Whether you’re sitting across from a client or a poker opponent, the game is about connection, strategy, and confidence.

Poker has made me a better salesperson - and a better leader - by teaching me to read people, embrace risk, and stay composed under pressure. And I think it can help you too. Everyone can have a seat at the table, you just have to lean in.

Find out more at www.aceshighlondon.com or email jo@aceshighlondon.com