# If you think…

Source: https://poker.academy/blog/post/thinking-poker
Author: Gio
Published: 2023-07-01 · Updated: 2023-07-11
Category: Mindset

![If you think…](https://poker.academy/wp-media/2023/07/ifyouthink.jpg)

> If you think you are beaten, you are;
> If you think you dare not, you don’t.
> If you’d like to win, but you think you can’t,
> It is almost a cinch you won’t.
> 
> If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost;
> For out in this world we find
> Success begins with a fellow’s will
> It’s all in the state of mind.
>
> If you think you’re outclassed, you are;
> You’ve got to think high to rise.
> You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
> You can ever win the prize.
>
> Life’s battles don’t always go
> To the stronger or faster man;
> But soon or late the man who wins
> Is the one who thinks he can!
>
> Walter D. Wintle

I don’t know who needs to read this, but this poem represents the ultimate truth not only in poker, but also in life. I would say it is more “visible” in the game we play because it pushes us to the edge all the time; in life, you can take a break here and there, but as a poker player, you experience miniature lives many times over throughout your poker career.

Take note: read this great poem before or after your next session; print it and put it on the wall, if you will… And never forget that the main difference between all of us is what we think. I won’t spend the next 10 rows explaining exactly what you should and more importantly, what you shouldn’t think; I really hope that you get it, and this is **the-wake-up-call-to-action**.

> Good luck in your thinking!

“**Thinking**” is a poem written by [Walter D. Wintle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_D._Wintle), a poet who lived in the late 19th and early 20th century. Little to nothing is known about any details of his life. “Thinking” is also known as “**The Man Who Thinks He Can**“.