Naoya Kihara was, and still is, one of Japan's top poker professionals. Naoya sits in a prestigious 5th place on the Japan All Time Money List, but he was also the first Japanese player to win a WSOP bracelet in 2012. Over a decade later, he's still enthusiastic about the World Series and made a huge effort in 2024. Naoya managed to cash in 13 different bracelet events, including several 2-7 Triple Draw tournaments and other less popular formats.
Despite having other pursuits, including a child, Naoya still finds time for poker. On top of that, he publishes about some of his thoughts and experiences online – which brings us here today. A Japanese blog was lucky enough to be Naoya's publisher, which we've translated for the English speaking audience who may miss it otherwise.
Here's one of the top earning poker players in Japan, Naoya Kihara, speaking on failure, adjusting, and coming back stronger.
If you Fail, Move On by "Switching Gears"
Like other games such as shogi, if you win a poker tournament, you will receive a prize. After narrowing down your options as we discussed last time , it would be good if your hand is more likely to be stronger than your opponent's hand, but if your opponent has a stronger hand than you, you need to estimate your chances of winning to consider whether you can still win or whether you should fold.
For example, suppose you have 100 chips on the table and the other player bets 100. If you accept the 100-point bet, the risk is 100 points and the return is 200 points, so if you judge that you have a higher probability of winning than 1 in 3, you should accept the bet.
Of course, no matter how much you think about it, it's only an estimate, and you won't know if your decision was right until you actually win. If you make it to the final table, each place you place in the finals means a big difference in prize money. Sometimes a single decision can make you miss out, and when that happens, it's naturally disappointing.
However, dragging along these feelings of disappointment or frustration will not help you in the next game, but rather it will only have a negative effect. In order to win a game, in addition to the logical thinking and psychological warfare skills I mentioned last time, you also need the ability to "switch gears . "
In this final episode, I would like to talk about how to deal with luck, which is an inherent part of poker and life, and the message I want to pass on to my sons as a father.
MTT Schedule "Misfortune" at the Hands of COVID-19
Life is full of risks. In my case, I have earned a decent income by working in this job and traveling abroad to play poker for several months a year. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic began last year, I have not been able to go abroad recently. No one could have predicted this situation, but this kind of luck and misfortune in life is similar to poker, which is also dependent on luck. No matter how accurately you try to estimate, your opponent may make an unexpected move, and even if your estimates are accurate, you may suffer significant losses depending on how the game unfolds.
My trick to staying positive even in such "unfortunate" situations is to "not dwell on things that will not give you an answer even if you think about them." I think this way of thinking is related to my motto, "Do your best and wait for heaven's will."
In fact, from my school-age to adolescence, the thought "What happens when we die?" would never leave my head, and I was scared. But when I was in high school, I came to my own truth: "There's no doubt that even if you think about what happens after death, you'll never reach a conclusion, so it's pointless to think about it," and I was able to break out of the loop of unanswered worries. Since then, I've lived by the resolution that "I'll think about things that might lead to an answer, but I won't think about things that don't lead to an answer."
So even after I started playing poker as a job, I have continued to hone my thinking skills and put in the effort within my capabilities, based on the idea that "you can improve your play, but you can't improve your luck."
Even if you try to be thorough, there is a chain reaction of "when you're lucky, you play better, and when you're unlucky, you play worse." This chain reaction is not just about luck, but it's the same for life as a whole. When things aren't going well at work, you lose your composure, you start to lack consideration for others, and things don't go well. However, on the other hand, if you enjoy your work, the content of your work improves, your daily enthusiasm increases, and you are pulled along by that to improve your relationships with the people around you, creating a virtuous cycle that ultimately improves the quality of your life.
When I think about it that way, I believe what's important in life is to have a job or hobby that you enjoy, and to put yourself in an environment that is conducive to creating a virtuous cycle.
I'm Willing to Lose 99 Times in Order to Win Once
However, no matter how well you prepare the situation to create a virtuous cycle, you may fail or stumble. But it's important to move on without being dragged down by failures or stumbles. I said that the ability to "switch" and not be dragged down by a "loss" leads to strength in poker, but behind my "switch" I think there is also a "hate to lose" personality.
I think there are two types of competitive people. One is the type that "hates to lose ." Because this type "hates to lose," they may avoid challenges altogether, such as only competing with people they can beat. The other is the type that "loves to win ." I am this type, and the joy of winning far outweighs the frustration of losing, so I like to keep thinking about what I need to do to win. I think this type of person probably enjoys trial and error in figuring out what they need to do to win once, and can accept losing 99 times, which ultimately makes them tougher.
I happen to be the type of person who "likes to win," and in today's climate where equality is valued , placing a little more emphasis on the value of "going to win" may be one of the keys to living life positively .
In that sense, in my daily parenting, I try to teach my sons the attitude of thinking tenaciously and never giving up while enjoying games such as quizzes, puzzles, and running races, making small steps. When my son wins a game or a race, I celebrate with him and say, "Wow, you won!", and I try to teach him the value of winning.
My Child was Born and Poker Time Decreased Drastically
The world of poker has also become online, making it easy to play against players from all over the world, and as players' experience levels increase, the overall level of strength has risen. I myself have also become stronger, but it has become harder to maintain my position. In addition, in this situation, I have definitely been spending less time playing poker since my child was born.
Before my children were born, I played online during the hours when the poker population in Europe and the US was high, which was the middle of the night in Japan time, and slept during the day. However, after my children were born, I began to adjust my schedule to match my children's activities.
Having experienced the difficulties of child-rearing after having a child, I believe that child-rearing should be shared between husband and wife, and I also want to be primarily involved in my child's education, so I accept that making sacrifices from work is unavoidable.
(Naoya Kihara with family at the Omiya Railway Mueseum)
The Axis to Help You Side-Step the Mercy of Fate
Sometimes, as is the case with me right now, things like this can happen in life. At times like these, it may be a good idea to take a moment to calmly look at your situation, estimate the future changes in yourself and society, and reconsider your life plans . In addition to these changes in my environment, I have also come to terms with the fact that I have not been able to secure another world title for nine years since I last won one, and I feel that it is time to consider a second life.
As I mentioned in my previous article, standing at this crossroads in life, I have once again realized the strength of having many things that you can "like." Besides poker, I have many other favorite games, such as mahjong and backgammon, and perhaps I will encounter new unknown games in the future. In any case, as long as you have something you "like" as your foundation, you should be able to continue to hold the reins of your life without being at the mercy of luck .
Looking at my life in this way, I have come to the realization that as a father, I want my sons to find paths that they are comfortable with and that will enable them to demonstrate their passion and talents, and I will do my best to support them in their lives.