The beginning of my legend.
Years ago, when I’d get together with friends for our once-a-month poker game, I had a real knack for losing. I wasn’t a good player—and I made sure everyone knew it. I’d mutter about my bad luck, complain about the cards, and joke that maybe the deck had it out for me.
Eventually, like any desperate animal backed into a corner, I started playing whatever hands I got. I bluffed more than I should have. I bet on hope. And when I did have playable cards, they usually ended up being low pairs—twos, threes, maybe a four if I was lucky.
It wasn’t long before a nickname emerged. Something just slightly more flattering than “loser”: Low Two Pair. And that’s how I’d be greeted each poker night—as the guy betting on bottom-shelf cards and trying to make something out of them.
I could have protested, but honestly? It fit. I sucked it up, laughed it off, and leaned in—because the truth was, that’s exactly how I was playing the game. Lots of hands with not-so-great cards, hoping they’d be good enough to keep me in.
Eventually, though, something shifted. I stopped thinking of poker as just a game. I started seeing it as a metaphor.
Life deals you cards every day—in the people you meet, the jobs you take, the health battles you fight, the relationships you grow or lose. Sometimes, the cards are incredible—a dream job, perfect timing, a full house kind of season. Other times, you get dealt the low two pair.
You don’t get to trade your hand. All you can do is decide how you’ll play it.
That idea stuck with me. It became more than a funny nickname—it became a lens through which I saw everything. And from that came something new: The Thought of the Day and The Question of the Day. Small daily reflections to help you think more deeply about the cards you’ve been dealt, and how you might play them a little better today.
Some days, life gives you a royal flush. Other days, you’re hanging on with Low Two Pair. Either way, you’re still in the game.
Welcome to the table.
