Most of us don’t play to win in life—we play not to lose. So argues Pasha Esfandiary, who rose from humble, unhappy origins to found a wildly successful company and achieve happiness using techniques he learned playing high-stakes poker.

In this riveting narrative—part memoir, part personal development guide—he shares the secrets and strategies top poker players use to make optimal decisions under intense pressure. In colorful language, Esfandiary demonstrates how poker pros control emotion, read people, leverage money, and weigh risk versus reward. His clear, practical steps for applying these and other techniques to living allow readers to establish and meet goals with the determination of a poker champ. “Lifetime expected value,” the touchstone of top poker players, can be used to make better decisions on a daily basis, building our expertise and intuition.

Learn how to go all-in in every part of life, from business and investing to health and family, with such proven poker strategies. Using compelling examples from his storied poker career, Esfandiary shows readers how to get comfortable with risk, make better decisions, raise the stakes, and play to win.