It's no secret that some of the brightest minds in business love the game of poker. Bill Gates himself played many a game with his lifelong compadre, Steve Ballmer, in their dorm rooms until 6 in the morning before dropping out of Harvard to start Microsoft.

Even Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, wrote about "Everything I Know About Business I Learned From Poker" on his lessons in his blog

1. "Cash is king" - this is something that every MBA student has drilled into him, and in poker this is no less true as well. While credit is great, recent economic times has shown how quickly the dominoes fall when the life blood of capitalism dry up.

2. With all that said, don't let good money chase bad bets. Ok, you miscalculated the odds that your competitor would call your bluff. Now you're in for half your stack. What do you do? Sometimes it's best to cut your losses, and other times the best deals are the ones you walk away from.

3. "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles," said Sun Tzu in the Art of War. It's said that if you can't figure out who the donkey is at your table.. Know your own strengths. Then, hire others better than you to take care of the rest. Too many of us are worried more about looking good, rather than simply having the best people at the right jobs. Guy Kawasaki says, "In the Macintosh Division, we had a saying, 'A player hire A players; B players hire C players'--... On the other hand, mediocre people hire candidates who are not as good as they are, so they can feel superior to them. (If you start down this slippery slope, you'll soon end up with Z players; this is called The Bozo Explosion. It is followed by The Layoff.) I have come to believe that we were wrong--A players hire A+ players, not merely A players. It takes self-confidence and self-awareness, but it's the only way to build a great team.'"

4. Understand your market - too many would-be entrepreneurs worry about incorporation and legal entities before having a clear understanding of what their potential customers want / need. The best poker players talk about table feel and position. Similarly, are you a first mover into a market or late in the game? What will it take to get critical mass? Are your customers' needs changing? How do you respond?

5. Be clear about your marketing message but willing to adapt and change. Are you telling the other players that you're an aggressive player or a passive one? In defining your service or product offering, are you a premium brand or a bargain? While sending mixed messages may confuse your customers, maybe it's time for you to change your approach. Your competitors won't expect it, and done right you may delight the market.

6. People tend to think of bluffing as lying, but another Sun Tzu maxim is that "all warfare is deception." Similarly, in business you need to act "as if." Guy Laliberté, creator of Cirque du Soleil, convinced the Quebec government to give him a large contract even though he could barely even get its tents up. Consider this - convincing your client that you're the best choice to deliver on-time under-budget is a "lie" until it's true.

7. Similarly, reputations and credentials only go so far. Each day is a new game and a new opportunity to prove yourself. Sometimes my MBA or CV may help me to get my foot in the door, but I don't expect any more advantages beyond that. You may earn a reputation as a good aggressive player, but if you're distracted and the cards just aren't going your way, none of that matters.

8. Sometimes more important than knowing how / when to act is simply having the courage to "just do it." Too many winning hands are folded too quickly due to a lack of conviction. They believe that the other player is bluffing but are afraid to go with it.

9. Fail forward faster - life happens. Sometimes the cards don't go your way, similarly, sometimes the best business plans fail. What did you learn? How will you carry these lessons into your next game?

10. Learn from the 'bad beats" - the failed sales call, the deal that fell apart because the landlord and tenant couldn't see eye-to-eye. Tomorrow's another day. Just dust yourself off, and get moving. Remember that saying - Some Will .. Some Won't .. So What .. Someone's Waiting!