Winning the Loser's Game
Winning the Loser's Game
Playing better hockey by understanding the game you're actually playing
Before you can win, you have to stop losing.
Greg here, checking in to talk hockey strategy. Although, to be honest, I love just about any game that involves strategy. And we can learn a lot from looking at other disciplines.
I love finance. I work in personal finance as a financial advisor and CFP (Certified Financial Planner). Money makes people emotional and often very competitive. People like winning. How on earth though does the average Joe beat Wall Street? I’m in a compliance-driven industry so I’ll save that for another day.
For now, let me explain the foundation of how the average Joe can compete and give you the reason why it relates to sports. Let’s dig in.
In 1975 Charles Ellis wrote a piece on investing that went on to win the Graham & Dodd Award of Excellence. It was called The Loser’s Game and was based on prior work from a remarkable man, Simon Ramo.
Extraordinary Tennis for the Ordinary Tennis Player
Simon Ramo was a pioneer in the development of the microwave, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), and guided air-to-air rockets. He and his company, TRW, went on to do almost all of the general contracting for the early US Space Program. Much of his work was the reason why the USA passed the Russians in the space race. USAF General Bernard Schriever, head of the ICBM program, described Ramo as "the architect of the Thor, Atlas, and Titan" rockets. We can see he was a remarkably smart person. Simon Ramo was also an athlete who enjoyed tennis.
In 1970 Ramo came out with a book on tennis strategy, Extraordinary Tennis For The Ordinary Player. Seeing the game through his engineering lens, he identified that there were really 2 games of tennis.
(1) The Winner’s Game
(2) The Loser’s Game
When playing a sport or game there are really two games within the one game, whether you realize it or not often makes all the difference.
Winner’s Game
All points in tennis end in 1 of 3 scenarios
A winner - One player hits a shot on which the other player can’t lay a racquet.
A forced error - A player misses a shot caused by their opponent’s great play forcing them to miss the shot, even though the player got racquet to the ball.
An unforced error - A player misses a shot and it was their fault instead of being forced into the error due to their opponent’s excellent play.
A Winner’s Game is a game in which the ultimate outcome is determined by the actions of the winner. Victory is due to winning more points than the opponent by hitting winners and forcing errors.
Think of professional players such as the William’s sisters, Venus & Serena. They play a winner’s game.
Loser’s Game
Meanwhile, amateur tennis is almost entirely different. Great serves, long rallies, and brilliant shots aren’t commonplace. More often than not, you’ll see double faults, balls hit into the net, and balls hit out of bounds.
A Loser’s Game is a game in which the ultimate outcome is determined by the actions of the loser. Victory is due to losing fewer points in unforced errors than your opponent. At the end of the day, professionals and experts win points while amateurs lose points.
The amateur player rarely beats his opponent but rather beats himself all the time.
Practical Considerations
Within his research, Simon Ramo simply counted points won versus points lost.
In expert tennis, about 80 percent of the points are won
In amateur tennis, about 80 percent of the points are lost.
For those who are determined to try to win the Loser's Game, there are a few specific things you might want to consider.
Understand the game you are playing - If playing the Loser’s Game, then give the opponent as many opportunities as possible to make mistakes.
Play within yourself - Avoid trying to do things you’re not capable of or outside of your scope.
Utilize strengths - Understand what few things you do unusually well, then keep doing them over and over.
Keep it simple - Simplicity and concentration are undervalued. Most lose their way to winning by wandering in a maze of details. In football terms, ‘the best strategy in the world won’t pay off without skillful blocking and tackling.’
TWIG (Take What Is Given) - Often you cannot create opportunities. Take what is given by the opponent until the opportunity arrives.
Everyone wants to get to the point where they are playing a Winner’s Game and showing off their talent.
The starting point is understanding that you must start by trying to win by not losing.
Further Reading - Finding ways to dictate play
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