In Joni Mitchell's classic song, The Circle Game, there’s a line which says: ‘We can’t return, we can only look behind from where we came. And go round and round and round in the circle game.’ I don’t have any idea whether Mitchell is a poker player in addition to being a singer/songwriter, but her lyrics are as applicable to poker as they are to the cycle of life.

After all, poker theory also moves, turns, and changes with time, and the poker strategies that worked incredibly well a year or so ago might not work very well today. As players begin to adapt and change their game based on what many players are doing at the table, the smart, savvy player has to stay one step ahead of them, and adjust his strategic thinking to stay ahead of the curve.