When somebody tells you that poker is a nonsense game, and that there is not much to learn from it, then that somebody is very wrong. You can learn many lessons in life right at the poker table.
In poker and in life, it is vital that you learn perfect timing - that is, when to give up and when to fight. You cannot always attack, and you cannot also always sit back. There's a time for everything, and to be successful in poker and life, you must know when to make your move.
There are people who always go for it, and in poker they are called aggressive players. The problem is, they do not know when to stop and think about their actions for a while. Their aggressiveness gets them into trouble, more often than not. If you are having consecutive bad hands, do you still raise? Of course not. It is the same with life, there is such a thing as waiting for the opportune time.
However, always folding is also not a good trait, may it be in life or in poker. If you are too afraid that something will happen to you, then nothing positive will really happen in your life. It will always be the same thing day in and day out. You will get old regretting all the chances you let pass. It is the same with poker. Sometimes you have to be brave and go see the turn once in a while, even if your cards are not that good. What if fate smiles at you and gives you some luck but you are too afraid to take a chance and smile back?
Life and poker both require perseverance and luck. But relying on either of them too much is not very wise. It is true that you should never give up just because you had your losses. However it is also true that if you want to try again, then you must really work hard to be a better player than the time you lost. Wishing to for luck is not all that bad either. It is only bad when you concentrate on wishing all the time and forget about playing soundly. It would be a shame to be forever expecting your cards to win matches for you. If that would be the case, then there would be no such thing as a good poker player. Why? Because good poker players win games, good hands or not.