From Bloomberg:
“Someone who has made a successful living as a poker player for a few years would more likely be a good trader than someone who hasn’t,” said Aaron Brown, a 53-year-old former poker pro who is now a risk manager at AQR Capital Management LLC in Greenwich, Connecticut, which oversees $23 billion. “They know to push when they have the edge and they know how not to bust, and that’s a tough combination to find.”
Thinking in odds is a crucial point of my film.
























November 23rd, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Aaron is absolutely correct. My broker says 85% of traders that he knows end up broke within a year. From what I’ve seen, the number one reason is lacking the instinct to know when to go “all-in” and when to fold. If we do our price research, plan our entries and exits, and finally make the buy, it’s like being dealt A-K. If the flop comes out 5-7-10, you’re probably not going to win, yet it’s amazing how many people fall in love with their good cards and sit back and hope. And like I said, every buy is A-K because we’ve planned it, done the research, and fallen in love with our pick, so it’s doubly difficult to fold and live to fight another day. But, hope is not a strategy.
November 25th, 2009 at 7:36 am
Very well said! I wish I was introduced to the vast paralells between poker and trading long ago. It’s amazing how we can “fold ‘em” so quickly in one discipline and just can’t let go in the other. When i learned to play poker and took the same approach with my trading, my “folds” increased by a large amount, and I won less “pots”. BUT….I made a lot more money “at the tables!” I would love to find a book that examines the similarities between the two! Any suggestions? Thanks! Happy Holidays to all!
November 25th, 2009 at 9:07 am
There are 7 “pro poker” players listed in the cast of Michael’s film. I counted 15 “traders”, “fund managers” or “investors” in the cast. If their brand of risk management (hold em/fold em/raise/check etc)), calculated aggression, and discipline weren’t valuable learning tools, there’d be ZERO “pro poker” players in the film. I think we can all learn a little about proper risk management and discipline from both of these vastly similar fields. Whether Wall Street or the Vegas Strip, all these guys (at least the successful ones) make good, disciplined decisions over the long haul. And to become a successful “pro” at either field requires many years of dedication, education/experience, and the entreprenurial spirit that America is built on.