Difference Between Poker and the Stock Market

[DcifrThs]

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There is no comparison. Most investment pros dont play poker and only few poker players are great investors.

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i agree with your conclusion that poker and stocks are very different. especially when it comes to investing.

but this statement is very bad proof. just because few participants of game A choose don't play or aren't good at game B, doesn't mean that game A and B aren't similar.

it could mean that the skills and work necessary are different but the structure is similar. or that they are indeed structurally different. but participants of game X which is identifiably structurally different than game Y could be bad at the other or choose not to play it.

the overall point though i agree with b/c the structural basis can be compared and i don't think they are similar for the most part.

Barron

[ahnuld]

ok but the apptitude one needs for poker is the same apptitudes necessary to be a successful investor. Am I really the only guy here who plays poker professionally?

[DcifrThs]

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ok but the apptitude one needs for poker is the same apptitudes necessary to be a successful investor. Am I really the only guy here who plays poker professionally?

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i used to and agree on the apititudes. but that isn't (at least how i read it) the question being asked.

the question is "how is poker similar/different than the stock market"

not "how are the skills necessary to beat poker similar/different than the skills necessary to beat the stock market?"

DUCY [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Barron

[skindog]

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ok but the apptitude one needs for poker is the same apptitudes necessary to be a successful investor. Am I really the only guy here who plays poker professionally?

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I'm with you here... in fact, lately I have been thinking about how much poker has helped me to attain clarity about variance.

For example, learning emotional control for wide swings if you know what you're doing is right is absolutely necessary in order to avoid going insane while playing poker. Same goes for investing - if you don't learn emotional control you're often going to be far too skittish to make any money. A bad news surprise (ie a bad beat) could come and you'll quit the position, even if the bad news doesn't really affect your initial outlook.

There are a ton of differences and a ton of other skills you need. If you learn how to handle money losses well but you don't know how to invest you'll be worse off than the average investor - you'll hold those bag stocks until they hit the ground. But if you know how to spot deals and your investing is solid, poker definitely helps with coping with the variance. Or at least it has helped me slightly.

Just my 2 cents.

[.KeviN.]

In poker, you're playing the game to take money from other people. In stocks you're not really hurting anybody other than yourself.

[adios]

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ok but the apptitude one needs for poker is the same apptitudes necessary to be a successful investor.

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Nope. Do I have to play the Warren Buffet trump card? In fact one of the successful "traders" in one of the Market Wizards books (forget which one) states he was a terrible poker player.

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Am I really the only guy here who plays poker professionally?

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I don't see the relevance.

[skindog]

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ok but the apptitude one needs for poker is the same apptitudes necessary to be a successful investor.

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Nope. Do I have to play the Warren Buffet trump card? In fact one of the successful "traders" in one of the Market Wizards books (forget which one) states he was a terrible poker player.

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Am I really the only guy here who plays poker professionally?

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I don't see the relevance.

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Just because you can find people that are good investors and terrible poker players doesn't mean some of the skills/approaches aren't shared between both poker and investing. Others, like hand reading or stock valuation, obviously aren't shared.

For example, a large part of poker is emotional control/keeping it together during downswings. Emotional control is a huge part of trading/investing - try trading with the sheep mentality, selling whenever you hear bad news and get slightly scared - and see the types of returns you get!

I'm sure there are a lot of other examples

edit: for clarity, I don't know how to communicate

[krishan]

I thought of something I thought was insightful enough to bump this stupid thread.

With investing you never get to cash out your wins. Since portfolio size determines a large part of your ability earn in raw dollers, all gains are usually immeidately put to work (or are already at work-paper gains). This means you generally have the ability to get wiped out even after years of good performance.

Poker players require a fixed amount of capital and above that can cash out safely. The cashed out piece never needs to be risked ever again (for a serious overrolled conservative gambler). This is a big difference as people/parents always worry if you are just on a hot streak and the possiblity of losing all your winnings remains just around the corner as it does with investing. With poker, you generally can't lose it all back.

Krishan

[SlowHabit]

With poker, you know right away you're a fool.

With the stock market, you might never know.

[stephenNUTS]

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With poker, you know right away you're a fool.

With the stock market, you might never know.

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Priceless!