Use Poker Skills to Help in Your Day Trading

It may seem strange, but poker players and traders have a lot in common. Anyone who has worked for a trading firm has probably learned about these correlations, and may have even been asked if they played poker in their interview!

Playing poker definitely aids in trading. First off, I will point out that poker is not gambling. Rather poker is a game that is played player vs. player(s), not against the "house" like most gambling games are. This means that if a player is disciplined, waits for good opportunities, is able to play with the odds, and remain cool under pressure they will win over the long run. Does this sound like trading at all? It should, because these same qualities are what traders must posses while in the markets.

I have never been a big believer in using trading simulators or fake money in learning to trade or play poker. The emotions an individual feels will be much different when using fake money than when real money is on the line. Therefore, simulated results do not accurately reflect what real world performance would be.

I have been an avid poker player for the last several years, and I must admit that trading has helped my poker game, and my poker play has helped my trading. This may be a bit of a "What came first? The chicken or the egg?" argument, but that really does not matter. What is important is that playing poker can actually help your trading. Poker is a slower pace and can be played with smaller amounts of money than the markets, therefore it is a good training ground for building discipline and the other qualities I mentioned earlier.

The bonus is that poker play can bring in additional revenue, on top of trading, and can be traded 24 hours a day/7 days a week.