Day Trading & Poker
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.
I will continually add to this page, bringing forth poker lessons and trading lessons and the correlations between them.
I recommend that you open a poker account. Here are two sites that I currently use:
Carbon Poker
Carbon Poker offers sign up bonuses as well many free tournaments where you can win real money. This site offers tables with many different limits, from extremely small bet amounts to very large ones. This site does not have as many players online normally as the next site I will mention, but that can be a good thing. Fewer high quality players increases your chances of success at the tables if you play with a good strategy. As an additional bonus, they also have blackjack. Blackjack is gambling, but can be fun.
Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is one of the largest poker sites on the web. Boasting some of the top players in the world, this site caters to all levels of poker player. Many different table limits are offered, from very small to very large, to suit your bank roll. Tournaments are frequently offered, both free and paid entry.
I invite you to check out either of these sites and open an account. I am sure you will be very happy with them.
Remember: Just like trading, poker does have the potential for losses. I accept no responsibility for your losses if they do occur. But, I do wish you the best.
