Former Poker Pro and Well-Known Trader and Blogger Discusses the Similarities in Trading and Poker
A former poker professional explains about how to stay in the game(trading and poker) for the long-term.
“chessNwine” has been a popular trader and financial blogger since 2009. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal Online Edition, Yahoo Finance, TheStreet.com, MarketWatch.com, The Reformed Broker blog, AbnormalReturns.com, The Big Picture blog, and the “Suggested” stream on Stocktwits.com. He has amassed more than 31,300 followers on Twitter and 94,100 followers on Stocktwits through consistent, actionable, educational, and entertaining analysis and commentary about the markets. He can also be found at Marketchess.com. A licensed attorney in the state of New York, he is also a former professional poker player and is fluent in the Italian language. For the full transcript please GO HERE. To follow @chessNwine on StockTwits Click Here.
Why can the $SPY and $TVIX can be both green at the same time? — PaperBillionare
Great question: $SPY/ $TVIX often trade inversely, but not always. There have been volatility mkts where VIX up.
As a former novice poker player(played a lot of online). Can you tell me about the transition to trading? How did it help you? Where did it hurt you? Did you do both together? I moved for scaling. Any insights. Fav starting hand? — michaelbozzello
Poker, chess, and trading have many common threads and they can work together to benefit you. For poker/trading, risk is #1. In both trading and poker there is a premium placed on how well or poorly you act when you’re on the inevitable cold streak. In fact, that is actually one of the main keys to longevity: How well you can stay calm and keep grinding during drawdowns? Favorite starting hand will always be pocket Aces, seriously. Have to remove emotion from poker always. I did both together.
Do you invest in Casino stocks? — Spidergirl2016
Absolutely. $RRR an intriguing thesis and great Red Rock property in Summerlin. $ERI $SGMS are intriguing too.
Parejos vs. Figurados? Favorite hand? (betting it’s the ladies) Favorite crossover term? Favorite cinematic moment? — OffbeatOperator
Favorite cigar: Liga Privada #9, always will choose Pocket Aces, Cinematic moment: ending of Road to Perdition.
Do you trade options, futures, stocks, forex, and crypto? — Spidergirl2016
I do but in my service we keep things simple, stick to equities, reinforcing concepts: discipline, sizing, etc. Also, I am from the old school: Options = hedging instruments, not get-rich-quick vehicles.
What lessons has your (diverse and very interesting!) career & hobbies taught you about risk? — Lonesome
Big key is being able to handle losses and downswings properly: Not happy about it but not letting them become fatal.
Do you think the VIX will stay about 20 for an extended period of time? — FamisDave
If the VIX does hold over 20 for an extended period of time it is hard not to see equities range-bound if not down.
How much leverage do you use trading? What percentage of your portfolio is each position? — skillsup
I rarely use leverage and opt for 2% of trading capital per position with leeway for bigger sizing in special cases
Whats wrong with $UPS and $AMD — bassodav
Their technicals have been weak, to your point. I suspect markets are declaring $AMD $UPS to be lagging sector leaders.
Real question: Thoughts on $FB long? — cousin_lets_go_bowling
It can work for a relief rally, but I’d look to sell at $170 or above, stop-loss below $150 to manage risk.
Where does $INFI go from here? — Losergreeney
If $INFI can hold this $2/$2.20 area here like it is today it’s not bad. Not overly compelling either.
What’s your favorite kind of trade? How tightly do you rein in surprise moves that might hurt? — bearcharts
Favorite trade is looking for shorts in an established bear market (e.g. 2008) after a news-driven exuberant rally. Risk management truly is priority #1 for me. Any loss beyond 7–8% I consider a big one for me and unacceptable.
How do you look for new or fresh stocks with upside? Is options trading where it’s at? — djkujo69
I’m old school on both counts: No substitute for putting in work to scan charts on your own. Options best for hedges.
Do you believe the market is just in a Correction or have we entered a Bear Market? What are your main reasons? — Volatility888
With declining 50-day m.a.’s but rising 200-day m.a’s on the major indices, we’re in bull market correction for now.
Would you recommend taking a loan from a 401k and investing in high paying dividend stocks? — ajserrano23
Good question. I would abstain from dipping in the 401K like that and perhaps slowly start a dividend portfolio from trading profits.
What’s your favorite stock right now? — bosteggo
My favorite stock at any given moment is whichever one is treating me best. No Stockholm Syndrome allowed in trading.
Do you use statistical based models to manage your trading? Do you follow a process and can you tell us about it? — patrickrooney
I believe in hand-on rigorous chart scanning to get feel for market. But FinViz.com offers free tools. Keep in mind, all of these new age “models” were still designed by humans and vulnerable to human error/emotions.
Do you find the process of gaining an advantage at the poker table similar to gaining an advantage in the market? — hanoverprojects
Yes, insofar as reminding yourself constantly no matter how good you think you are, your edge is small for both.
What are your thoughts on managing money during a drawdown or correction? What’s your best lesson learned from it? — scheplick
Best lesson I learned was that you cannot take cold streaks personally. “Luck means probability taken personally”. That said, you have to also honestly critique yourself and see where you are going wrong.
What is the primary signal for you to buy a stock and what is the primary signal for a sell for you? — ehsan6sha
Many different factors but good rule of thumb: Buy a stock when as many factors in my favor as possible. Be selective.
Are the markets rigged against retail? — ed29
It sure seems that way some times. But in poker it’ll seem sometimes you can’t win either. Keep grinding and manage risk.
Moreover, how are the poker and trading worlds similar and different? — zeromein
Poker has shady elements to it like markets do. I just stayed away from it. Both force you to consider risk of ruin. In other words, to think or being a profession Trader or poker player as glamorous is dangerous. Instead of doing this to be billionaires or live an absurd lifestyle we want to be our own bosses, enjoy the process.
Where is Hoffa buried? — DrHill
Hoffa is buried right under the visitor’s end zone of Giants’ (MetLife) Stadium.
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