Day Trading or Poker - Which is Better?

Poker and day trading have a lot in common. They both are games that essentially focus on taking strategic and calculated risks in an attempt to earn the most profit. They are also both zero sum, so when you are winning money/chips, somebody else is, in turn, losing money/chips. Both games also require masterful emotional and tilt control, as well as a well-developed sense of selective attention, which will allow you to pick up on the habits and tendencies of your opponents.

Oftentimes, profitable day traders are also talented poker players, and vice versa. In the case of MOJO Day Trading, this is especially true, as ProTrader Mike used to be a professional poker player. Emphasis on used to.

So, why did ProTrader Mike changed from a professional poker player to running MOJO Day Trading?

While poker and day trading are very similar games that draw from the same intellectual and emotional skill sets, there are many differences that make poker a much bigger, luck based gamble.

You see, in poker you are frequently forced to gamble because of limiting factors, such as a low chip stack and high blinds. If you only have 5 big blinds and get dealt Ace Rag, you have to move all in, you are essentially forced by game theory. It doesn’t matter that you are probably only going to be called by a better hand, to survive you are forced to put your chips all in when you are likely behind or dominated by your opponent.

In day trading, you are never forced to make a trade. There are no raising blinds or tournament clocks to worry about. Your battle is with yourself in forcing yourself to stay on the reservation, not force trades and remain patient.

This weekend, was an excellent example of this. The market was really quite slow, so the MOJO Team, in turn, had a slower day. We did not force any trades and, of course, we never went all in. We knew that we would be better served saving our chips stacks for another day, for a time where more profitable trades were available.

In poker, you do not always have that option. Sure, if you have a huge chip stack, you can remain patient and wait around for Pocket Aces of Kings, but if you are riding the short stack, you either have to make a gamble to pick up some chips, or sit around until you are blinded out of the tournament.

The MOJO Poker Club met this weekend for the October Smash Tournament - held Saturday Night online @ Pokerstars Homegames.

Here was some of the action - ProTrader Mike - has Pocket Kings and gets short stack (pastorsmilko) to get all his chips in with a much weaker hand A2 rags.

Can you believe the "turn card" then the "river card" - he beat me - unbelieveable right!!! Well in tradign that can never happen - see once up in a winning hand like KK all you have to do is trail stop the profits and you canb NEVER lose that good hand. In poker it's quite the opposite and these situations can really set you back.

Then ProTrader Mike and ProTrader Joe got heads up. Joe was dealt dealt Ace Jack and ProTrader Mike has Ace 10. With the chip stacks and blind levels very high, it was impossible for either player to fold so all the chips went into the middle - ALL IN BABY!! Nobody made any mistakes and neither player should have folded. The cards played themselves and each player was stuck sitting hoping the deal would pull their lucky card.

In day trading, you are never forced to go all in. How often do you hear ProTrader Mike call out an ‘All In’ Trade play? It is very rare and saved for situations where the positive expectancy is off the charts. It’s exactly why new traders in the MOJO Room are advised to only make Heinz Trade Plays. They are not forced into action on any other trade play, so why would they take the risk? For what? The Heinz Trade plays are the highest probability trade play out there, they are the definition of positive expectancy and rarely fail, so why would a new and inexperienced trader risk their money on anything less? Answer is they should not but rarely follow the rules until they get humbled by the market.

In poker, if you were to fold every hand and suddenly raise out of the blue, everybody would realize you have a very strong starting hand and just fold. You would win nothing but the blinds (ante). In day trading, you can play as tight as possible, for as long as you want. That is why it is a marathon, not a sprint. Those who are hunting for and sprinting and forcing trades go broke quick. While, conversely, the MOJO ProTraders are extremely selective and patient, waiting for the perfect moment to put their money on the line.

Yesterday, if you forced trades, you would have lost money. But, if you stuck with the MOJO Team, you would have played your cards very tightly, and profited on a few trades before calling it a day. The business opens up again the next morning, so there is no reason to force anything.

Today, the MOJO Team was back to their usual domination. The trading today was simply phenomenal and goes to show you that if you have a system based on patience and positive expectancy, you will profit. My name is ProTrader Joe, I have been with MOJO now for 8 months and 6 months as a ProTrader. I can tell you my future, career, and light at the end of my tunnel is very bright. I owe this to the knowledge gained from my mentor - ProTrader Mike. Every amazing superstar - learned from someone (Bruce Lee, Lebrion James, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lenny Kravitz, Barak Obama, and so many more famous superstar people)

If you want to be the best you can be then you'll decide to get witrh the best in your desired field. In Day Trading there is no better businessman trader and teacher than what MOJO offers.