What Poker Taught Me About Trading (And Vice Versa)

What came first for you—poker or trading? How did one influence the other?

Poker actually came first. I got into it whilst studying financial mathematics at university. I was drawn to the strategy side of it and realized pretty quickly how much it mirrored the skills needed in trading. It taught me to think in terms of probabilities, stay level-headed, and make quick decisions with limited info. When I joined DRW in 2017, I was excited to find a group in the London office who played regularly. It was a fun way to keep learning, build relationships, and stay sharp.

Are there specific skills or mindsets that you find essential in both poker and trading?

Definitely. Discipline is a big one. Knowing when to stick to your strategy and not forcing moves when the odds aren’t in your favor. It’s also about being able to make decisions with a positive expected value, even under pressure or with incomplete information. Both poker and trading reward patience, calculated risk-taking, and staying cool when the stakes are high.

How do you manage risk at the poker table vs. in the markets?

Both require continuously evaluating risk vs reward but going all-in should be kept for the poker table! One bold move can win a hand at the table, but in trading, it's consistency and adaptability that win over the long run. So while the thrill of going all-in belongs at the poker table, in the markets, it's all about playing the long game.

What lessons from poker have directly improved your trading performance?

The options market I trade still has the majority of volume over the phone so a useful lesson from poker has been picking up tells from brokers and remembering their previous trades in order to make a good read on what they are about to do next and price accordingly.

Are there tools or frameworks from trading that you've adapted to analyze poker games?

A lot of the expected value and variance calculation for trading is done mentally so this has a lot of carryover to live tournament poker. The thought process for analyzing whether a trade was the correct decision given the information available at the time also has a lot of similarity to post-hand analysis in poker.

If you could sit at a poker table with any three people—real or fictional—who would they be?

A fictional character to play poker against would have to be James Bond although with the chances of beating him being low I should probably sell the other two spaces to the highest bidders so I can at least make some money!

How has DRW supported your love for poker?

DRW’s culture has really supported my interest in poker. It’s not just encouraged here, but it’s really built into the fabric of how people connect and sharpen their skills. We have the Global Poker Series every year, which has become a major event across offices, with hundreds participating and finalists going on to the World Series of Poker (WSOP). There’s also a real emphasis on learning: poker schools, master classes, even new grads getting introduced to it in their onboarding. DRW understands that the strategic thinking you develop playing poker has a lot of overlap with trading, and they’ve done a great job of making it part of the culture here.