Read ’em and Weep

For those of you familiar with poker you might have noticed that many of the qualities found in good poker players and many of the skills required to be successful at poker are often found to be very useful when it comes to trading the markets. Both can be rewarding ways to earn money, but both practices require a lot more internal control and skill than you might think.

Let’s take a look at some of the top qualities of highly successful poker players and think about how they apply to Forex trading.

1 – Discipline and commitment

One of the key ingredients to achieving success in poker, just as with Forex, is having the discipline and the commitment to stick to a plan and avoid impulsive behavior. For those unfamiliar with both poker and the markets, they might seem like unorderly environments. However, in both, the commitment to a methodical approach and the discipline to avoid straying from one’s plan, is instrumental in being successful.Poker players and traders both need to be able to deal with stressful and also exciting situations without compromising their plan.

2 – Accurate and efficient decision making

In both poker and the markets, you need to be able to assess the information quickly and make accurate, effective decisions. The slightest hesitation can be very costly in both.Having a disciplined approach makes decision making much easier.

3 – Comfortable with change

Each card dealt changes the environment In poker, just how each candle formed changes the environment in Forex trading. Pokers players need to be able to adapt to changing environments in a calm and fluid way in exactly the same way that Forex traders need to be able to respond to a dynamic environment, such as during a news release. Having strong decision-making skills makes it far easier to cope with changing environments.

4 – Comfortable with losses

Contrary to what you might believe, the most successful poker players are not the ones that win every hand.Indeed, some highly successful poker players can go through lengthy drawdowns before reclaiming their losses and reaching new equity highs. This is exactly the same with Forex trading. To be successful in forex trading, you don’t need to win every trade and with good risk: reward you can even lose more than you win and still be successful. However, you do need to be comfortable with losses and have the patience and discipline to stick to your plan.