The Poker Bus

Warren Buffett on Poker

I don’t think Warren Buffett plays poker, but if he did he’d probably be really good. I was reading through some of his quotes on investing, and I kept thinking, “Wow that could also be applied to poker”.

Both poker and investing is really similar. Both require luck and skill, have short-term variance, and result in the better players winning money in the long run. I put together a bunch of Warren Buffett’s quotes and explained its relevance to poker. They should be helpful in getting you in the right state of mind while playing poker.

“Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.”
With poker you have to minize losses and maximize wins. If you’re in a –ev situation, get out of it.

“If you don’t feel comfortable owning something for 10 years, then don’t own it for 10 minutes.”
Usually when players are losing they play longer or open up more tables to get back to even faster. That’s not going to help. If you’re at a poker table where you don’t see yourself having an advantage then you should leave and wait for a better opportunity.

“There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.”
Often mid limit players like to play their hands backwards by checking when you should bet and betting when you should check. It gives them the feeling that they’re outplaying everyone. Most often the straightforward strategy is the best way to go.

“Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.”
Play tight when the table’s aggressive. Play aggressive when the table’s tight

“If a business does well, the stock eventually follows.”
If you’re playing poker well, the money eventually follows.

“It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who’s been swimming naked.”

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
How many players reading this have spent weeks or months working hard building up a poker bankroll and using bankroll management only to tilt it all away in a session? A lot, I bet. It’s happened to nearly every pro poker player. Never put yourself in a situation where you can lose more then 10% of your bankroll 5% would be even better.

“When asked how he became so successful in investing, Buffett answered: “we read hundreds and hundreds of annual reports every year.”
Read books, forums, and talk to other players about poker. Pick and choose what you think is correct and get an understanding of what other players think is a winning strategy.

“I never buy anything unless I can fill out on a piece of paper my reasons. I may be wrong, but I would know the answer to that. “I’m paying $32 billion today for the Coca Cola Company because…” If you can’t answer that question, you shouldn’t buy it. If you can answer that question, and you do it a few times, you’ll make a lot of money.”
Before sitting at a poker table you should scope it out. Who’s playing bad and why? Who’s playing good? “If you can’t spot the sucker at the table, then you’re the sucker”.

“The Stock Market is designed to transfer money from the Active to the Patient.”
It works out exactly the same with poker. Everyone’s going to have short term swings. The crazy loose and aggressive players will get engulfed in the swings, while the patient ones can ride the swings out and finish ahead.