Market Investing VS Casino Blackjack

[rtread]

I read the below thread on poker with interest as I have made an observation that casino blackjack and market investing are more similar than one would think.
In casino blackjack, a player with no knowledge of the game, no experience, and no understanding of the odds can sit down at a table and win a few, lose a lot. This is without exception. In time he/she will leave the table down or broke. (OK...there are examples of incredibly dumb luck causing exceptions to this....but not often)
Casino enthusiasts know that the best odds in the casino are at blackjack IF the player knows the game, the odds, and how to play the hands. In addition, the successful player develops a sense of when to get in and OUT. I think this is the most important ingredient to success once a player reaches a level of competence. All players have runs.....and the dealer has runs. It's simply being able to know when to leave the game.
(I am not a card reader....just a skilled player and I love the game. Card readers increase their odds by a great degree but they also increase their chances of getting booted & banned by a great degree)

I have seen similarities with casino blackjack and market investing of various kinds. Lessons I have learned at blackjack I know I have used already in investing. I also know that many investors resent the suggestion that investing is in any way similar to gambling. And I certainly don't want to be offensive, but I see it. Am I by myself or have others had this thought?
Any other blackjack enthusiasts?

[IIAce]

Originally Posted by rtread

I read the below thread on poker with interest as I have made an observation that casino blackjack and market investing are more similar than one would think.
In casino blackjack, a player with no knowledge of the game, no experience, and no understanding of the odds can sit down at a table and win a few, lose a lot. This is without exception. In time he/she will leave the table down or broke. (OK...there are examples of incredibly dumb luck causing exceptions to this....but not often)
Casino enthusiasts know that the best odds in the casino are at blackjack IF the player knows the game, the odds, and how to play the hands. In addition, the successful player develops a sense of when to get in and OUT. I think this is the most important ingredient to success once a player reaches a level of competence. All players have runs.....and the dealer has runs. It's simply being able to know when to leave the game.
(I am not a card reader....just a skilled player and I love the game. Card readers increase their odds by a great degree but they also increase their chances of getting booted & banned by a great degree)

I have seen similarities with casino blackjack and market investing of various kinds. Lessons I have learned at blackjack I know I have used already in investing. I also know that many investors resent the suggestion that investing is in any way similar to gambling. And I certainly don't want to be offensive, but I see it. Am I by myself or have others had this thought?
Any other blackjack enthusiasts?

I would steer away completely from blackjack. If you really know the odds, you'll know that the house has a chance of winning that's slightly bigger than 50% and your chance of winning is slightly lower than 50%. This is enough to make you go broke and go on welfare if you play a lot. IMHO, poker is a lot more like investing than blackjack. When you sit on a table with 10 people, the odds are against you. You may only win 5% of the hands you get dealt, but in those times, you win a lot more than you lose on the other 95%. That's why you have stop loss in investing, so you limit your losses. This is just one of many similarities.

PS. Stay away from blackjack.

[gijoe9]

I agree with both of you that some casino games resemble investing. But you may find that the more you learn the less it seems like gambling. Phil Helmuth does not gamble when he plays poker he invests in a pot with the object of winning pots he does this less with the cards than with his betting. The same is true of professional traders and investors they are not gambling they are winning pots.
If you think that trading/investing is gambling then you will be the mark at the table. If you don't know who the mark is then it is you. The trick of investing is to be sure you are not the sucker and the only way to do that is by learning
Joe

[Stocktrading101]

Any of you guys heard about the Yale blackjack team that tore up the casinos some years back with card counting? I watched a show on it explaining how they would do it, and it was amazing. Four to Six person team bringing in a few hundred grand a weekend, gotta like that .