Does being a Good Chess Player make you a better FX Trader | Forex Factory

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Does being a Good Chess Player make you a better FX Trader

  • #1
  • First Post: Aug 20, 2009 11:24am Aug 20, 2009 11:24am
Thoughts Please...
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  • #2
  • Aug 20, 2009 11:31am Aug 20, 2009 11:31am
I've been playing chess since childhood and I love the game but I can't say for sure it's helped my trading. From what I've read, skilled Texas Hold'em players take naturally to mm rules and the psych aspects of trading.
  • #3
  • Aug 20, 2009 12:37pm Aug 20, 2009 12:37pm
Common sense (as my Granny would say) will tell you that someone who takes the trouble to play chess well will have higher levels of concentration and deduction. Chess is a great game for brain training. I don't think it has any particular relevance to Forex other than that.
Gone to a better place
  • #4
  • Aug 21, 2009 4:35am Aug 21, 2009 4:35am
Just to add...

I play a little chess, and i think the quality which transfers to trading is the patience to wait until the best opportunity exists to achieve your specific goal...although occassionally i will go on a kill-crazy-rampage with the Queen taking on all comers

I agree that games of chance (poker, blackjack, roulette etc) are better suited to MM and game theory, but chess can have a positive impact on your approach to trading IMO.
  • #5
  • Aug 21, 2009 8:32am Aug 21, 2009 8:32am
I have heard mentioning advance chess skills in your resume shows your strategic capabilities. But I am wondering does being a bad chess player makes you a bad trader
The only way to get smarter is by playing a smarter opponent.
  • #6
  • Aug 21, 2009 11:35am Aug 21, 2009 11:35am
Quoting NewFX
I have heard mentioning advance chess skills in your resume shows your strategic capabilities. But I am wondering does being a bad chess player makes you a bad trader
This is far from true. I don't play chess but I am a full time forex trader and I do well with the market.
  • #7
  • Aug 21, 2009 12:02pm Aug 21, 2009 12:02pm
http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=63220
  • #8
  • Aug 21, 2009 11:53pm Aug 21, 2009 11:53pm
Quoting TraderColin
This is far from true. I don't play chess but I am a full time forex trader and I do well with the market.
LoL
The only way to get smarter is by playing a smarter opponent.
  • #9
  • Aug 23, 2009 11:34am Aug 23, 2009 11:34am
No. Different skill sets.
  • #10
  • Aug 24, 2009 8:04am Aug 24, 2009 8:04am
I think it can help. sports in general, imho, can help.
but i believe it does not necessarily equate to good/better trading.

There are many other factors that come into play when it comes to trading.
  • #11
  • Aug 24, 2009 8:20am Aug 24, 2009 8:20am
The only thing that chess has in relation to forex is decision making, quick decision making.

In chess, (real chess) you are timed per move, and therefor have to train your brain to see more of the big picture faster so you can execute an thought out move.

Other than that, it's nothing like chess, because unlike chess, forex doesn't have all the pieces on the board for everyone to see.
  • #12
  • Aug 24, 2009 8:43am Aug 24, 2009 8:43am
Quoting Pharoah
......
Other than that, it's nothing like chess, because unlike chess, forex doesn't have all the pieces on the board for everyone to see.
Hmmm... naughty.
  • #13
  • Aug 24, 2009 8:54am Aug 24, 2009 8:54am
Quoting opie999
From what I've read, skilled Texas Hold'em players take naturally to mm rules and the psych aspects of trading.
Very true. In fact I only learned how to play Texas Hold'em AFTER I learned how to trade and I can say I picked it up very quickly. It's all about money management. I thought I was the only one that saw that correlation
  • #14
  • Aug 24, 2009 8:55am Aug 24, 2009 8:55am
About the chess skills I think that being a good chess player makes you have the analytical mind to be good at technical analysis but not necessarily a good TRADER. To be a good one there's a lot of psychological factors that have to be taken care of.
  • #15
  • Aug 24, 2009 9:19am Aug 24, 2009 9:19am
Quoting CkM8
..I thought I was the only one that saw that correlation
For sure, some here, ahead of us, easily noticed that too.
  • #16
  • Aug 24, 2009 9:23am Aug 24, 2009 9:23am
Quoting CkM8
Very true. In fact I only learned how to play Texas Hold'em AFTER I learned how to trade and I can say I picked it up very quickly. It's all about money management. I thought I was the only one that saw that correlation
Other than perhaps patience and analytical skills, I don't think chess really offers much as a training tool for aspiring traders. Backgammon would be somewhat better because in addition to patience and analysis, it teaches one to deal with random events (the toss of the dice). The beauty of Texas Hold'em is it combines all of those mentioned above and the crucial element of putting ones own hard-earned on the line.
  • #17
  • Mar 27, 2010 8:55pm Mar 27, 2010 8:55pm
Quoting opie999
I've been playing chess since childhood and I love the game but I can't say for sure it's helped my trading. From what I've read, skilled Texas Hold'em players take naturally to mm rules and the psych aspects of trading.
There is still an issue of implementing that. I know good WSOP participants, but poor traders...
  • #18
  • Mar 27, 2010 9:27pm Mar 27, 2010 9:27pm
Implementation, yes. Where the rubber meets the road and where the traders are separated from the wannabes.

A guy has been playing MS Flight Simulator for years but has never seen the inside of a real cockpit. Who's going to trust him to fly the Airbus on their next trans-Atlantic holiday?
  • #19
  • Mar 27, 2010 9:38pm Mar 27, 2010 9:38pm
Not sure if Chess will help with trading, but Chess is a strategy game and strategy can important in trading. I think it develops more of mindset, which may or may not be helpful. It may also be helpful if you're looking at the market and trying to find a pattern to exploit and create a method to do it.


SideNote:
I have ChessMaster Grand Master Edition, never registered it or tried to play it online but if anyone want to go a game let me know. There are a few free online versions too like GameTable. Domino's, cribbage, and backgammon are all good too.
Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better. ~ Jim Rohn
  • #20
  • Mar 28, 2010 12:48pm Mar 28, 2010 12:48pm
Quoting opie999
Other than perhaps patience and analytical skills, I don't think chess really offers much as a training tool for aspiring traders. Backgammon would be somewhat better because in addition to patience and analysis, it teaches one to deal with random events (the toss of the dice). The beauty of Texas Hold'em is it combines all of those mentioned above and the crucial element of putting ones own hard-earned on the line.
Word. My trading execution improved drastically when I started using a hold'em approach. Wait for cards. Passive Aggessive when they hit. Lay 'em down when they don't. (Generally speaking without getting into cash games vs tourny vs limit vs no limit etc.. )

However, I think chess can bring a lot to trading depending on your approach. I'm not talking just knowing how to move pieces and the rules and maybe beating little brother once in a while. I'm talking about opening patterns, tempo, space and time, pattern recognition of multiple series of finite event lines. Those sorts of things have helped my trading immensely as well. But it's not necessary at all. That's just my style.

The most necessary is knowing how to bet. I always tell people that ask me about my style to go learn to kick ass at poker first and then we'll talk. No sense in going into the complexities of what I do if someone can't even manage their bank roll or understand risk/reward. Ironically, the best students I"ve had have been casino players... black jack, poker, craps, and even sports betting. Worst students... forex traders. Go figure.
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