Poker as an investment: Low, Medium, or High Risk?

[FoxMS]

I don't think poker is the best investment option. I believe that the best option for investment is your own knowledge, skills and physical development.

 

[Transcendence]

I think you can't do anything serious on the Internet. Especially if it's something to do with money.

 

[sn0112]

It may have been just a choice of terminology, but I'm not sure if I would classify poker as an investment.

With an investment you can do the research, decide how much to risk, and then sit on the sidelines passively waiting for the result. Long term value investors, such as Warren Buffett, study companies in detail and may wait decades for a return.

Poker is more like active day trading: your personal knowledge, decision making, response under pressure, emotions etc. all come to the fore.

And like day trading, my guess is over 90% of people lose money

I'm trying to turn my poker experience into a calmer, long-term endeavour by allocating my free time on study, spending a little on books and courses, and looking for small incremental improvements. Similar to how value investors may invest for the steady dividend return.

 

[makisaa]

I think it is a medium risk, when you act with wisdom and moderation. Luck is a factor, important in the game, but you find it in all the positions of economy also.

 

[Phoenix Wright]

high risk with short-term investments

Well said

I mainly play freerolls, I think I have minimal risk of losing a bankroll

Currently in the same situation here; most of my games now are freerolls, so I have minimal risk of losing any real money - but of course, I won't make a ton with freerolls either. I'm okay with this for now though; I plan on slowly moving up in stakes as my poker game improves, but taking things one step at a time and always trying to stay disciplined with solid bankroll management

Given the high degree of luck and variance that exists in poker, I think that bankroll and time management are just as important, if not more so, than the play itself. To answer the question, it's very high risk.

Yes. Variance is a major factor for anyone looking at poker for anything fairly long-term. In this sense, it is very high-risk because of the swings. Naturally, you can try to minimize these swings by playing limit games versus no limit or through good table selection - but there is only so much you can do and sometimes good of bad luck just seems to get to you. Sure, it will eventually stabilize long-term, but many people can't handle the situation in the meantime.

High risk investment if you aren't a pro.

Poker is unique from most forms of gambling because there is a real skill edge present; being a solid player (or better yet, being a pro player) can give you an advantage over some other players, but nothing can really eliminate the variance that the game inherently brings and for this: even for the pro, it is a high-risk investment.

 

[BatOneHat]

It’s Not an Investment

Poker is simply not an investment for vertically everyone but the pros. I wouldn’t recommend poker, as an investment, to anyone when it’s 80%+ chance of losing everything. Neither is the lottery.

 

[jcxmendes]

in my opinion poker is not an investment, but a fun that I can get some gain or expense!