🎯 Why a $500 Billion Hedge Fund Trains Its Traders with Poker
Position sizing is everything.
At Susquehanna International Group — one of the most successful trading firms in the world — new traders are taught poker before they're given real capital to trade. Why poker? Because it mirrors the emotional and mathematical challenges of real-world trading.
In both poker and trading, you win by managing risk — not by trying to be right every time.
♠️ Lesson 1: Don’t Go Broke
Even the best poker player in the world can go bankrupt if they don’t manage their bankroll.
This principle is called: “not going broke.”
Trading is no different. A solid strategy doesn’t matter if your position sizing is reckless.
Even Susquehanna — with billions under management — never risks too much on any one trade. They understand that no matter how good the edge, a single bad outcome should never harm the firm.
Meanwhile, many retail traders risk 10%, 20%, even 50% of their account on a single position because they’re “sure” it will win.
That’s like going all-in on pocket aces in poker — but forgetting that one out of five times, aces lose.
In both poker and trading, survival comes first. 🧠 Lesson 2: Focus on Process, Not Results
This is one of the hardest — and most important — ideas for traders to grasp.
Poker teaches that the quality of your decision is not always reflected in the result.
You can make the perfect play and still lose. You can make a bad decision and get lucky. The same happens in trading every day.
Professionals don’t panic after a loss or celebrate after a win — they stay centered on process.
Most traders fail here:
– They change strategy after one bad week
– They double down after a losing streak
– They chase systems after a short hot streak
A poker pro once described the key as having a "zen robotic ability" to keep making the right decisions — even when variance is brutal.
In trading, you need the same mindset.
Make good decisions. Let the probabilities play out. 🔍 Lesson 3: Know Where Your Edge Comes From
Great poker players can tell you exactly where they make their money — from which opponents, which situations, and which patterns.
Great traders can do the same.
Susquehanna doesn’t just trade and hope for profit. They know:
– Where their pricing models beat the market
– When their execution gives them faster fills
– Why certain strategies win over the long term
If you don’t know where your edge comes from, you might not have one.
And in that case, you’re not the shark — you’re the fish. 📈 Lesson 4: When You Have an Edge, Bet Appropriately
Card counters in blackjack don’t bet big every hand.
They bet small when odds are neutral — and bet big only when the count gives them an edge.
In trading, this means allocating more capital to your highest-probability setups — and less (or none) when conditions are poor.
Sadly, many traders do the opposite:
– They risk more after a loss out of frustration
– They try to “make back” what they lost with emotional trades
This is not professional trading. This is gambling.
When the odds are in your favor — bet more. When they’re not — protect your capital. 🎬 Final Thoughts
Both poker and trading are games of incomplete information.
Both require you to:
– Survive losses
– Manage risk with discipline
– Understand variance
– Know your edge
– And stay calm under pressure
That’s why poker is the first step in trader education at some of the world’s most successful hedge funds.
Before your next trade, ask yourself:
– Am I risking a survivable amount?
– Do I know why I expect this to work?
– Am I following logic — or emotion?
Because in both poker and trading:
The worst seat at the table is the one where you don’t realize you’re the fish.
Position sizing is everything.
At Susquehanna International Group — one of the most successful trading firms in the world — new traders are taught poker before they're given real capital to trade. Why poker? Because it mirrors the emotional and mathematical challenges of real-world trading.
In both poker and trading, you win by managing risk — not by trying to be right every time.
♠️ Lesson 1: Don’t Go Broke
Even the best poker player in the world can go bankrupt if they don’t manage their bankroll.
This principle is called: “not going broke.”
Trading is no different. A solid strategy doesn’t matter if your position sizing is reckless.
Even Susquehanna — with billions under management — never risks too much on any one trade. They understand that no matter how good the edge, a single bad outcome should never harm the firm.
Meanwhile, many retail traders risk 10%, 20%, even 50% of their account on a single position because they’re “sure” it will win.
That’s like going all-in on pocket aces in poker — but forgetting that one out of five times, aces lose.
In both poker and trading, survival comes first. 🧠 Lesson 2: Focus on Process, Not Results
This is one of the hardest — and most important — ideas for traders to grasp.
Poker teaches that the quality of your decision is not always reflected in the result.
You can make the perfect play and still lose. You can make a bad decision and get lucky. The same happens in trading every day.
Professionals don’t panic after a loss or celebrate after a win — they stay centered on process.
Most traders fail here:
– They change strategy after one bad week
– They double down after a losing streak
– They chase systems after a short hot streak
A poker pro once described the key as having a "zen robotic ability" to keep making the right decisions — even when variance is brutal.
In trading, you need the same mindset.
Make good decisions. Let the probabilities play out. 🔍 Lesson 3: Know Where Your Edge Comes From
Great poker players can tell you exactly where they make their money — from which opponents, which situations, and which patterns.
Great traders can do the same.
Susquehanna doesn’t just trade and hope for profit. They know:
– Where their pricing models beat the market
– When their execution gives them faster fills
– Why certain strategies win over the long term
If you don’t know where your edge comes from, you might not have one.
And in that case, you’re not the shark — you’re the fish. 📈 Lesson 4: When You Have an Edge, Bet Appropriately
Card counters in blackjack don’t bet big every hand.
They bet small when odds are neutral — and bet big only when the count gives them an edge.
In trading, this means allocating more capital to your highest-probability setups — and less (or none) when conditions are poor.
Sadly, many traders do the opposite:
– They risk more after a loss out of frustration
– They try to “make back” what they lost with emotional trades
This is not professional trading. This is gambling.
When the odds are in your favor — bet more. When they’re not — protect your capital. 🎬 Final Thoughts
Both poker and trading are games of incomplete information.
Both require you to:
– Survive losses
– Manage risk with discipline
– Understand variance
– Know your edge
– And stay calm under pressure
That’s why poker is the first step in trader education at some of the world’s most successful hedge funds.
Before your next trade, ask yourself:
– Am I risking a survivable amount?
– Do I know why I expect this to work?
– Am I following logic — or emotion?
Because in both poker and trading:
The worst seat at the table is the one where you don’t realize you’re the fish.
