SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 11 September
2020 - Poker players who cross over to cryptocurrency trading are seeing
astounding success out of the gate -- for example, a trading team comprised of
poker players and captained by poker star Mike McDonald placed in the top three
in the recently concluded World Series of Trading (WSOT). A total overlay prize
pool of $1.27 million in cryptocurrency was paid out to the winners of the
inaugural edition of the global crypto trading competition powered by Bybit, in which 135 teams and 12,368
participants joined from around the world.
Poker star McDonald (pictured center) commented, "A lot of poker players
are good at making financial decisions while limiting the role that emotion
plays -- that would be one of the skills that transfers particularly well to
trading. There will be times when crypto prices will hit the roof or post
massive dips. Do you follow the herd or stick to your own strategy? Just like
in poker, the choice is yours. Jump tables or stick to yours and play the game
skillfully."
Poker is a game that tends to reward
strategic thinking, mental endurance and emotional resilience -- traits that
happen to work equally well for crypto trading. Practiced with discipline,
these traits can very well generate desirable results in both fields. Here
are some of the common traits of winning poker players and profitable crypto
traders:
-
Make +EV Decisions: Trading strategy deals
with risk/reward ratio, similar to how poker players make expected value
calculations for each hand when they consider whether to bet, check, call,
raise or fold.
-
Don't Go on Tilt: The calm and
imperturbable demeanor synonymous with poker players tends to help them during
volatility, when they are able to think and trade without giving in to
impulses.
-
Hand Selection: In poker, just like in
crypto trading, you can't play your cards randomly. You have to understand the
situation, process the chances of winning, and decide whether you want to fold
or play further. Read the charts like you would interpret the body language of
your opponent, and plan your next steps based on what is favorable to you.
-
Bankroll Management: Even the best poker
player or crypto trader can go through a lean spell. Knowing how to manage the
money in your account is essential, to ensure that you always have funds
available to trade effectively.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou noted, "If you're
a beginner in crypto trading, the gurus will advise you to research thoroughly
about the types of crypto assets, not putting all your eggs in one basket, and
trading per your risk appetite and bankroll management needs. It's similar to
how a beginner in poker would typically study the game: up skill, start with
low-level stakes and take calculated risks while devising strategies that suit
them best. Similarly, we have been putting a lot of our energy into educational
content where we show our clients how to properly manage risks and perform
technical analysis."
The WSOT is a major global trading
competition powered by Bybit, one of the fastest growing cryptocurrency
derivatives exchanges, with more than a million registered users. The global
event is open to traders worldwide where Bybit's platform is available. The
ranking system of WSOT is based on the profit/loss ratio, regardless of trading
volume, thus paving a level playing field for all participants. The next
edition of WSOT is expected in 2021.
About Mike McDonald
Mike McDonald (born Sep 11, 1989) is a star poker player.
McDonald is the youngest person to win an event on the European Poker Tour
(EPT) and the youngest person to win an event on the Epic Poker League (EPL).
Mike is now involved with Betshares/PokerShares,
facilitating novelty bets on many niche products including WSOT. He has been
involved in Bitcoin since 2014.
About Bybit
Bybit is a
cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform established in March 2018. The
company is registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), and provides online
trading services to individual retail clients as well as professional
derivatives traders.
For more
information please visit: https://www.bybit.com/
For updates, follow Bybit's social platforms on 
Twitter and Telegram.
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