I have to say that they are similar in more ways than one. The two require a similar analytic skill sets. You need to managing risk and beware of the odds of outcomes. And most important you must measure risk relative to your available bankroll. I'm I missing anything?
There certainly are some similar traits. You need to have some sell disciplines in place, analytical skills, awareness of the risk picture and so on. I guess forex trading doesn't have to be about speculation though. It can also act as a hedge against an existing exposure, rather than just an out and out bet.
I would never think so. The variance in poker is much different than forex. In poker you know exactly what is generally going to happen if you ran a simulation out a million and one times. In trading you can never get enough of a sample size to ever know what's truly happening. Bankroll Management is much different. in forex your bankroll should be much bigger than a poker grinder that plays 10kNL For a living.
There is a thin line between being a trader and a gambler, but that line is very definite and clear. Good traders trade based on technical analysis and fundamentals to determine what moves to make. While traders are not guaranteed to make the right trade all the time, the "double or nothing" and "let it ride" mentality should never be present when you are a serious trader.
Very interesting question. At first I was going to say "no, not much" but you do bring up some good points about the similarities. I would still say that the two "games" are very different from each other, but require a similar skillset to be succesful. And you can add: 'making the smart decisions under pressure' into the list.
There are similarities in the fact that on FOREX markets, if you've made a buck is because somebody else has lost the same amount. That's the only way they're the same IMO. Poker is all about reading your adversary and playing the percentages right, while FOREX trading is a lot more complex and it involves geopolitics, the economy and many other factors.
It cannot be the same in terms of outcome. The money you get in forex trading will depend on the factors affecting the economy where such currency is used, which includes geopolitical events, etc. In some cases, while you can based your assumptions on the fundamentals and some technical analysis, you can never guess any external event that may happen. Whereas in POKER - you just have to be expert in reading poker faces and leave your chance to luck as it is gambling.
I would say that they are very similar. As the OP already stated there is a great analytic skill needed to become successful at both. But you must have a set of rules to follow and stick to it. It is when you break the rules and run on emotion does the number play against you and end up on the shorter end of the stick. Like any gambling site or in real, you can potentially lose everything by making a simple mistake.
I have never thought of this before, but if it's just a matter of analyses... I really doubt it, poker has the luck factor involved and I don't think forex has it as well.
