How are Poker and Economics Related?
Combining the field I love with one of my favorite hobbies
I love economics. I also love poker. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a career with one (economics) and play the other somewhat seriously for the past 20 years. This time of year always gets me more excited for poker, as the World Series of Poker is happening. I haven’t played in it since 2014 (I need to get back!) but follow several poker players who vlog and also watch some coverage from PokerGO.com, which streams many events.
I’ve combined my profession and my hobby for some scholarly work. I’ve written two peer review journal articles on poker:
What Impacts a Poker Player's Earnings? Evidence from a Survey of Online Poker Players finds that the top determinant of a poker player’s earnings is the time they spend studying - further evidence that poker is indeed a game predominantly based on skill.
Internet Poker: Examining Motivations, Behaviors, Outcomes, and Player Traits using Structural Equations Analysis examines the motivations of poker players.
I’ve also done some work to illustrate the skills gained from poker and how they are transferrable to professions. Here is a recent video on dropped on this topic.
For more, check out:
The only missing piece is a an econ ed paper about learning economics through poker!