The Poker Face of Wall Street
by Aaron Brown
May 2006
Kicks economic orthodoxy in the shins—and conventional poker books too
I give credit to Morgan Stanley for letting this book get published. It's hard to imagine the fuss these ideas will kick up, or which kick in the shin is more outrageous—bringing Wall Street's hallowed financial institutions down to the level of casinos, or elevating poker and uncouth gambling games up to the level of white-shoe financial establishments in terms of long run financial utility.
If Brown is right, gambling (and particularly poker) played a pivotal role in the development of dynamic financial life as we know it… and will continue to play such a role in future. It makes sense when you think about it. Risk and ruin are factors of enterprise, as is the gambling spirit. It's just unorthodox as hell, that's all. Three cheers for assaulting those ivory towers.
On another level, this book got me thinking about poker in a whole new way. I was impressed by Brown's insights from the get go. He starts by absolutely demolishing that tired old saw, "If you don't know who the sucker at the table is, it's you," and stays razor sharp the whole way through. I have read my fair share of poker books, and 'The Poker Face of Wall Street' has found a way to disagree or contradict something from just about every one of them.
Thing is, I have to agree with Brown. His reasoning is just too good to do otherwise. I have always been a fan of top-down thinking, but he has taken big picture poker analysis to a whole new level. (Call it meta-poker, perhaps.) His deconstruction of game theory, and his observations on the folly of viewing all poker players as opponents, are classic.
My one small complaint is that some of the poker examples were, ah, mathematically intense shall we say. But then come on, the guy is a quant with a PhD, so he had to show some chops right? This was a very small quibble, and it may just be some uncharacteristic laziness on my part (I read the bulk of the book on a long plane trip). Overall, Brown has the best balance of theory, application and street smarts that I've seen. He's the real deal on all three counts.
To be continued...
