Common traits between Magic the Gathering + poker players?

[AA suited]

It seems that good Magic the Gathering players (ie: Zee Justin) are also successful at poker.

Why is that so?

[spy587]

I played magic for about 4 years, so I will try to answer your question although I was never a "pro" magic player like many on this forum. Paluka etc.

First, I think that people that play Magic have the natural skills to play poker well. They tend to be above average inteligence, analytical thinkers, which is really a requirement for good poker players.

The games themselves are not incredibly similar. In fact, I don't think playing magic will make you a better poker player at all. Simply, if you have an urge to play magic you probably have the skills to be a good poker player.

Also, the "pro" magic players excel at the aforementioned skills, so naturally they make for incredible poker players.

[A_Junglen]

Devotion, making adjustments on the spot, competent math skills, and observation.

[ianlippert]

I think there are a couple of skills that transfer over directly.

1) Assessing opening hands. In magic you are assessing a 7 card opener with an understanding of the likelyhood that your hand will be good enough to put up a good match. Much like loose preflop standards, bad magic players fail to 'fold' hands that they should.

2) Not being results oriented. Often time in magic a bad player will make a bad play, get lucky, and then justify why it was so great. Good players in both magic and poker can separate the skill from the luck.

Just some thoughts.

[Buck_65]

A typical pro tour qualifying magic tournament may last upwards of 15 hours with extremely minimal breaks. Pro tour events themselves are spread out over multiple days and require hundreds of hours of preparation and dedication. This is tremendous practice for playing lengthy, focused poker sessions.

I don't think the games have much in common at all. I used to play magic and realized that the being good at the game is much more about having a good deck and knowing how to use it. This is the exact opposite of poker. I have seen how the tournaments work, some decks are better against others, and thats just the way it is, that why they have a sidebord so as to try and counteract this. Magic is a good game but you cannot compare it to poker.

[tongni]

Both groups of players are often quiet, unassuming people with low social skills and slightly above average intelligence. It only makes sense.

[A_Junglen]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't think the games have much in common at all. I used to play magic and realized that the being good at the game is much more about having a good deck and knowing how to use it. This is the exact opposite of poker. I have seen how the tournaments work, some decks are better against others, and thats just the way it is, that why they have a sidebord so as to try and counteract this. Magic is a good game but you cannot compare it to poker.

[/ QUOTE ]


This entire post is poorly written without any clear explanation. There's a decent comparison to the 2 games, you seem to be looking at the wrong traits to compare (magic uses a 60+ card deck while poker uses the standard 52 cards..AHH so different).

[gabbahh]

[ QUOTE ]
I have seen how the tournaments work, some decks are better against others, and thats just the way it is, that why they have a sideboard so as to try and counteract this.

[/ QUOTE ]
Metagaming...
In both poker and magic you need to 'adjust' to your opponents. In magic you have a sideboard for tuning your deck, so that it stands a better chance against your opponent's deck. In poker you either play looser or more aggressive depending on your opponent's playing style.
Therefore both in Magic and poker metagaming is very important. So a good Magic meta gamer MIGHT be a good poker meta gamer: he adjusts to the table's playing style.
I say MIGHT BE, since it certainly is not true for me.

[einbert]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I have seen how the tournaments work, some decks are better against others, and thats just the way it is, that why they have a sideboard so as to try and counteract this.

[/ QUOTE ]
Metagaming...
In both poker and magic you need to 'adjust' to your opponents. In magic you have a sideboard for tuning your deck, so that it stands a better chance against your opponent's deck. In poker you either play looser or more aggressive depending on your opponent's playing style.
Therefore both in Magic and poker metagaming is very important. So a good Magic meta gamer MIGHT be a good poker meta gamer: he adjusts to the table's playing style.
I say MIGHT BE, since it certainly is not true for me.

[/ QUOTE ]

I like this take.

I also liked what someone said about "not being able to throw away hands" in regard to players who don't mulligan often enough in magic. I have never really thought about it that way, interesting perspective.

Good thread, if I think of something original to add I will.