Investing and Poker

[buffett]

At last year's annual meeting for Wesco's shareholders, Chairman Charles T. Munger described how Berkshire Hathaway has been so successful over the years. The following quote reminds me a lot of the SSHE style of poker, so I thought I'd share it with you:

"[Our] success wasn't based on hyperkinetic activity. It was achieved through a combination of ... a hell of a lot of patience and intensely opportunistic behavior on a few occasions.
You kept principles and you kept intellectual discipline. Then you waited for something that you could do in accordance with your principles and your intellectual standards. And when opportunities came along, you pounced on them with vigor....
[our] record happened as a result of a relatively small number of decisions, staying the course relentlessly decade after decade after decade, and holding our fire until something was worth doing."
-web

[RydenStoompala]

When asked by a wannabe millionaire, how does a regular guy become a "great investor," Peter Lynch replied, "learn to play poker."

[buffett]

Wow, that's cool. I had never heard that.

By the way, when Warren Buffett was asked the same thing, his answer was, "Well, you start off with a billion dollars. Then you buy an airline."

-web

[tek]

I hope he has modified that line...