Poker playing experience in buy-side interview

Im a college senior with final rounds for FT buy-side analyst roles coming up and am wondering if I should attempt to discuss my poker playing experience in the interviews. Some background: Im a college athlete, finance major, and have payed my way through school with my athletic scholsrship and by playing poker during winter/summer breaks. It is much more than a hobby and I estimate my experience is in the millions of hands. My sport went through the summer so i have no internships but have somehow managed to land some final rounds anyway. I know buy-side jobs tend to be a little more interested in uniquie experiences like this, and a lot of my analytical skills have been developed and honed through poker. There are easily drawn parallels between poker and investing so I think I would have an easy enough time making it sound good. I am also teaching a class through the math department at my school called "probabilistic thinking and analystics in Poker". Does anybody have an opinion on whether this is a good experience to bring up or if it is a red flag/topic to be avoided in a final round/superday setting? My main concern is that people may see it as gambling (which it isnt, its a pure skill game with variance), but I also know that its a topic I am an expert in with strong parallels to investing and it has taught me a great deal about managing risk and uncertainty. Any advice from people who have gone through the buy-side interview process is welcome.

10 Comments
 

If you say you’re big into poker, I heard they ask questions like “What’s the probability of 4 Kings in a five card draw”

 

Thank you for this. I can absolute explain the concepts in a coherent and thorough way. I just don't want to get in to that conversation with someone who has written off everything I say before I even start. I think I'm going to have to make a judgement call based on my assessment of the interviewer and have a backup topic in place. It's clear from your comment you have played a little bit. Here's to hoping online makes a return in America.

 
Most Helpful

If you really have poker experience, then I recommend you play at an online casino to get a nice bonus. https://aussiebestcasinos.com/casino-bonuses/</a">here is you can read a review of casinos with bonuses that offer the best conditions and have a good rating. Reviews will help you choose a reliable and proven casino in which you will be confident. I recommend it from my own experience because once I played in an unknown casino and I was very not lucky, I was deceived and it was unpleasant. Since then, I have been reading reviews constantly.

 

I completely agree with you, very often people perceive poker not as a game that is worth thinking about a lot, but as ordinary gambling. Although poker is a game worth thinking and analyzing a lot.

 

Laboriosam libero ipsam officia consectetur praesentium maiores. Mollitia odit dolorum magnam. In dolores sint corporis deleniti rerum beatae qui. Consectetur earum nostrum facere at illo quam quae quia.

Occaecati aut eum sit fugiat ullam. Quas corrupti itaque modi qui sed excepturi eum. Molestias qui quia aliquam nobis nihil eos.

Quisquam voluptatem ut et asperiores voluptatem. Ut voluptas quia ea et eum impedit voluptatem molestias. Doloremque voluptas aliquam et nam similique facere omnis est. Modi et enim delectus quo.

Et dicta iure rerum animi deserunt. Autem aperiam consequatur non qui. Quo quia voluptas aliquid iste eum. Dolores praesentium doloremque aut reprehenderit earum nam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”