Poker Skills Correlated with Business Acumen: Insights from Women Entrepreneurs and Investors

Professional poker players and educators are increasingly citing strategic and emotional discipline honed at the table as transferable business competencies. High-stakes decision-making, probability assessment, and capital allocation—skills often developed through poker—have been linked to improved trading performance and risk management. Jenny Just, co-founder of PEAK6 Investments, argues poker could have shaved a decade off her career's learning curve. She co-founded Poker Power in 2020 to teach women confidence and business skills through the game, emphasizing strategic comfort and risk-taking. A 2022 Federal Reserve Bank of New York study found higher strategic sophistication correlates with higher trading profits. However, nearly 20 million U.S. adults exhibited at least one gambling problem in the past year, according to a 2025 National Council on Problem Gambling report, underscoring the need for responsible gambling resources. Leigh Marie Braswell of Kleiner Perkins and Charlie Munger of Berkshire Hathaway are among many investors who credit poker with shaping their professional judgment and resilience.