CNBC Reporter: "What are you going to do with the money?
John Cynn: "...definitely going to continue crypto..."
In an interview hosted by CNBC, John Cynn stood his ground pretty well against some very patronizing or somewhat cringeworthy questions. From being asked if Donald Trump could be a good poker player to being asked did he actually "win-win" the WSOP title, Cynn's raw display of class and humbleness under the magnifying glass served to help positively boost the image of poker players in the eyes of some.
The shining light of this whole interview was when John was asked about his investments in crypto, in which he elected to give light to the growing trend of poker players shifting their focus to the crypto world.
John Cynn: "...theres a lot skills from poker that translate over from crypto to poker" ... CNBC Reporter: "Like what?"
John Cynn: "Our tolerance to variance...Crypto is very volatile just like poker [and so in both] You really need a strong analytic skillset to be able to break things down" [in order to achieve success]
As a poker player and poker enthusiast myself, Cynns words spoke volumes to the various impacts crypto has had on my life in only 2 short years. I've been involved in the world of poker for a little over a decade now and I have realized that It took me about 5 months being invested into Bitcoin to earn just about 5x my career earnings in poker. Not only was this feat impressive, but is also a reminder to myself, and to those I share my experiences with, that the crypto market is young; to not seize these opportunities as they come would be one of my greatest of failures. Still, crypto, like poker, is no easy go - trading or investing.
Why Poker is Most Akin to Investing and Trading Crypto
Crypto and its underlying revolutionary effects are becoming increasingly influential in my everyday decisions as well as beginning to play a bigger role in the type of goals that I set for myself day in and day out.
I used to play poker very frequently between cash games, tournaments, and on some online poker sites like Carbon and Bovada, all while building my bankroll and learning the ins-and outs of poker as a whole. After jumping in on the cryptocurrency wave I've come to realize that I haven't strayed too far from what I am familiar with - in terms of managing my risk, dealing with variance, and taking care of my bankroll.
The cryptocurrency scene often reminds me of the online poker one, and indeed many people I know who used to play poker are now enthusiastically involved in cryptocurrencies. This is not a surprise since online poker players are generally young and male (the most prominent crypto demographic), have a high risk appetite and enjoy both the thrill of competing and the love of gambling. - @flatoutcrypto : Medium
In poker, there will always be stretches of play where it seems like your best hands are always being bested by a better hand, or that the board never plays out the way you need it - especially after you crunch through hand-range percentages and pot odds in hands you're usually favored to win. Just like in poker, in crypto, it does not matter how good of player/technical analysts/charter you think you are because there's always the chance that every thing will go wrong, and often times does. This is the harsh reality that makes or break most poker players and crypto traders/investors.
What many will not admit is that it takes great composure and a strong will to never play poker while on tilt- this is something I touch on in one of my previous articles titled, "Is Poker More Skill or Luck/Gambling." Again, when dealing with cryptocurrencies the requirements for making sound trades and good investments remain the same: one must never trade while being out of the solid state of mind because more times than not, the results are usually never good.
And last but not least, taking profits. Through my experiences playing poker and trading crypto I've come to learn that profit-taking is more of an art than skill and requires much discipline. I cannot begin to explain the many times I've overstayed at a poker table where I was up a huge profit but failed to get up from my seat. During this process greed usually kicks in to the point where I'm looking to extract value from players who I've already beaten in big hands and so I overlook the fact that those same players begin to have less and less to lose when playing against me- this is never a good sign and should always be taking as a red flag for when progress in a game is about to take a turn for the worse.
It is tempting to let your Blockfolio balance accumulate, see the numbers keep appreciating further and further, never to touch your hard earned gains. Taking profits, however, is key. There is nothing wrong with taking money out now and again, particularly at points you have already identified to take it and doing so will make you better prepared to deal with any sharp sudden downturns. If the market dropped 90% tomorrow and took 2 years to recover, as Bitcoin has done previously, would you be content to wait? - @flatoutcrypto : Medium
Taking profits and not taking profits is ultimately the yin and the yang in both crypto and poker. The fact should remain that one should never underestimate the great feeling of resting assured that he is up +X% no matter what when he takes some amount of profit. This will usually always be the better outcome over remaining glued to your seat at the poker table or in front of your computer screen for too long wishing you had just gotten up an hour ago.
Back to John Cynn and crypto
John Cynn: "This is the dream, that when everyone starts playing poker they all dream about winning the mainevent..."
Toward the end of John Cynn's interview, Cynn said that knowing which crypto to invest in wasn't his "specialty," and one can only agree with him on that as he continued on to state, "I mostly invest in ICOs" - Now, to many crypto experts and bitcoin maximalist, this would sound very concerning to say the least , however, John Cynn indeed has a long trek ahead of him in the crypto sphere but why worry? Maybe he knows just what he's doing.
He did just win the World Series of Poker Main Event.
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Be sure to tune in for future posts on my thoughts on new "decentralized" poker platforms and our new Scorum/Lucksacks run poker community/platforms. I'm already working on them and promise to give my most honest and informed opinion on each.
Thanks for reading...
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