Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat’s commentary for the week of July 8, 2014

Article Excerpt

One of my most valuable investing rules resembles something I learned decades ago, as a teenage poker player. When you sit down to play poker, the first thing you do is try to spot the sucker. This is the weakest player at the table who continually “feeds the pot”—throws more money in than he or she takes out. The better players quickly recognize the sucker(s) and try not to take too much advantage of them too quickly, to keep them in the game. Thanks to contributions from the suckers, the better players tend to break even or win more often than not. The key investing rule goes like this: If you can’t spot the sucker, then you should quit playing, because chances are you’re it. You should only continue to play if the stakes are so low that the game qualifies as reasonably priced recreation. That’s because poker is an example of what mathematicians refer to as a “zero-sum game”: you can only win…