Jul 8, 2010
Ed Thorp: Bridge with Warren Buffett
I came across this great read from Ed Thorp on his experience meeting Warren Buffett. He talks a bit about the relationship between bridge and investing, which might by why Buffett enjoys it so much. I’ve been trying to learn about bridge myself (so far I’ve been reading ). This is what Sharon Osberg, Buffett’s bridge partner says about the game:
Warren would tell you, playing bridge is like running a business. It’s about hunting, chasing, nuance, deception, reward, danger, cooperation and, on a good day, victory.
Here is an excerpt from Thorp’s paper:
“Bridge players know that bridge is what mathematicians call a game of imperfect information. The bidding, which precedes the play of the cards, conveys information about the four concealed hands held by the two pairs of players that are opposing each other. Once play begins, players use information from the bidding and from the cards as they are played to deduce who holds the remaining as yet unseen cards. The stock market also is a game of imperfect information and even resembles bridge in that they
both have their deceptions and swindles. Like bridge, you do better in the market if you get more information, sooner, and put it to better use. It’s no surprise then that Buffett, arguably the greatest investor in history, is a bridge addict.”
The full paper is below: