Poker Theory and Analytics
MIT Sloan's Independent Activities Period short course applies poker theory to investment management and trading. Faculty advisor Paul Mende leads sessions covering betting strategy, probability, and decision-making under uncertainty, then draws parallels to portfolio construction, risk management, and trading psychology. Materials on MIT OpenCourseWare include lecture slides and readings used during the four-week January term, when MIT students, staff, and alumni take on activities outside the regular curriculum. The course is broad-based rather than a deep technical dive, aimed at giving finance-minded students a framework for thinking about edge, variance, and bankroll management borrowed directly from poker strategy. No enrollment or certificate is offered; the materials are free to study directly from MIT's OpenCourseWare site under a Creative Commons license.