In this episode, Patrick McKenzie (patio11) is joined by Zvi Mowshowitz (TheZvi) to discuss his wide-ranging career as a professional Magic: The Gathering player, sports gambler, equities trader, public intellectual on the covid-19 epidemic, and AI-focused journalist. They go into depth on how trading happens in less formal markets with lessons that resonate in more formal markets. They also explore the fallacies of rational decision-making in large organizations, the significance of obsession and practice in achieving excellence, and exchange predictions on AI.

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Full transcript available here: https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/betting-trading-zvi-mowshowitz/

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Sponsor: This podcast is sponsored by Check, the leading payroll infrastructure provider and pioneer of embedded payroll. Check makes it easy for any SaaS platform to build a payroll business, and already powers 60+ popular platforms. Head to checkhq.com/complex and tell them patio11 sent you.

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Links:

• https://thezvi.wordpress.com/

• https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/

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Twitter:

@patio11

@TheZvi

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Timestamps:

(00:00 ) Intro

(00:16 ) Meet Zvi Mowshowitz

(04:11 ) Trading and Magic: The Gathering

(07:24 ) Professional sports gambling

(11:58 ) Navigating the sportsbook market

(22:33 ) Sponsor: Check

(23:48 ) Financial markets vs. sports betting

(34:02 ) Covid-19 early predictions 

(43:21 ) Covid-19 policy failures and blame

(49:52 ) Vaccine rollout chaos 

(01:01:11 ) The importance of scaling effective strategies

(01:14:46 ) AI predictions

(01:23:58 ) Wrap

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Complex Systems is part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: Turpentine.co