Bet on it: Zvi Mowshowitz on professional gambling, trading, and AI futures

Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11)

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