How are they so different? One game develops your probability, psychological and bet sizing skills, the other is great for pattern recognition, strategic thinking and being able to project potential moves into the future.
I respectfully disagree with your assessment. Chess and checkers are absolutely great indicators. Mastery of chess and checkers are indicators of a logical mind, capable of deception, and thinking 9 moves in the future...all essential components for trading. Although this is anecdotal, of the eight people I've mentored over the past 30 years, the one that didn't make it couldn't play chess. I would rank a good chess game higher than than a good poker game for an indicator in every occasion. Many of the greatest traders play an excellent game of chess, just ask the Palindrome, Soros.
>>Poker, yes, a good indicator. Chess, no, absolutely not. These are two different games, very different. >> Tetris. Taught me about charts. Invaluable.