Chess runs a close second to poker in terms of analytical ability and using strategy and skill to win ... but poker has the added functionality of randomness, which better simulates the securities markets, IMHO.
Reardon, I've always admired your aggressiveness please let us know if you find anything worth doing, I'm in the same sit as you these days. I'm seriously considering competition level karting. http://www.f440.com/2_stroke_karts.shtml
Sports betting can be fun even for those who don't live and breath sports. I've used a Martingale strategy (something I'd NEVER do in trading) for several years now for MLB Baseball and NBA and NCAA Basketball with decent success. Another suggestion is to learn about and then collect fines wines. It's very social, you meet some very interesting people and chicks fucking dig it a big way.
RM, are you a skilled martial artists? Learn to fight. Jeet Kune Do will make you a better man, a better trader, more healthy, and more disciplined in your life. I'm currently training 6 hours per week, and it works to solve the issue I was having with boredom. Right now my main edge is in the pre market, and there is no point in sitting at the screen all day. If you're in NYC I can recommend some great training.
Damn, you're right: I'm not making all that much sense, and even I don't fully understand my own motivations sometimes. Complicated, and kind of disturbing. <i>RM, are you a skilled martial artist?</i> --->No, just a few days of Krav Maga training in the IDF. People tend to gravitate towards learning new things they already have a natural aptitude for. Not a fit in this case...
easy money is still in LIVE poker, at least at the dog track I go to.. You can't multitable and tipping the dealer cuts into your roll ( I know them all well where I go so it is hard to not tip them, but I don't tip much nontheless). The 5/10 tables are full of people just pulling on the lever trying to score a hand. I can't make a living out of it but can supplement and my wife is down my throat most of the time for being there too much time....but I love it and the money is most certainly there for someone who can grind it out...there is a kid about 20 yrs old there that makes money on a consistent basis playing 5/10.....
Like I have said in the past...human nature is to live in the past or in the future ...you need to live in the now and like it...go do what ndoji said and find how much reward one can get from teaching and helping others..I have learned from my son how rewarding it can be to give....
What about trying to "beat" the markets in other ways then? That fits your natural aptitudes surely, plenty of competition, it's a serious intellectual challenge, and it makes money if you get it right!