Finance Fundamentals #2

In the last article, we talked about why most MTG finance articles are basically useless.

Ready to read another MTG finance article?

Great!

Today we are going to talk about how to make money through MTG finance. I'll give you a hint: it's not going to be easy.

There is a simple proof for why.

If it was easy, everyone would do it.

So let's get back to the main topic: how to make money.

Making money through MTG finance will require a high level of specialization. In other words, you will need focus!

Trust me. In the beginning, I dabbled with a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Extremely unfocused. I had very little success and made a lot of big mistakes.

Over time, I kept sharpening my focus, and it has been vital to my success.

So what do I mean by focus? What do I mean by specialization?

Warren Buffet refers to this idea as "building your moat."

[[card: Moat | set: MED]]

What he means is building up a skill through some personal competitive advantage so that no one can touch you.

For example:

I played soccer starting when I was 4 years old. I kept playing all year round until I was 16.

Now, let's say someone wanted to learn soccer. No matter how hard they trained, they would never be able to compete with me unless they trained for a decade straight.

This is a moat.

Don't be too discouraged just yet. The moats you will need to build for MTG finance will not take nearly as long.

So what does a moat look like for Magic?

Let's take my friend Kyle.

Kyle has been playing MTG forever. He has also been working at an LGS for at least 5 years.

He looks at prices every day and is an excellent player in formats such as EDH, Legacy, and Modern.

As it turns out, he is brilliant at investing in MTG, but he sticks to what he knows.

Does he try investing in online cards? No.

Does he try investing in Standard? No.

He has a deep understanding of the paper market, specifically for older formats.

This is the key to success. Stick to what you know.

For me, I stick to Standard specs on MTGO. That's it! I play a ton of Standard all the time and I've been messing around with the MTGO market for over two years.

I'm always tempted to try something new, and when I do I generally regret it!

So what do you know a lot about?

Maybe you work at an LGS and have a really good understanding of what casual players are looking for.

Maybe you know the ins and outs of your pet modern deck.

Maybe you are an MTGO grinder.

Maybe you play a ton of EDH.

When new cards come out, or there is otherwise a potential for a shift in prices, think about what you know that most other Magic players don't.

Then act on it.

-Luca
facebook.com/luca.ashok

[[published_at: 12 Feb 2017, 3:00 pm]]
[[category: article]]
[[preview_content: Learn the one key idea behind making money in MTG finance.]]
[[preview_image: https://canadianhighlander.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/moat.jpg]]