Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon

Two major events happened in Sam's life in the fall of 2012, when he was a junior at MIT.

The first event was a job fair on the MIT campus that led him to consider a future in finance. Although Sam was a physics major, he had lost interest in his studies. Hearing that most of MIT’s physics majors went on to work for tech companies or trading firms, rather than becoming physicists, Sam submitted his resume at the job fair and received invitations to three different high-frequency trading firms: Susquehanna, Wolverine, and Jane Street Capital. All three eventually offered him internships, and Sam accepted the offer at Jane Street.

Part of the interview process Sam underwent at Jane Street included a series of games and meta-games with ever-evolving rules and stakes: poker and coin-flipping, with new and unusual rules that changed during play. Interviewers also goaded applicants into making side bets with each other at every turn. Sam found that these unusual games perfectly aligned with his skills, his temperament, and his experience with games and puzzles. Unlike other applicants, he did not feel nervous when faced with a ticking clock, unknown variables, messy rules, or incomplete information. The games engaged his brain and allowed him to think strategically and make quick decisions based on limited information.