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Some of the biggest hedge fund titans will face off at the poker table this week

Some of the biggest hedge fund titans will face off at the poker table on Wednesday night in New York City at the tenth annual Take 'Em To School poker tournament.

The event benefits Education Reform Now, a nonprofit that advocates for high-quality education in public schools.

Poker and hedge funds go hand-in-hand. The world of high-flying financiers is drenched in references on Showtime’s hit series “Billions”, and big-name fund managers often play in the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Also, former players have transitioned from the poker table to the buy-side of Wall Street.

A recent study found that hedge fund managers who do well in poker tournaments also tend to deliver better performance.

"This effect is stronger for tournaments with more entrants, larger buy-ins, larger cash prizes and for managers who win multiple tournaments, suggesting poker skills are correlated with fund management skills,” researchers from the University of Central Florida and the University of Alabama wrote in a paper called "Hedge Fund Hold'em."

The researchers added that “investors appear cognizant of this as after a manager wins a poker tournament, net flows to the manager’s fund increase significantly."

The poker tournament's co-chair, former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson, sees some similar skill-sets between successful poker players and successful fund managers.

"Investing is similar where being super patient and waiting and waiting and waiting until you find a fat pitch where the odds are heavily in your favor and then bet big. That's the core of almost any successful program," Tilson, who now runs Empire Financial Research, told Yahoo Finance.

Some of the names expected to show on Thursday in New York include David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital and Marc Lasry of Avenue Capital, Top firms such as Sachem Head, Point72, Third Point, Pershing Square, and Lakewood Capital Management, will host tables.

Past event award winners include former pro tennis player James Blake, American Pie actress Shannon Elizabeth, two-time WSOP bracelet winner Andy Frankenberger, 14-time WSOP bracelet winner and poker hall of fame member Phil Hellmuth, "Billions" co-creator Brian Koppelman, and 3 WSOP bracelet winner Vanessa Selbst, to name a few.

Tickets are still available both for the poker tournament and the casino night.

Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.

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