Read? Like a book or something? Nonsense. The shock of learning something new might kill them.
Do You Think Trading is Gambling?
- Thread starter nysestocks
- Start date
Read? Like a book or something? Nonsense. The shock of learning something new might kill them.
Nysestocks has good points. Once you are betting some money you are in fact gambling with your money or are you?
Like Bill Clinton in Lewinsky scandal once replied: "It depends how you define sexual intercourse."
I say it depends how you define gambling.
If you're betting your money based on nothing then you're gambling. If you are executing a backtested plan and will stop trading it if you find out that it is losing money then you are not gambling.
If you called any activity where you risk anything you own (i.e. money, pocessions, time) you can just as well say that we are gambling all the time in every activity we do.
Like Bill Clinton in Lewinsky scandal once replied: "It depends how you define sexual intercourse."
I say it depends how you define gambling.
If you're betting your money based on nothing then you're gambling. If you are executing a backtested plan and will stop trading it if you find out that it is losing money then you are not gambling.
If you called any activity where you risk anything you own (i.e. money, pocessions, time) you can just as well say that we are gambling all the time in every activity we do.
Quote from 4444CJones4444:
Read? Like a book or something? Nonsense. The shock of learning something new might kill them.
It's important to be clear on the terms we're using. Most people say "gambling" when they really mean "carelessly risking money", or they only associate "gambling" with "losing", or they pidgeonhole all "gamblers" as "low-life degenerates who have thrown their life away on gambling addiction."
Gambling, like many things in life, can be positive or negative. It happens to be one of the areas where people with addictive tendencies can get themselves into trouble. Just like alcohol, some people can handle it, and some can't. So "gambling" tends to be thought of by most people as something negative.
I'm not speaking on the "negative gambling". I'm speaking on gambling, with no moral, ethical, or emotional issues associated with it. Just gambling, from a game theory point of view.
Trading is gambling. Just like all other forms of gambling, most people lose money at it, there are a few who can make money at it, short term results resemble randomness, long term results approach some average (positive for winners, negative for losers).
If you are a trader, and you don't analyze trading as gambling, then you may be making some critical mistakes, because trading is gambling.
Sure, there are some superstars who can rely on their talent, the way a poker player may be especially talented at reading people, and those few superstars may never have to think about why they do what they do. It just works, so they do it. But for the rest of us, it's important to know that you are gambling.
Gambling, like many things in life, can be positive or negative. It happens to be one of the areas where people with addictive tendencies can get themselves into trouble. Just like alcohol, some people can handle it, and some can't. So "gambling" tends to be thought of by most people as something negative.
I'm not speaking on the "negative gambling". I'm speaking on gambling, with no moral, ethical, or emotional issues associated with it. Just gambling, from a game theory point of view.
Trading is gambling. Just like all other forms of gambling, most people lose money at it, there are a few who can make money at it, short term results resemble randomness, long term results approach some average (positive for winners, negative for losers).
If you are a trader, and you don't analyze trading as gambling, then you may be making some critical mistakes, because trading is gambling.
Sure, there are some superstars who can rely on their talent, the way a poker player may be especially talented at reading people, and those few superstars may never have to think about why they do what they do. It just works, so they do it. But for the rest of us, it's important to know that you are gambling.
gambling as you define it, in more common terms:
buying products (that are cheaply made in China) at Walmart....- paying to see a new movie that has rave reviews, only to find it offensive and not worthy of the reviews....
- driving on any American road...
- trusting any elected official to be honest, accomplish their boasts that they campaigned on...
- buying a loaf of bread at the grocery, and hoping that it really is fresh
- trusting the FDA labels on drugs or peanut butter (being protected from salmonela, as the recent news events have covered)
yeah, life is gambling too, for that matter,
unless you really want to bad mouth the investment arena with risk taking and broadly equate that to gambling, well, then
call going to a hospital for a bandaid on a paper cut and ending up with a appendix operation a gamble too....
oops, that last example, might not be a good parody of your rediculous thread...
investing is NOT gambling,
what they share in common is / are risk taking
not all investment products (especially with these most creative newly created swap derivatives) are riskless or risk free and approach the excessive risk levels like gambling,
most educated (uh, formally trained economists) will always take exception with this broad swath of uneducated (not formally trained with the ability to properly justify their claims on the topic and talk with some reasonable modicom of intelligence) babbly-book.....
YES. Wall Street is the BIGGEST CASINO in the World...
TWENTY QUESTIONS
Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?
Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?
Did gambling affect your reputation?
Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?
Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?
After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?
After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?
Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?
Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?
Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?
Were you reluctant to use "gambling money" for normal expenditures?
Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?
Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?
Have you ever gambled to escape worry, trouble, boredom or loneliness?
Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?
Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?
Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble?
Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling?
Have you ever considered self destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?
Most compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least seven of these questions.
TWENTY QUESTIONS
Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?
Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?
Did gambling affect your reputation?
Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?
Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?
After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?
After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?
Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?
Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?
Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?
Were you reluctant to use "gambling money" for normal expenditures?
Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?
Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?
Have you ever gambled to escape worry, trouble, boredom or loneliness?
Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?
Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?
Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble?
Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling?
Have you ever considered self destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?
Most compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least seven of these questions.
