Some thoughts: Trading is a no ante game, i.e. you don't have bet.
Gambling is betting on the outcome of an event, e.g. the value of a hand to be dealt, a horse race, a football game, the rollo of dice, the stopping point of a wheel of fortune. In trading, that event is price change. Most of the time, the direction of the next price move or series of moves is random, i.e. any bet is an even 50/50 bet with no edge. Add in the house vig, and most of the time the market offers you the chance to lose over time.
This game can be beat. You need to learn to identify those few times when the direction of the next movement of price favors one direction over the other, and make the most of those times. Or, you can identify bets where you can make proportional non-directional bets that will keep losses small but allow for profits larger than the losses.
In most games, the event ends without any further effort by the bettor (the last card is dealt and called, the horses cross the finish line, time runs out of the game, the dice come to a rest, the wheel stops spinning). You either win according to your bet and odds, or you lose your bet. Your losses are thus self-limiting on a per bet basis. In this game, i.e. trading, price change continues. Your losses can and will continue to grow until you or the margin clerk stops you out.
Bet size should be according to you bankroll and odds.
Trading is gambling, but it is a beatable game.
Gambling is betting on the outcome of an event, e.g. the value of a hand to be dealt, a horse race, a football game, the rollo of dice, the stopping point of a wheel of fortune. In trading, that event is price change. Most of the time, the direction of the next price move or series of moves is random, i.e. any bet is an even 50/50 bet with no edge. Add in the house vig, and most of the time the market offers you the chance to lose over time.
This game can be beat. You need to learn to identify those few times when the direction of the next movement of price favors one direction over the other, and make the most of those times. Or, you can identify bets where you can make proportional non-directional bets that will keep losses small but allow for profits larger than the losses.
In most games, the event ends without any further effort by the bettor (the last card is dealt and called, the horses cross the finish line, time runs out of the game, the dice come to a rest, the wheel stops spinning). You either win according to your bet and odds, or you lose your bet. Your losses are thus self-limiting on a per bet basis. In this game, i.e. trading, price change continues. Your losses can and will continue to grow until you or the margin clerk stops you out.
Bet size should be according to you bankroll and odds.
Trading is gambling, but it is a beatable game.
