How is retail day trading anything but a gamble?

speedo said:
Academics are not traders, traders are traders. However academics are generally smart people who are adept at devising quasi-empirical bullshit to razzle dazzle the great unwashed while bolstering tenure as well as stature among the theorists. If there were no edges, algo's could not make money and they are written by humans who understand the nature of price development. Those who put in the study and work can ultimately understand such but few do, therefore "markets are random", "PA/TA doesn't work (whatever the fuck means)", "only the institutions can make money, the markets are rigged" etc etc. Those who have done the work understand the probabilities of price direction given defined technical conditions as well as the risk and reward scenarios for a given trade. BTW, the worst way to learn to trade is to engage in these endless and mindless discussions.
More...
Great post and so true...
 
See a lot of sour grapes in this thread. IMHO it takes a lot of time, time most are not willing to invest. I think it takes more than 10000 hours of doing something to become good at it. But w trading you get taught tough lessons along the way & most likely will blow up a few times. I know I did. But somewhere along the way it just starts to click & you decide to treat it like a business instead of a hobby full of hopium & dreams. But even then you have to be constantly looking for edges & opportunities.. It the hardest job but the best job imho.
 
KCalhoun said:
It's not glamorous, but trading beats the heck out of corporate 9to5 drudge. Bosses from hell, moron coworkers, company politics ugh. And ties. Blech. For 21 years every day is casual Friday with gym shorts.:D

I love trading, sing "yo ho, yo ho, a traders' life for me" lol
More...
Yes, it is a great profession for us anti-socials.
 
Roddog101 said:
See a lot of sour grapes in this thread. IMHO it takes a lot of time, time most are not willing to invest. I think it takes more than 10000 hours of doing something to become good at it.
More...
No offense sir, your 10000 hours quote reminded me of the quote on how many steps it takes to stay healthy?

Answer: 10,000 steps.

It turned out that number was plugged out of thin air with no scientific basis:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/stay...d-to-take-10000-steps-a-day-for-better-health

Do you have any scientific basis? I am eager to know. o_O
 
markteshorn said:
For a day trading, investing and gambling goes hand in hand. Although day trading is a fast and glamorous way for making money, it includes a plethora of risk aspects which makes it gambling in disguise for most traders. It is simply a quick reaction to the current market and avoids considering all the factors which are important for driving an investment, which makes day trading not to be a win-win.
More...
then find something else to do.

if you think you can make money out of it do it.

there are pro gamblers who think they can do it ..so they do it.
 
Handle123 said:
Nothing like not having to pay taxes for decades on retirement accounts, and even better finding ways of screw IRS and they get nothing when you croak.
More...

I agree, I like trading my SEP IRA account. Of course when we turn 72 we have that annual "Required Minimum Distribution" to where IRS will then start getting their cut (70½ if you turned 70½ before Jan 1, 2020).
 
qlai said:
To me, it’s the other way around - your job pay is not scalable. Day traders during volatility, like we had recently, can make six figures a day easy.
More...

How is day trading scalable? You need a 8 figure account to make 6 figures easy a day.

Swing trading and investing is scalable day trading not so.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top