Lou Dobbs, not really. Its more my poor suburban gentrification of snoop dogg. As far as my trading experience goes, it is a bit haphazard so say the least. I first started with Dow Stocks with what I guess could be called a swing trading system. I really didn't win or lose too much, but I enjoyed it so I guess it was worth it. I did that for about 2 years until I became bored with it and stopped actively trading for a while. I was then drawn to Forex about two years ago mainly because of the ridiculous leverage that can be obtained. I can't lie and say that I didn't do stupid things and use 80% of my available capital at sometimes 400:1. Obviously, I blew up a few times. Luckily, it was always on the simulators. After a few decent months on the simulators, I went live with mixed results for the first 15 months. The last three have been good.
I chose Forex over Futures initially because it just seemed simpler and the fact that most Forex dealers don't let you go into debt ( I'm sure there are examples that prove otherwise). I have heard too many horror stories about people losing $300K in futures with aggressive pyramiding. Knowing my tendencies, I thought it might be better to wait before trying that arena. Also, it doesn't require a lot of capital. I've seen as low as $300, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Sorry to sound like such shill for the industry. There are definitely problems (unregulated, no central exchange, shady brokers) which I think prevent from being treated seriously. But as a way to learn and practice trading, I think it is a good place to start.