solve the equation: trader = > or < gambler

Gamble (from dictionary.com)

#2 to stake or risk money, or anything of value, on the outcome of something involving chance.

If your trading your gambling pure and simple. Having an edge or using a system or anything that is legal (and usually even when not) does NOT change the basic facts.

If its not a RISK FREE transaction than its gambling. Even putting money into a basic passbook savings account is a gamble. Open a business and its a gamble.

Being the casino in vegas is gambling. Even if you consistently make money your still gambling.

Its not a bad thing and instead of saying that your not gambling you should embrace it and understand it. Then once you understand that its all a gamble you can start to look for ways to make it a GOOD gamble. Then you can develop an edge.

so the real question is not "is it gambling?" the real question is "is it a good gamble and can I expect to have a net positive result?"

Lastly I would like to add a statement from someone I highly respect. "Everybody gets what they want from the market" by Ed Seykota. If you want a gambling "High" you will quickly figure out how to get that from trading. If you want to make money you will figure that out too. Its just a matter of what you want.
 
Quote from jrlvnv:

where does one get a edge or start to learn about "edges" when one does not have a edge yet?
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start with drawing trendlines on a chart, u can practice for free at bigchart.com , i think there is a tutorial on there
 
trading = gambling.

he who has an edge is not trading but rather running a business of <b>professional money management</b>.
 
There's a whole lotta really nice homes in the Hamptons.

A bunch of them are owned by people involved in trading stocks / commodities / futures, managing money.

I've yet to meet one that claims they bought said house with casino winnings.


Trading does not equal gambling.

People who like to gamble should go to a casino, they will have more fun.
 
Because we enter trades where the probability of success is less than 100%, we are gambling. A man counting cards in blackjack, or a world class professional poker player, are both gamblers. Just because you do or don't have an edge doesn't make it not gambling; if you are risking money in a game of uncertainty that is gambilng.
 
Quote from jrlvnv:

where does one get a edge or start to learn about "edges" when one does not have a edge yet?
More...

By staying in the game.
 
Quote from jrlvnv:

where does one get a edge or start to learn about "edges" when one does not have a edge yet?
More...


Easy. Screentime. You have to watch the markets till you start to see things that make sense. Try to understand why its happening. Learn to read volume.

And always remember, nothing works every single time. Your edge will only give you a better probability so you can take the trade with good money management and risk levels.
 
Quote from ess1096:

I think I'm quoting Sparandeo who said gambling is taking risk with blind odds(lottery etc) and trading is taking risk when the odds are in your favor. Very true.
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Yup, you are right. Since several people made comments regarding my initial post, I thought it would make sense to write out the exact paragraph where Sperandeo's "Methods of a Wall Street Master" discussed the trading and gambling anaology:

"I didn't really gamble; I speculated. Gambling is taking a risk when the odds are against you, like playing the lottery or pumping silver dollars into a slot machine. Speculating is taking a risk when the odds are in your favor. The art of speculation consists of being able to accurately decipher and play the odds, knowing how to place your bets so that you will be able to play in the next hand even if you lose, and having emotional discipline to execute according to your knowledge, not whims (Sperandeo, pg 5)"
 
Quote from jrlvnv:

where does one get a edge or start to learn about "edges" when one does not have a edge yet?
More...

There are lots of ways to approach trading.

Attached is a set of content boxes under three possible Phases of getting started.

I use this as a sketching guide when I note the orientation of a given practitioner. It is a cleaned up version.
 

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