Not only are the operators dodgy, they are also a closely knit circle, much like the legal profession, medical, etc, etc. etc! One must remember that the masses have been kept in the dark (ignorance) for centuries by the so called elite in society, and this of course has been, and is still being, done for an obvious reason. If someone wants to be foolish enough to not face facts that is entirely up to them, but for me it is very easy as I just see them all as a bunch of big fat pigs, leaving slops all over the place for me to pick up as I gamble my way thru the day!
Load of crap with a bit of you know what thrown in! There are no experts in the trading game, even though many think they are! If some so called "professional traders" are so good at what they do, then why do they have to "teach" others? Why don't they just make the big money every day? As I have said, it is a no brainer, really!
With all due respect, that's not how I interpret the definition of "chance." If you look at the definition and read it closely, it states, "the absence of ANY cause of events that can be predicted, understood, or controlled." Therefore, if there are at least SOME aspects of it that can be "predicted, understood, or controlled" (i.e. supply & demand economics... an influx of buyers causing the price to go up, or an influx of sellers causing the price to go down) then by definition its not chance. Again, I am not trying to assert that its impossible to gamble on the markets... as far as I'm concerned its possible to gamble on almost anything. And personally, I do believe that the majority of traders and retail investors ARE gambling just because they don't have the ability to get any type of edge in the markets. My point is that its completely inaccurate, and somewhat rather unsophisticated, to just unilaterally & uncategorically assume that all trading is gambling and that all traders are gamblers... because its not supported by any actual definition of "gambling" that exists in the dictionary or any legally defined definition in state or federal law Just about the only definition of gambling that does support it, are some of these loosely defined, partially fabricated, and generally misconceived definitions of the word that the average person "believes" to be the definition of gambling... many of which are being thrown around on this thread.
Best post I have read so far, and not just because of the obvious reason! You have mentioned some key words that sum it all up. The next step, once the fact is taken on board, is to not listen to the so called experts, actually, if you (general) do the exact opposite to what they preach, you will be a professional gambler in no time at all!
The ultimate aim of trading is to make money! You should have said "suckers" are needed! As for valuations, I think you have let the cat out of the bag there! You did however mention one very important fact about trading, that most will have no clue about, yet, it is so obvious that it is not so obvious.
Exactly. Now, watch this: 1. The sky is blue. 2. It's dark at nighttime. 3. Dogs bark. 4. The Lakers play basketball. Okay, let's see how long it takes for some of our certified geniuses on ET to "prove" these statements false.
You're just choosing the definition which suits your argument. Chance can refer to randomness, predictability, probability etc. It's a much less specific word than 'gamble'. When dealing with the various outcome of events, chance just refers to the randomness of the outcome. I can state that all traders are gamblers, because the definitions do support that argument. Throw out the legal definitions of gambling - it's formed by lawyers or politicians with an agenda, who don't understand the key mathematical principles behind the activities. I have not made up any definition of gambling, it's right there in the dictionary. Furthermore, my arguments are supported by those in the field of mathematics, professional 'gamblers' and quite a few successful traders. The only incorrect definition of gambling being thrown around in this thread is to suggest that skill determines whether it is gambling, or whether gambling is restricted to just casino games, poker, sportsbetting etc. I don't really like this discussion as it is quite trivial. What should be discussed is the mathematics behind the two activities, and how they are essentially the same.