But what if you job is not there? It has happened many times that factory workers drive up to a padlocked plant. They bought gas to go to work and work was gone. This can happen to anyone. Anytime money is involved, in the truest sense, it would be a gamble. What exactly is NOT a gamble?
I read it, but I don't recall it. Anyhow, for any book, it is generally a good idea to check out the reviews on Amazon. It gives you a feedback, a general idea and sometimes a condensed form of the info in the book, just like the 2nd review for this book: http://www.amazon.com/Random-Walk-D...sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1 People seemed to like the book, giving it a 4 stars average.... It is more about investing though...: "This is actually three books in one. The first part is a history of stock market bubbles from the 17th to the 21st century. That, in itself, is enough to make this book invaluable. The second part is an excellent introduction to different investment and stock valuation methods. The third part is the author's specific investment advice. It is not, as some reviewers have said, a "buy index funds" approach. It is based on asset allocation between stocks, cash, bonds, and real estate, depending on your age and risk tolerance."
I sense animosity and bitterness in your comment. English is not my native language so I may never learn it perfectly. In the meantime if you focused on what people say instead of the style of their speaking you may learn something. Be happy and prosper, bc
%% Good points FON; any gambling business will throw OUT card counters out or worse. Brokers love winners.The fact WSJ + others uses the words as equals does not make it so ,@ all. NOT a prediction.
I think he is right, not wrong. You cannot proof that he is gambling by watching only 1 trade. The only way to proof that he is gambling or not is a mathematical way. But for that you need a statistical representative number of observations. With this serie of observations it is possible to proof mathematically if he is gambling or not. Can you proof he is gambling? Maybe you think he is gambling, but that's no proof. I can proof, based on my trading results,and with help of a big number of trades, that if I trade 100 times the total result will always be profitable. This would mean that I am not gambling. I have also a much higher number of winning trades then 50/50. If it was gambling I would hover around 50/50.
Have a friend who plays video poker for long time in Vegas, she averages minus $5k to $125k 4 of 5 years and 5th year she gets over $500k. She has her rules down pat, 500 hands an hour playing $100 per hand in hopes of getting Royal Flush paying 4800 to 1, based on the facts she has made and kept over $3 million for her years. Do you consider it gambling or trading? I look at my Long Term Commodity system of trying to find extremes on year charts, I know what my risk is on every trade, and after many rollovers on promising trade, I know I will get 55-95% of nine year swing. I might lose on attempts for several months, but very much it is like her profession. She has back tested her moves, always tries to get better, her odds are far better than mine as she can test out millions of hands knowing what has best odds. I don't, although I can test back sixty years on some markets, there are limits. After much thought, I think she better trader in terms of discipline than I can be, but yet I can't go on and on so many hands, so many months wanting for the $480k winner, as the losses do mount. Her drawdowns much steeper than mine. She does get points for every dollar gambled on those cards you put into machines, millions of points every year, free food and shows. But do you consider what she does gambling?
God, that's kind of nuts...what she's doing, or her gambling tactical strategy -- you have got to be Rainman to enjoy that, or do that.