I can't believe I'm posting in this silly semantics thread. If gambling is risking money on an uncertain outcome, trading is gambling. So is opening a business, or buying an index fund. This is closest to my definition, so IMO of course it is gambling. If gambling is risking money in an uncertain outcome with a _negative expectation_, then it may or may not be gambling, depending on how the trading is being done. Then again, by this definition skilled poker players with good game selection or BJ card counters are not gambling, either. But most people wouldn't buy that. Fletch
If there is nothing random and nothing new under the sun Should only be about knowledge. Even the lottery
I'll sell you a 1% share of my car for 100 times par value with only a few caveats: You can't ride in it, you can't tell me what to do with it, and you can't share in any money I earn with it. However, you are free to sell another sucker your share. Okay it's not gambling, it's fraud Don
why is my buying a stock at 30.00 and hoping to sell it at 30,25 gambling but my buying a shirt at 5 dollers and hoping to sell it in a store for a profit not gambling?
Because your shirt has a practical, useful purpose. Stocks have no practical purpose, it's just a piece of paper. You can't eat it, wear it, nor does it give shelter. Best you can do with a stock is find a greater fool. Don P.S. Again, stocks paying a significant dividend are excluded from the above. They actually have a practical purpose. :
i have always viewed this line from one of my trading books as very true. "Trading is only gambling if you are a gambler"
Wait a minute, isn't getting in a car just a gamble with a high R/R ratio based on biased personal backtesting? All of life involves evaluation of risk. I think the validity and magnitude of the r/r ratio discerns a gamble from an acceptable risk. The greatest risk is to take no risk.
Depends: Universe of Decisions: A. Good evaluation B. Poor evaluation or no evaluation C. Estimated positive expectancy D. Estimated negative or zero expectancy Bad Trade=Bad Risk=Gamble={AD, BC, BD} Good Trade= Acceptable Risk=AC Even selecting a full-time job involves a similar decision process. Most of these are bad trades as well!