ahhhh...so profit is the measure of a trader. so if he is consistently profitable but loses most of his trades he is "not gambling" no? Is an edge the same as card counting?. does an edge ever disappear? so if an edge disappears what does this do to the "not gambling" side of this thread? ES
Yes. Twice: once as Thunderdog when you first started the thread, and just now under my less glorious handle.
In my view, there are only 2 genuine "edges"... both illegal in US markets. The talk about "having an edge" or "finding an edge" is all wishful thinking and hooey. You can have an edge over less-skilled players by your knowledge and behavior... and that's usually worth something, but there is no edge (legal one, anyway) on the markets.
this edge thing ....."Gambling"? no?... a skill set would be price action trading only then? what say you? Please vote above...
Not "price action trading" alone, no. WHICH such trades and HOW you play them determines whether you're gambling or exercising knowledge and discipline. In BlackJack... you need to have the KNOWLEDGE that the deck is "in your favor", and you also need the DISCIPLINE to "get the money out"... even though on the next hand players on both sides of you might get BJ while you get crapola.
Was that really five and one half years ago?... how can we go through such a long time and never meet...amazing! I will live and die here as an anonymous character...
but blackjack is you and one other person, where the market and ITS BEHAVIOUR is a collective that you cannot control no matter how disciplined the market is...market behaviour and player behaviour are two separate thingy's... Scataphagos how would you adapt to a changing market. would you "not gamble" less or more? ES
I identify gambling as taking a position that has an uncertain future. I believe that all trading along with most things you do is gambling. Gambling seems to be an undesirable activity. How can that be when we do it all the time? When you stop gambling you stop living.
The similarity between counting cards in BJ and trading... is when you KNOW the odds are in your favor, you bet... or bet bigger than normal for you. The results of "one hand" or "this trade" are irrelevant... unless you foolishly "go all in"... any INDIVIDUAL trade/play is random enough to bankrupt the player. It's not a matter of "control".... it's a matter of "probability". When the deck is known to be "in your favor", you need to get the money out. When the market is known to be "in the favor of a particular play", you also need to get the money out. DISCIPLINE is doing so. KNOWLEDGE is knowing "when the market favors a particular resolution of a situation". You've been trading a long time, Michael... surprised you're still confused by this issue. How's Hogan, BTW?