It's gambling. You can do nothing to affect the price of any underlying. A takeover bid, Somebody cooks the books, A customer dies from the product, A competitor introduces a new product rendering yours obsolete, The company finds a cure for (insert disease), Etc, You're at the mercy of anything. It's gambling. I like to bet on motorsports. A heavily funded team that should do well has a mechanical failure/accident, It's gambling.
By the by, Don't get me wrong, I don't say it's gambling in a negative way, I enjoy the hell out of it, Let's just not fool ourselves.
Hello Arnie Guitar, We are doing whatever we want to do in the markets and that is all that matters. Who cares if its gambling, insider trading, cheating, trading systems, trading edge, or whatever. All that matters is ONE thing and ONE thing ONLY. Make Money!!!!
It's semamtics; I refer to myself as a speculator rather than a gambler. Gambling is betting on an unknown outcome based on luck.For the most part the house has the edge. Speculating, is taking a calculated risk on an unknown outcome. You can have the edge in your favor. Imagine going to a casino where at any time you could pull your bet or at least part of it, and if things were going in your favor you could increase your bet. Both cases you can still win or lose but depending on whether you are gambling or speculating the edge shifts from the house to the player. If going to a casino is gambling is owning a casino also gambling?