Gambling?

[Tullibody]

Of course what we do is gambling IMHO so stop being so pious. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Why otherwise would there be spread BETS -- I know infra dig to the futures traders amongst us.
Quick analogy: when I used to put MUch bigger amounts on horses than I do on spread bets I probably spent 10 times as long analysing the race as I spend weighing up the charts on a spread bet. Oh and while I remember the same was true in preparation for 10 cars on the corn, oats, bean oil whatever futures. Anybody who doesn't put his/her money where it has the best chance of winning is not a gambler or a trader but the sort of mug punter that has provided income for the bookmaking classes/other traders through the ages.

 

[stevem12]

Trader333
I agree with you totally, as long as there is a chance of losing then it is a gamble. This is not a dirty word,there is nothing wrong with being a "professional gambler" , if your professional at it you must be making money and therefore only placing bets/trades after some form on worth while analysis.

John B
Yes poker by the same definition has to be gambling. Even if you come out ahead in the long run, any one bet/hand/trade has a chance of losing.

Steve.

 

[darrenf]

I dont think any of us should be reluctant to be badged as "gamblers". We are! Every trade has the chance of making or losing money as pointed out previously in this thread.

By the same token, any "professional" fund manager is also a gambler. Only they gamble with other peoples money and generally only ever go long in virtually the same shares as every other fund manager out there. Oh and they charge you, even if they lose money also! For every share they include in a portfolio, there is a chance that it will lose money. ie a gamble. A conventional fund manager wil not usually sell a losing position, maybe even buy more of the same share for an "average lower price", in the hope that the position will come right eventually!

We are all gamblers but you have to ask- who is the more skilled trader, the individual trader, trading with their own money or the conventional "professional" fund manager?