Is Spread betting a form of gambling?

[donaldduke]

All are forms of gambling. If you don't believe me sell your house and trade with the profits, borrow the largest amount of money available to you and trade your way into the history books. No person who has ever posted on this site would even dare to consider this, but you and i will always read about how great and wonderful some of the posters have been. Uncertainty rules the trading day, week, month and year.

If a bank would lend me 5million quid today at a really good interest rate (say boe+1%) i would take it and trade with it.

I know how to manage risk.

My greatest fear would be my broker or the financial system collapsing wiping out my cash which wouldnt be insured, leaving me owing the bank 5million.

 

[gamma]

Gambling is based on luck,chance and hope.
When you place a bet on number you are gambling on your luck and hoping that by chance your number will come up, this is a pure gamble.
When you trade cable, you do not need the luck, chance or hope. It will go your way, if you have done your research correctly.If it goes against you , you have not done your work or do not have the correct information.
Anyone who thinks gambling has anything to do with trading should not be trading.

 

[Splitlink]

If a bank would lend me 5million quid today at a really good interest rate (say boe+1%) i would take it and trade with it.

I know how to manage risk.

My greatest fear would be my broker or the financial system collapsing wiping out my cash which wouldnt be insured, leaving me owing the bank 5million.

That's their problem.

 

[dr.blix]

Uncertainty rules the trading day, week, month and year.

uncertainty rules all life, apart from the life cycle itself...which is finite, certain and funnily enough can be charted...1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21.

someone might even figure out a way of introducing this into trading...it might help to make it less like gambling.

i don't see any substance to your argument paul, sorry.

 

[Paul71]

Gambling is based on luck,chance and hope.
When you place a bet on number you are gambling on your luck and hoping that by chance your number will come up, this is a pure gamble.
When you trade cable, you do not need the luck, chance or hope. It will go your way, if you have done your research correctly.If it goes against you , you have not done your work or do not have the correct information.
Anyone who thinks gambling has anything to do with trading should not be trading.

Across all industries there are a wide range of staff and employees etc, from time to time these employees make mistakes, they get it wrong, traders are no different. Would a plumber bet everything that he owned on being able to change the boiler at his next job without any hiccups? I very much doubt it, but that doesn't mean to say that plumbing is gambling...does it? One trade, right or wrong, doesn't make a trader (unless it's the Soros trade whereby he sold the pound and made a billion).

So please gamma, will you stop going on about gambling and trading, it's really quite tiresome.

 

[dealer911]

Best to think of it as gambling whatever it really is.. at least with gambling you KNOW for sure that you have a high probability of losing money and therefore you control how much you are prepared to risk.. with trading people tend to dismiss the chance of loss convinced that if they have done their research correctly it will go their way!.. that means if you do your research properly everytime you will never lose ?.. remember long term capital management had nobel prize winners and they blew up!.. always assume you are wrong and manage your stops to protect your capital!

 

[Paul71]

Best to think of it as gambling whatever it really is.. at least with gambling you KNOW for sure that you have a high probability of losing money and therefore you control how much you are prepared to risk.. with trading people tend to dismiss the chance of loss convinced that if they have done their research correctly it will go their way!.. that means if you do your research properly everytime you will never lose ?.. remember long term capital management had nobel prize winners and they blew up!.. always assume you are wrong and manage your stops to protect your capital!

Why?

 

[gamma]

What do you mean stop I hav'ent even started.

 

[Paul71]

What do you mean stop I hav'ent even started.

Who the hell started all this talk of gambling!?

 

[gamma]

Anyway,
the essence about my post was
"Do as I tell you don't do as I do "

 

[dealer911]

I have seen some very bright people lose an awful lot of money because they couldnt accept that the market was not moving as their in depth research had anticipated.. at least if you accept that you have a high probability of losing money and ruthlessly cut losing positions regardless of the fundementals then you avoid the risk of blowing away your capital.. if you need to call it gambling to get that mindset then thats fine by me.

 

[Shakone]

Why does it matter if it is a form of gambling or not? If you have some religious or ethical dilemma about taking a chance and making or losing money, don't get involved. For all other reasons, it doesn't make a single bit of difference whether you call it gambling, trading or warfare.

Also, realise just how much gambling you do in your life. If you buy a house, should you buy now, or buy in a month. Price might change in a month. Should you buy a house near the coast? Could get coastal erosion and your house is ruined. Move to California, but uh-oh, earthwquake could hit. Be safe instead and put your money in a bank and get some interest. But what if it goes bankrupt? How much will you get back? What if you have heavy inflation or your the currency rates change significantly? You could lose a significant amount of your wealth just by trying to be safe.

Everything is a gamble. Try making ones with a positive expectancy.

 

[dealer911]

I like being a gambler anyway.. it's

 

[Paul71]

I like being a gambler anyway.. it's

There is absolutely nothing wrong with gambling, there is nothing wrong with the word 'gambling'. What i would say is that not all people are cut out for it, some people are hopeless gamblers, gambling is definately not for everyone.

 

[dealer911]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with gambling, there is nothing wrong with the word 'gambling'. What i would say is that not all people are cut out for it, some people are hopeless gamblers, gambling is definately not for everyone.

I see what you mean p71.. hopeless gambling is reckless gambling and that is not what trading is about.. if you just take blind punts on the market you will likely lose .. got to base your decission on something solid to stand a chance!

 

[gamma]

I see what you mean p71.. hopeless gambling is reckless gambling and that is not what trading is about.. if you just take blind punts on the market you will likely lose .. got to base your decission on something solid to stand a chance!

Ah! at long last a post with some gravitas and sense:clap:

 

[Trader333]

I don't imagine anyone gambles without hope regardless of it being reckless or otherwise.


Paul

 

[Paul71]

I don't imagine anyone gambles without hope regardless of it being reckless or otherwise.


Paul

I wonder if certain types of gambler are more interested in the anticipation rather than the end result? This would basically negate the need for or feeling of hope.