Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Are you considering quitting your dayjob to daytrade?! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: chalu2 who wrote (446)	1/30/1999 4:24:00 AM
From: kaz	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 611

To beat this dead horse some more, whether the market is or is not a zero sum "game" is indeed most relevant to everyone. Why? Because it is impossible for you and me AND our brokers to win. Someone has to pay the bill. I know everybody on this thread is a winner so let me educate you about losing. Your winnings are made up of someone else's loss. That's a zero sum game. But, your broker and the loser's broker took money off the table (commissions and don't forget slippage). That makes it a minus sum game. Any loser can tell you that over time a minus sum game is a losing game. So where does the money come from? New losers. If losers stopped putting their money in the market, the market would stop paying dividends. So why would anybody in their right mind play this game? Because they KNOW that they're going to be in the ten percent of all traders who actually take out more money than they put in. "I did it and so can you." Not really. Otherwise it's just a shell game, money moving around with no net effect. Sorry people, you have to be very, very good to make money in the market. The longer you play, the better your chances of losing. The few who actually learn something and also can control their emotions have a small shot of being overall winners (NO, I haven't lost all my money in the market. But I realize that, given the odds, I probably will). Go out and read Alexander Elder's book "Trading For A Living" before you flame me. Aw, forget it. Go ahead and flame me. And keep putting your money in the market. Regards, Paul Kaz