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

To: KZAP who wrote (487)	1/30/1999 10:15:00 PM
From: jebj	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 611

>IS a POSITIVE sum game! Common sense. :^) Like pumping oil out of the ground. - KZAP There you go! jb

To: KZAP who wrote (487)	1/31/1999 1:55:00 AM
From: kaz	Respond to of 611

KZAP, I agree that this has become pointless. I didn't mean for this to turn into an argument on religion or anything. Please, though, if you are going to be trading consider that a lot of really smart, thoughtful and successful individuals have lost a lot of money trading. Ask yourself why (I've given you my explanation). Then, once you investigate it for yourselves you will know what you're up against. Some people do make money. There are ways, but it's tough. As far as your statement: IF companies are getting bigger and bigger, then it IS a POSITIVE sum game! Common sense. :^) Like pumping oil out of the ground. well, what about all the companies that go bankrupt, or downsize, or stay the same? People still trade, brokers still get their commissions, slippage still occurs. Companies can't grow without capital. Market Makers, traders and brokers are pulling money out of the market when they win. The money is not coming from the companies themselves. So how can a company grow? By profiting at losers' expense. There is no other way. We'll probably never agree about zero-sum and so forth. I just fail to see how losers losing more than winners are winning can be referred to anything other than negative sum. Remember, if I sell to you at a $1000 loss, and you sell to someone else at a $1000 win, I have really lost $1000 + $50 (roundtrip commissions) + any slippage (too hard for me to calculate at this late hour). So, let's say I lost $1050. You won $1000. Minus $50 roundtrip commissions, etc. You've won $950. Where's the zero sum? Positive sum... No way. $100 (ten percent) has been pulled out of the market on this transaction. Who puts it back in? Come on, everyone: LOSERS. Here's hoping you never become one. Paul Kaz