By Darrell Martin
There will always be those who view trading as gambling or as a game of chance. Chance is getting out of bed in the morning. What lies ahead for the day is always an unknown.
Casinos who know what they are doing will always win in the end. It’s not gambling for them.
An American professional poker player named Phil Hellmuth is not a gambler. As of 2017, his total live tournament winnings exceed $17,400,000. (Other websites list higher figures for his total live earnings. See Hendon Mob, Card Player, or Wikipedia.) When he plays poker, it’s not a game. It’s his profession. He isn’t leaving anything to chance.
Any gambler loses. Professionals know how to consistently profit. They take the gambler’s money.
Some look at horse racing in the same way when they bet on the horses. It does not apply. The jockeys, the horses, the work and the training are all variables that are manipulated against any research done. Gambling and chance cannot be applied to how horse racing works.
A trader who does not incorporate risk management, know the instrument, the trading vehicle, the numbers, lacks a plan or doesn’t stick to that plan constitutes gambling.
To be a profitable trader, one must not view trading as gambling. A professional poker player can spot the out-of-towners who have come to play poker. Those types of players simply see playing poker as gambling and a form of entertainment. The professional poker player sees them and knows that soon their money will be in his pocket due to how they treat the “game.”
When a profitable trader is in the proper mindset, any trade placed is not gambling. Understand what other traders are doing to give yourself an edge. As a chart is viewed, simply think what a normal gambling trader would do. Where would stops, entries and take profits, etc. be placed? Then be one step ahead and get in when they are getting out. Get out when they are getting in.
Whether it is the professional poker player, horse racer or trader, one sees it as a profession. The other sees it as a game of chance. One thinks of it as gambling; the other views it as strategies and systems used professionally. One pays the bills. The other talks about how good or bad of a time they had while they lost their entertainment money.
Don’t keep rationalizing whether it is chance, gambling or trading. To be a profitable trader, get in the right mindset. Know the instrument, the trading vehicle, and the numbers being dealt with. Incorporate proper risk management, as well as having a plan and sticking to the rules. Meanwhile, I’ll be waiting at the table!
Free day-trading education is available at Apex Investing.