| Having been a professional gambler I can declare from | | | | championships: Some say that’s the best way to |
| experience that horse racing and stock market trading | | | | make money. |
| have many, many similarities. | | | | Some bet using a DOM looking for weight of money |
| For a start a lot of people lose at horse racing simply | | | | movements that allow scalp trading. The dome was |
| because they have no idea what they are up against | | | | developed from the financial markets and looks much |
| and they use techniques that are absurdly naïve. | | | | like ours. You can even 'green' the bet taking both |
| That’s like using a trading system to trade based | | | | sides so you can’t lose. Again some say that’s |
| on nothing more than a couple of 'indicators'...Yet some | | | | the best way to make money. |
| keep insisting that’s the best way to make money. | | | | There are other who use arbitrage methods trading |
| It really takes a lot of skill to be able to read a form | | | | the spread between two horses. Some believe |
| book and rate each individual horses chances and then | | | | that’s the best way to make money because |
| extract a living from it. This is a bit like fundamental | | | | profits are guaranteed. |
| analysis. Some say that’s a good way to make | | | | I could go on all day with this rant, but if I had to select |
| money. | | | | two characteristics that are most common between |
| Smaller stables often cannot cover the cost of | | | | the average horse punter and the average trader, |
| keeping a race horse with the flimsy rewards from | | | | they would be... |
| winning the odd race every once in a while, so they | | | | 1. They paid a foolishly low price in terms of research |
| aim to get a horse in top form and bet that it will | | | | and organised study whilst dreaming of making lots of |
| overturn the formbook. That’s much like trading on | | | | monies! |
| inside information. Again some say that’s a very | | | | 2. They have absurd ideas about what instruments |
| good way to make money! | | | | work and don’t work, not understanding that it is |
| Others insist on backing winning trainers who have | | | | not the tool that’s the problem but themselves. All |
| already proven excellent records at particular race | | | | the tools work. |
| courses. That’s like following executive director | | | | Betting on horses does not have to be like going to the |
| buys when they have a record of buying large | | | | casino. It does not have to be a zero-sum game. |
| amounts of their own company stock prior to quarterly | | | | There are many strategies and tactics that can put |
| market updates and consistently making a boatful of | | | | the odds in your favour. But if your strategy is basic, |
| moolah. And again some say that’s a good way | | | | you’ll play it as a zero-sum game and you are |
| to make money... | | | | vulnerable to compound probabilities that given time |
| Even others use computers and develop algorithms | | | | probably will destroy your bank. |
| that scan through huge volumes of data to discover | | | | Likewise stock market trading is not a zero-sum game |
| clues and discrepancies that manual analysis cannot | | | | and there is no reason for it to be a gamble if you |
| compete with. This is just like what the banks of | | | | know how to properly read the market. You can |
| today do with quants developing modelling data. And | | | | decide the best time to enter the market and if it |
| yet again some believe that's the best way to make | | | | doesn’t perform as you expected you can exit |
| money!! | | | | close to intact. If you don’t understand how to read |
| Some insist that money management is the key | | | | the market and play safe then given time, your |
| because achieving a good winning percentage is | | | | emotions and stupidity will destroy your account. Such |
| impossible, they claim. Yet again some insist that’s | | | | is the nature of gambling. |
| the best way to make money trading the stock | | | | Once you understand this, you can meet traders and |
| markets. | | | | understand who really is a trader, what's behind their |
| Some bet using trading or horse betting systems, often | | | | strategy and who is nothing more than a gambler. I'd |
| designed by someone who makes their living designing | | | | say you would be lucky to find more than 10% that |
| and selling systems. You just have to look at the | | | | are true traders. |