Post By: DazedandConfused (T'ferred from Weekend thread)
Hi pisces
I spent 25 years gambling in the casino .... I must be a very slow learner .... but it has left me with a healthy disrespect for money, if I make a bet I don't flinch afterwards ... the money goes on the table [into the stock] and I wait for the flip of the cards. [Its been several years since I last walked into a casino ... wild horses couldn't drag me through the doors these days ... coming to my senses and also impoverishing myself helped to alter my inclinations]
At risk of dampening the enthusiasm .... since 2008 the markets have been the beneficiary of the greatest sugar-daddy in the history of modern finance i.e. the Fed/ECB/BoJ.... these last few years have been easier than most to prosper in the markets. However, the macro picture is steadily worsening. World trade is declining and becoming positively anemic, the level of debt is growing ever larger.
The standard disclaimer ... previous results is not an indication for future returns is a constant.
Lots of people who are fairly new to the market have posted this week. Speaking as a person who understands gambling better than many ..... do not put any more into the market than you are willing to lose. The market is unlike gambling in this respect .... judgement is worth more than luck.
Of the comments I have read above, there are a couple I would like to underline. Firstly, Freehold's habit of starting with a pilot buy ... truly an excellent strategy.... secondly, someone [I cannot remember who] suggested that in the first year it would be wise to not put more than $5000 into the market. That is very sound advice.
Lastly, something I would like to add. I am an older bloke, who came to this only a few years ago. I can not say I am any good at it [certainly intimidated by the success of some on this thread] ... but motives and rewards change as one gets older. Those people in their thirty's and forty's are focused on establishing themselves and providing for their loved ones. These are the obvious rewards of success.
But, the are other rewards. Whether you make money or not ... in the end the experience you get trading in the market will extend you as a person and will also reveal to you your hidden strengths and weaknesses. Something which became plain to me as a gambler ... it is when a person is under sustained and relentless pressure that you see who they really are. It is an intense environment and it will be a mirror for oneself ... that, if looked into serenely and with honesty will provide an opportunity to know oneself and to grow as a person. That is worth more than any cash profit which might be gained.
