Skip to main content

Trying a Day Trading Simulator Made Me Realize Day Trading is Really GAMBLING, Not Investing


Many times, I really wanted to avoid stocks and later decided to get some financial management help. That's why I bought the AXA Chinese Tychoon Fund which invests primarily in blue chip Filipino-Chinese companies. I remembered my MBA days when I heard about stocks. What I always saw with stocks was pretty much the motions of day trading. I decided to overcome a degree of fear and did some research. 

I decided to try a simulator to try and learn how to trade stocks. The big problem with a day-trading simulator is pretty much deciding on random movements. I did download a few business games on Google Play to try it. I tried the simulator and found out that if I used real money--I could've lost a lot already. The simulated money was USD 10,000.00. Now, I tried to keep my bets and one wrong move meant I could lose all that money. Good thing it wasn't real money.

What truly disturbed me though is how day trading is even encouraged. I ended up landing on the name of Charlie Munger. Munger called it a speculative orgy. I couldn't help but agree. As Warren Buffet says, "If you're not willing to own a stock for ten years, don't think of owning it for ten minutes." The simulator would have the buy-sell-buy-sell position. It's really almost like I'm playing mahjong or poker instead of investing. Yet, people do it because there's a thrill in it. There's more thrill in gambling and investing.

I check my AXA Chinese Tycoon Fund only to discover it's not making the fast millions. I heard some people can make fast millions in day trading. The downside though is pretty much that you could also lose millions so fast as a result. That's why I'd rather invest, and hold a fund maybe for at least five years (and another for ten years) instead of playing mahjong with the stock market. 

References

Websites

"Day Trading Definition: Why It Differs From Investing" by Sam Swenson, CFA, CPA (Updated: June 28, 2022)
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Is Jollibee "Invading" South Korea Now as It's About to Acquire 70% of Shabu All Day?

I must confess that I find this new rather hilarious . It's because the word shabu is often associated with drugs. All the while, shabu shabu is a Korean delicacy! Well, I'm going to say that Jollibee Foods Corporation has now become a multinational buyer . Jollibee acquired 70% of Compost Coffee back in 2024 . This year, Jollibee as a multinational corporation is now acquiring Shabu All Day for PHP 5.1 billion pesos. Is Jollibee checkmating South Korea or is the Philippines conquering South Korea not just by OFWs but als through Jollibee? The answer is still no. From GMA News , we can read this article by Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas: Under the deal, Shabu All Day will be consolidated into Jollibee Foods Corp.’s (JFC) financial statements immediately upon completion of the acquisition for a total consideration equivalent to KRW127 billion. Completion of the transaction is subject to closing and financing conditions. The acquisition is expected to lead to a 2% jump in revenues, incre...
Read more

The Tragic Windfall of the Late Flor Contemplacion's Family

PEH.ph Last year, I wrote an article talking about Flor Contemplacion crybabies spreading fake news for 30 years . I noticed that the movie could be watched for free on YouTube (which is one hour and 52 minutes long), and the one that you had to pay for via rent or personal soft copy ( which is two hours and two minutes long). I was looking into the film and realized the "for free" version lacks the exaggerated water dunking and electrocution torture scene, which I believe is available, which is a ten-minute difference. I remember seeing the old version where Flor was tortured by Singaporean police via water dunking and electrocution, to get an answer out of her. The famous line by the late Nora Aunor was, "I did not kill anybody!" It's 31 years, and I don't expect the fake news about Flor to stop just because  it's past 30. No, fake news is that hard to kill even in the digital age. It reminds me of the fate of Flor's sons , where one of them, Sandr...
Read more

Why Being a Miser Isn't the Right Way to Do Business or to Live Life

Sometimes, people can confuse frugality with being a miser. I think about a couple of times when I watched Spongebob Squarepants back some time ago and getting irritated at Mr. Krabs. Unfortunately, there are some people who are so obsessed with money (or money comes first) that they end up becoming misers. As I was watching Spongebob while studying to get my bachelor's degree in business administration--I felt that the Krusty Krab model won't work well in real life. I mean, I tend to eat at Jollibee almost daily since I was studying in the University of San Carlos-Main Campus (USC-Main). As I was eating there--I thought would have Tony Tancaktiong build Jollibee as an empire if he was a miser? Mr. Krabs ran his Krusty Krab on a miserly mindset--just one cook and one cashier. Mr. Krabs would even artificially inflate prices just to get more money. In real life, Mr. Krabs should go to jail. Drawing the line between being thrifty and stingy It's often easy to confuse both of ...
Read more

Helping Others is Good But Not to One's Own Expense

I advocate for helping others. I believe in helping others but there were times I overdid it. One time, I gave up so much that I had to be stopped. I was told, "If you gave everything now, how can you help others later?" I would donate some sums here and there, without thinking much. I'm not going to write them all. Some of them left me good while others left a bad taste (and a bad record) for me to endure. Sure, I want to help people but I tend to overlook the consequences. Some of the bad habits I had in the name of helping others are like: Being too generous with buying with credit. Eventually, I lost a lot of money which was never recovered . Some seasoned entrepreneurs may admit their own falls including the credit trap pitfall. Being too willing to give a discount without thinking about how it'd affect profits. Sure, a cheap price can draw people near. However, there are times when the prices of goods and services need to be raised to keep a business running. I ...
Read more

Bongbong's Story of the Little Piaya Store That Could

It's been some time since I did a food review, right? As of right now, I feel like I've been burdened not taking Hotel & Restaurant Management and chose Business Administration instead. Both departments today are under the School of Business and Economics (SBE) at the University of San Carlos (USC).  Having been a fan of almost everything that they can offer to customers--I decided to do some research. I'm not surprised that its owner, Reynaldo B. Villan Sr. aka Bongbong. The timeline from their very own website shares the humble beginnings of Bongbong or Villan Sr. Right now, you can check all their branches here . The humble beginnings of Villan Sr. (I'll use this one instead of Bongbong to avoid confusion with Philippine President, Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. who goes by that nickname) aren't surprising. I've read how Jollibee was the little bee that could. Tony Tancaktiong wasn't born wealthy and had to face the challenge of foreign food companies. Vill...
Read more