Forex Trading - Is it just a form of gambling?

I tried to do some research on Forex through Google today and was shocked to see the general opinion of Forex - now I’m feeling quite upset and having a lot of doubts.

Is Forex just a type of gambling - not pure chance like some gambling, but skilled gambling, akin to being really good at Blackjack or something. You make the right decisions you get money, you make the wrong decisions you lose money. I read the wikipedia article titled Foreign Exchange Fraud where it says “The foreign exchange market is at best a zero–sum game”

This is a big ethical issue for me even if you can make good money with Forex. I understand in the stock market that you are investing in companies and then if those companies do well you get money back and dividends and such - I can understand where the money is flowing and coming from. But in Forex, it just seems that the money is just shuffling back and forth and people speculate on it, and if you can do well, where is the money that you get coming from? Is it coming at the expense of other people losing? It doesn’t seem to make a difference in the world.

I don’t have a job, I live on disability, and I’m seeking a way to make a mark on the world so essentially I want to be able to either:

  1. Be making a difference in the world somehow by participating in Forex
  2. Be able to make a good amount of money through this form of investing, and be able to use that money to then make a difference in the world (I only have $10,000 so the expectation there isn’t exactly for millions of dollars but if I’m gonna do something where the money comes from no real difference in the world then I would have to be able to justify it)

I hope someone can answer me here. Thanks,

Tom.

I’m not trying to shoot you down or anything, but this is probably the 5,852,124,214,128th thread on the forex = gambling debate…

The short answer is Yes and No :slight_smile:

My apologies, I usually search a forum for threads before posting like a good little member but I forgot because I’m upset about a whole bunch of things in life right now blah blah, sorry about that.

Well, now that we’re here, are you able to answer me this - if I win pips in a trade, where does the money come from?

If you win pips from the market, the money is coming from another persons pocket or your brokers pocket (Dealing desk).

Knock yourself out.

http://forums.babypips.com/newbie-island/35919-forex-gambling.html

Yep it’s gambling.

I already came to that conclusion myself but I asked where the money comes from is it like other gambling where you get your money at the expense of others?

The question has been answered in an earlier post.

I completely didn’t see that lol sorry

It was answered in post no. 4 on this thread.

Yes. Forex in it’s truest form necessitates that every dollar you make in Forex comes from someone else

I know I see it, I just completely missed it the first time

Doesn’t that make you feel bad?

I just think it comes from rich bankers!!!
Feel better now?

Can’t answer for bmcl2343 but personally no it does not make me
feel bad.

All traders are given enough warning about the nature of Forex, go
to the bottom of any forex site & you will see the disclaimers.

Trading off-exchange foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk and is not suitable for all investors. Trading through an online platform carries additional risks.
Please refer to our more detailed Risk Warning, and NFA’s FOREX INVESTOR ALERT

But if you do not subscribe to this view then you need to find another
form of financial investment employment.

look at it like this: you can increase welfare of an ecnomy by being the counterparty for companies trying to hedge their exchange rate risk. if this makes you feel any better :wink:

I’m sorry, I’m not very knowledgeable about the economy what do you mean by that?

still some debate about the usefullness of hedging for companies, but overall i think it’s very valuable. you can look up a paper on google called “why corporations should hedge” by don adams. if you don’t know what a hedge is, wikipedia is a great source.

It depends upon the way u think…Even if you making money in gambling consistently than who cares?
The money you make in the market comes from the pocket of other traders who are at the opposite side of your trade and this is true “Bulls make money,Bears make money,hogs get slaughtered”.
Even if u follow some rules in Poker or Flash you’ll be a winner in the long term at the table.

I care. I want to make the world a better place for me being in it.

absolutely