> But that wasn't really my point. The point of my poker analogy is that some people can play and reasonably expect to come out ahead in the long term. That's the major difference between the NYSE and other casinos. The fact that their profit doesn't have to come at the expense of others is incidental.

Right, but what I was trying to say is that the stock market is different from gambling games precisely because, in theory, all the players can win. This is not possible in any gambling game I'm aware of. At a poker table, not everyone can reasonably expect to come out ahead in the long run, because in order for some to win others must lose.

Stephen