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We've all been there. The house always wins.

But that's not true in the world of stocks. If all the stocks go up, all of the owners are richer. And they do tend to go up, at least on average.. in recent history.

The futures and options markets are zero-sum. For every winner, there's an equal and opposite loser.

Zero-sum is true for stocks, too, if your goal is to generate alpha. For every alpha-generating stock participant, another one must lose.

Actually, we haven't all been there. Some of us took to heart the lesson from War Games (1983), and apply it liberally:

"An interesting game Dr Falkon: The only way to win is not to play."

okay.

I don't know if the stock market is really the same as Global Thermonuclear Warfare

The principle can be broadly applied. The stock market and our society as a whole, the money never trickles down, it floods upwards, and the few people at the top will never be me, and it will never be you. Don't play the game.

Reminds me of an Andy Capp comic:

Andy: I need to borrow a fiver to put on "Flighty Horse" at 5pm. It's a certainty! I can't lose!

Flo: Where did we go on holiday?

Andy: Yer mum's.

Flo: Where did your bookmaker go on holiday?

Andy: Jamaica.

Flo: Think about it.

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