They've never read a book, never attended a class, never purchased a course, never attended a training seminar, never purchased or viewed an instructional video tape, and just plain never educated themselves at all. They think they're just as smart as the experienced professionals they trade against. Like gambling, the odds are stacked against you and the more you play, the more you lose. That is not to say that there are not successful day-traders out there, but I believe that there are very, very few. Trading, like any job, is hard work and offers no free ride.
Online trading has other pitfalls beside the obvious potential to lose hard-earned money.
It can become an addiction and the cyber-world can become a substitute for work and family. If your quote feed goes down, you may get very anxious. These are the same symptoms of compulsive gambling and are very easy to fall into, especially if you are making money at the time. The cost of online trading can be deceiving if all you look at is your account balance. Quote services, commissions, margin interest and taxes have to be deducted, not to mention the lost earning power of a job plus what your capital might have made sitting in a mutual fund in the greatest bull market in history.