Do I "Play" the market

This was an interesting question I had over the weekend when I was in Genting relaxing with my better half. "Oh u PLAY the market?". I had to pause a short 2-3 seconds to fire up my "intel quad core" brain to search for an answer. Well, of coz, I had to look up deep for a diplomatic answer. After all, he was a friend of mine. 

So my answer was very simple and I answered; "I don't play the market, I trade in the market". It may seem like a vocabulary lesson here but as they say, "what comes out from the mouth is a process of the mind." I've witness people, they think of the market as a "get-rich-quick-no brainer-field" and their "jobs" are the "serious" thing that their doing. To a certain extent, yes, their "jobs" are still their main source of income and they should be serious in everything they do there. However, that doesn't mean the stock/commodities/forex/Bonds/futures and etc markets are a place of "fun". Well, maybe to some people who does this for a "hobby" or fun but 99% of the people in there are just as or more serious than what they are doing.

This is extremely true because I've witness people who thinks he/she can get rich when they enter the market right away..and when they don't make it (which they will most definitely will not make it) start cursing about the market saying it's dangerous, it's risky and the public favorite, it's gambling. My question to them, how long did u study in the university to be an entry point engineer? How long did u study before you became an entry point IT consultant? How long did u study to become an entry level doctor? 3-7 years (maybe 7 for medicine field). And you expect to "make it big" in the market after some so-called book that you read or just a weekend seminar? I'd say you're better off going to casinos then. The thrill is higher there. 

Many people don't realize that it's not the market that is risky. It's the person himself/herself that is risky. Doing something without the knowledge is crazy and definitely at the highest risk one could ever be in. Every trade I make in the market, is a series of calculated risk and reward ratio at the highest level of seriousness I can ever be. It's like me in a relationship, I definitely don't play around in a relationship as I'm serious right to the end.

Hopefully all that, I hope I did answer my friends question.