Have you ever thought about what the essence of speculative trading is?

The seemingly complex stock market is essentially a large-scale lottery. From a macro statistical perspective, the overall group participating in speculation is inevitably losing — this is not a matter of probability, but a mathematical law. But that doesn’t mean no one makes money. On the contrary, every so often, a few people hit the jackpot and earn huge profits. What about the other 99%? They either lose everything or barely break even, then continue to dream.

The logic of the live streaming industry is exactly the same. It looks like anyone can become a host, but in reality, the vast majority of hosts are doing pointless work — working hard for eight hours of live streaming, yet their earnings are not even enough for a meal. Yet, the platform periodically "releases traffic lotteries," and an ordinary host suddenly goes viral, earning one hundred thousand in a night. This stimulates countless others to join in.

The common feature of this "lottery-like" industry is: winners take all, with an extreme 80/20 split. For those who don’t hit the jackpot, the time, effort, and capital they invest ultimately yield nothing — essentially being freeloaded.

Stock investors get "cut chives," hosts are exploited by platforms and capital, different modes but the same ending. This is the cost of participating in an unequal game.