《股票作手回忆录·第一章·少年与行情板》第13节
You know how they traded in bucket shops. You gave your money to a clerk and told him what you wished to buy or sell. He looked at the tape or the quotation board and took the price from there--the last one, of course. He also put down the time on the ticket so that it almost read like a regular broker’s report--that is, that they had bought or sold for you so many shares of such a stock at such a price at such a time on such a day and how much money they received from you. When you wished to close your trade you went to the clerk--the same or another, it depended on the shop--and you told him. He took the last price or if the stock had not been active he waited for the next quotation that came out on the tape. He wrote that price and the time on your ticket, O.K.’d it and gave it back to you, and then you went to the cashier and got whatever cash it called for. Of course, when the market went against you and the price went beyond the limit set by your margin, your trade automatically closed itself and your ticket became one more scrap of paper.
注释摘要
这段文字是一堂完整的、关于那个时代对赌行如何运作的历史课。首先你要明白，19世纪末20世纪初的对赌行，从法律上说是不合规的赌场，不是真正的股票经纪行。顾客的钱没有进入纽约证券交易所，也没有真正买入任何股票。你交给店员的钱，只是你和他之间的赌注，赌的是行情纸带上印出的价格是涨是跌。你赢，他赔你；你输，他收走你的保证金。这就是它和正规经纪行的根本区别。 文中的…