Thanks for the comments everyone. I am dead serious with this thread. I am not trying to mess around. 100K is not a bad living, however, there is much more to be made. I want to know if slightly altering your state of mind with some "liquid courage" would be helpful. Obviously if I wasnt already profitable, this would be asinine. But I want to be more profitable. I see some of the guys on the P&L thread and know that there are some that are blowing me out of the water. I think I see the market fairly well but sometimes lack the courage to go for the juggular. PS Some of the greatest writers/poets/musicians have done their best work in an altered state. Dont see why this couldnt work for someone in our profession.
Altered states? Sure. Drunk? No. They get high off weed, speed, coke. None of those will work for trading - even if speed or coke do work and you're able to use them to make an extra $100k/year or so, that money will all be spent on your newly acquired habbit and you'll lose your health and sanity. There's no sustainable solution to your courage problem that doesn't require hundreds of hours of introspection and major psychological breakthroughs.
Here's the rest of it, with a link to Johnny Cash singing it. http://www.cocaine.org/cocaineblues-johnnycash.mp3 Cocaine blues Got up next mornin' and I grabbed that gun Took a shot of cocaine and away I run Made a good run but I ran too slow They overtook me down in Juarez, Mexico Late in the hot joints takin' the pills In walked the sheriff from Jericho Hill He said Willy Lee your name is not Jack Brown You're the dirty hack that shot your woman down Said yes, oh yes my name is Willy Lee If you've got the warrant just a-read it to me Shot her down because she made me slow I thought I was her daddy but she had five more When I was arrested I was dressed in #000 They put me on a train and they took me back Had no friend for to go my bail They slapped my dried up carcass in that county jail Early next mornin' bout a half past nine I spied the sheriff coming down the line Ah, and he coughed as he cleared his throat He said come on you dirty hack into that district court Into the courtroom my trial began Where I was handled by twelve honest men Just before the jury started out I saw the little judge commence to look about In about five minutes in walked the man Holding the verdict in his right hand The verdict read murder in the first degree I hollered Lawdy Lawdy, have a mercy on me The judge he smiled as he picked up his pen 99 years in the Folsom pen 99 years underneath that ground I can't forget the day I shot that bad bitch down Come on you've gotta listen unto me Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Gotta love a story with a moral.
At first I didn't take this thread seriously, and still have my doubts. However, there is one thing I know for an absolute fact: any reliance on "liquid courage" to cope with any aspect of life will lead straight to AA or total disaster, if not both. I tried drinking & trading for two sessions in my life. Back in late 2002, I was going thru some serious personal issues and decided to have a couple of beers during the trading day. Made $15,000 trading the ES on 20-lots first day. Thought I was really onto something with the beer... it was relaxing and fun. Reality was, I traded thru a large-range trend day. Next session was a consolidation wedge... coiled & choppy. Beers and 20-lots resulted in -$22,000 lost on a zillion trade turns. ** Moral of the story? Take my advice at a personal cost of -$7,000 for the lesson learned. Don't even consider mind-altering chemicals when trading. Consistent success in trading (and all aspects of life) comes from a strong, clear mind. Period, end of story.
LOSERS DO DRUGS ... end of story. If you need a drink to help you trade your not meant to be a trader.
Bro, I already make good money as a trader. Thats not the issue. I can make more that 90% of all traders out there with a clear head. I am talking about an experiment to see whether or not I can make more. The first hour I see tremendous opportunity but lack the courage to take 5K,10K+ share positions in those good setups. It wouldnt help you to have a drink before trading as you have issues, when sober, hitting ecns 10 points or whatever out of the money. You need to focus on your execution as you clearly dont have it down pat.
FWIW to ya! No one starts out with drinking a pint of their favorite beverage to "take the edge off". It always starts with just one, and you know what, it works. It works so well you'll find yourself doing it every morning. It works so well for one situation, you'll find it works for others as well. You'll apply your new found life strategy all through the day. Then one day you'll wake up to find that what was once a choice has now become a requirment. At that very moment you're fucked, but you won't realize it. You'll continue to feed the beast and the beast will own your every thought. And the beast will be hungry and it'll be REAL hungry sooner than you think. But that won't happen to a smart guy like you. You'll have it all under control. If I had a buck for everytime I've heard/spoken this story I'd far surpass your 100k trading income. You're already a success. You don't need a drink to improve your trading.
Great post! This is the kind of thing that is easily overlooked in the short run. This does scare me, I dont want to become dependent on something but I guess it is out of our control when we are in too deep.