am I a successful trader or a loser?

Discussion in 'Trading' started by BreakDown, Jul 9, 2007.

  1. Okay, so his return is 12% then...........
     
    #51     Jul 15, 2007
  2. tibbs2

    tibbs2

    I'm in the IT field and many programmers I know can't spell, but they can write complex computer programs. Your ability to spell really has no effect on your other aptitudes. You also have to consider that since this is the internet there may be people on here whom english is not their first language.

    You should worry less about grammar and more on the negative slant that appears on many of your posts.

    I would gladly read a misspelled word than the post of a complainer. No one likes listening to a complainer. In the real world or on the messageboards.
     
    #52     Jul 16, 2007
  3. Many programmers can't spell, so what? So if they misspell a word that causes their code not to work correctly that's okay? This can easily happen...of course you'll deny it but whatever.

    If you had read I have made the point of stating that there are likely people from non-native English speaking countries and I have no qualms with that.

    Oh whoopee! You would rather read the mis-spelled words than the post of a complainer but it looks like you do both.

    And your spelling can of course have an effect on your other aptitudes even though that's a completely vague statement you made and I'm not going to expand on it for no reason.
     
    #53     Jul 16, 2007
  4. piezoe

    piezoe

    Very good, BREAKDOWN. Excellent in fact. But you've been trading less than a year, correct? Market conditions tend to change over time, and you will need to remain profitable through Bull and Bear markets and over a considerable time. If you can do that, then you are a successful trader.
    You are correct in only having at risk a small percent of your trading capital. Trade a awhile longer and if you continue to do as well as you have been doing, i think you can safely go up to 6% of your total trading capital at risk, at any one time, but not much over that. A 20% return averaged over several years is very good. With experience, and by slightly increasing the amount at risk you may eventually be able to do 30-40%. Gains greater than that may be a sign of taking on too much risk. Congratulations.
     
    #54     Jul 16, 2007
  5. This may be off topic but you may also consider diversification into real estate. One of the advantages of real estate is there is less chance of bone crunching drawdown as in the futures market. Hungary is on the euro I believe, which is generally bullish for real estate in that country. There are many investors who buy "off plans" (new construction) as the English would say. If you do some research and diligence you may find some opportunities in your own backyard. Good luck!:)
     
    #55     Jul 16, 2007
  6. Yes, you are right, I have been trading less then a year. About the condition change, at the very beginning I used some pullback setups, because it was really trending.

    Recently, it is not so trending, the most successful setup for me is the setup, where you buy or sell when the price break out from the ledge, either up or down.

    The 6% seems to be very exciting, do you think 6% on every trade, or ore you speaking about the ongoing risk?

    Thanks for your advice,

    BreakDown
     
    #56     Jul 17, 2007
  7. Your post is really very interesting, because today I was thinking about buying a flat in the downtown of Budapest.

    I think - because my business account - I can get a very good credit condition to buy a flat and I can let it out. The lending money is good enough to pay back the credit, so my children will have a flat after about 10 years.

    The main problem is in my mentality, because I have never ever had a credit and I'm awfully frightened.

    BreakDown
     
    #57     Jul 17, 2007
  8. piezoe

    piezoe

    Actually it is not so simple as one might think to limit the money you have at risk to 6% of your trading account. I certainly don't mean that you must never have more than 6% of your trading capitol invested in the markets at any one time. From a practical standpoint, what I mean is that there should be a very low probability, it should be virtually zero, that your total loses from all of your holdings could exceed 6% of your trading capitol. So for example if you had a $100,000 trading account it would be safe to go long on $20,000 of a very liquid stock like GE, because you can watch it and exit well before any loss reaches $6,000. But it would not be safe to go long on $20,000 of an illiquid two-dollar stock. In the latter case, if something went wrong you might not be able to exit and you could lose your entire investment. The maximum amount you would want to invest, if anything, in an illiquid stock would be $6000 (most traders avoid illiquid stocks altogether.) If you have a naked short position, it had better be in a very liquid stock and you had better monitor it very closely. If you are day-trading naked short stock, that is one thing. (You can watch it continuously and exit if your loss gets to be more than you are comfortable with.) But if you are investing short for longer periods it is much safer to do it using deep in the money puts, far out, where your risk is limited to the premium you paid. If you end up holding naked short stock longer than you had planned, you could convert it into a defined risk position by buying calls, which then converts your position into the equivalent of a long put. The main point i would like to make is that, in my opinion, you should never be exposed to a large risk. Small losses are easy to overcome, but large losses are not. By avoiding high risk situations you will not make tremendous amounts of money quickly, but years from now you will still have your money and plenty of it. Safety of capital is the first order of business.

    By the way, I have been to Budapest and it is a beautiful city. You have the most incredible, allegorical sculpture there that I have seen anywhere.
     
    #58     Jul 17, 2007
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    #59     Jul 17, 2007
  10. loser
     
    #60     Jul 17, 2007