LMAO Honest to God, I was watching a Samurai movie!!!!! [edit] At the end of the movie, the "bad" samurai HAS to confront the "hero" samurai to see who is the better. The "hero" samurai doesn't want to do it, because they are both true warriors and has no need to know who is better. The bad samurai won't have any of it - HE HAS TO KNOW who is better. They stand at arms length, perfectly concetrating, motionless, then the bad samurai goes for his sword and the hero samurai slices him in half - you hear this "pop" as if to signify that the other samurai's major arteries exploded with HUGE amounts of blood spilling onto the ground - I just couldn't get aphie out of my mind at this point - LMAO... [edit] nitro
Guys, We all know this thread will have a tendency to get out of hand.... So please keep the posts on topic and constructive, or please post elsewhere. Thanks.
Aphie, You've recieved a lot of good advice on this thread, and your head is probably cluttered from all of it, but take the time to re-read it over the weekend, and take a note of the things that ring true with you. Then, come back after another week trading, and re-read it all again. You will find even more things that ring true. Note these also. By this process, you will build up a "bible" or a list of do's and don't that work for you. Learn it. Review it every morning. We've all been there and made those mistakes. I am of the view that, even though others have made the mistakes already, and told you about them, you never really learn until you've made them for yourself. The trick is not to let them cost you too much money. Now I'm going to add to the clutter in your head. This is what works for me. No 1 aim: Make it boring. I know this is hard when you are just starting out, but this is what you should be aiming towards, IMHO. We're all trading for the money, but if, underlying this you are also trading for the "excitement", go away and find your excitement elsewhere. Have your trading plan, wait for it to set up, and execute it. Make it boring. No 2: Be prepared. Each morning, plan what you will do that day. You may not know how your setups are going to setup, but you should know, with any eventuality you can possibly conceive, how you are going to react. Mine is very simple. Trade the plan, and get flat on surprises. If something happens that I am not "expecting", just get flat. Surprises are not part of the plan. Let the smart guys like OldTrader trade the surprises, and make their money. I'm not smart or disciplined enough to be able to trade what I'm not expecting. No 3. Know your limitations. This follows on from No2. You are still too early in the game to know your limitations, but you've got to make it a big aim to recognise and learn them very quickly. No 4. Make it boring. Trade the plan, whatever the plan is. Setup, trade, setup, trade, setup, trade. JM2c. H
"Make it boring" You might give some thought to the way you perceive the market place. I skimmed your posts and saw the words "smacked" and "battlefield" and "bullets" frequently. I know these are nothing more than attempts to express an idea, but it's easy to get caught up in an image of how the marketplace operates. The truth is: for those of us not trading on the floor, the marketplace is nothing more than information represented in a digital format. There is nothing "boring" about being smacked or having to dodge bullets. Nuff Said.
Aphe, I think it is the case that tampa's pasquinade is on the ball and there are some valid home truths contained within it, as well as a particularly useful tip, which sounds very appropriate in view of your posts in this journal so far J Commisso's disapprobation of it reflects a misunderstanding that would lead your attention away from some important information contained within, which may help you. Perhaps you should read it again. Good Luck
Man you gotta love the english language. "Pasquinade" Love it! (and here is thinkin i knows all the words..) Doc Zhivodka, "long hot air, short skills" - Love it too! sorry magna...
Oldtrader, I don't think it is alright to lose money. I'm not trading to lose money. If I wanted to lose money, I'd have a lot more fun losing it at a nice casino in Las Vegas. I'm just beginning, so mistakes will be made. The 10% drawdown on my account in the past two days has told me to stop and review my trades over the weekend and to write down my plan on a piece of paper. I am no longer trading without having an economic calender in front of me. As time goes on, I will evolve and slow the bleeding. At some point, I may get to a break-even point where I can continue to learn how the market operates while being inside of it. I think you said yourself that when you started trading, that you got hit hard with sugar of all things. So, I think you can agree with me that the transition into trading can be a long and tough one for a beginner. Tampa, I appreciate your views. You may continue to laugh at my demise if it provides you entertainment. I really have no agenda here with this journal, except to learn and to give something back to other new traders. I don't enjoy announcing to the world that my track record has been hard these two days, but the feedback I have received has been invaluable. There are dozens of various viewpoints from many different people. However, there are reoccuring views that are shared by many. In the end, I will have to be the one to make the appropriate changes based on my style of trading or lack thereof. Some people are saying I'm not cut out for this in the long-term. I'd have to disagree with them -- I can adapt. Perhaps you, Tampa, should begin a trading pool on that very question.
Go back and read every post on ET, find one that says you don't lose on some trades, days or weeks; you won't. Your first problem is to accept reality.
Right on max. With his first few trades, he threw $$ at the market, lost a few bucks (surprise) and now he's going to do some serious analysis of these trades over weekend. (All FIVE of them -should take about 15 min) This is just too dam funny. aphie I haven't laughed so hard in YEARS! LOL