Are you a discretionary or mechanical trader?

Hi All,


Since several threads recently have centered around mechanical versus discretionary trading, I have been wondering how many traders trade one way versus the other. This isn't intended to be a debate on which is better. That question will never be answered because no two traders are alike (which makes for a great market). It really doesn't matter. What does matter is that we are able to discuss the pros and cons of each and to help newer traders reading all these threads to make informed decisions about which method will work best for them.

So, in that regard I though it would be interesting to take a poll to see how many of each type we have here at Elite.

Of course, the two methods can overlap somewhat, so just pick the one that most closely fits your style. By mechanical, I don't mean 100%, but rather you use computer based rules to signal trades, and the vast majority of the time, you take all the trades with no discretion.

I realize there is some gray area here, and some may use elements of both, but hey, its just for fun, so flip a coin it your not sure. Heads, your mechanical, tails, your discretionary.

Good trading to all (no matter how you trade)!


Kirk

 

Sorry about the other thread listed as a poll with the same title. This was my first poll and I screwed it up...oh, well.

Baron, can you delete the other one? I tried but couldn't.

Kirk

 

Since this isn't a reply oreinted thread, I'm posting to bump it up so those gone for the weekend can see it. I had expected a higher ratio of discretionary traders, but right now its pretty close.

 

this theard is old, will be interesting to see the results these days

D

 

yes, i am.

 

me, too.

ROCK

 

It seems to me that most people start as a discretionary trader and then they get more and more mechancial with their approach as they progress.

I don't mean that all do, but I have progressed that way, and almost everyone around me is trading more mechancial today than they were a year or so ago.

A lot more automation going on today with regard to trading setups than I saw 2-3 years ago as well. Automation seems to be the big trend right now IMO.

 

99% discretionary, 1% mechanical (I need to blame my losses on something)

 

I trade on a discretionary basis using a set of rules for each of my strategies... I feel under no obligation to take a trade fulfilling the rules if it doesn't "feel" right...

 

I make discretionary decisions based on mechanical occurrences.