I am a dying man (as are we all, but at my age death is no longer optional). So I feel compelled to pay back to the ET community everything I have learned from it over the past decade (does that remind you of the one-liner "If you gave him an enema, you could bury him in a thimble"?). I change handles like other people change underwear, and for the same reason. But I am here for you now to discuss psych issues in trading. You could pay a recognized validated trading coach for the madvice I will give, but, hey, this is ET! We want it for free! What are my qualifications? I will only ask you this one question: if you go to a shrink, do you want some supercilious asshole who never had a problem, or do you want a crazy fucker who can relate? The floor is now open for questions.
you crazy fak, you will probably out live us all. Please share with us how long you traded before you turned profitable? what made the turn around possible for you? Looking back when you started, what would you do differently? Thanks.
Let's have an answer to the real question first. Over all your years of trading, have you made money?
1,793 posts since 2004....I remember you as Arthur Deco. I want to say that your colorful posts will be missed by me and I hope you have some years left. I regret to not meeting you personally or at least talking to you on the phone...but that gets way to personal for most and I understand that. Its just that your anonymous character seems like someone I would like to know personally...isn't it ironic that one anonymous character wants to meet another anonymous character? or maybe not? My problem is rather simple that many have overcome just by having a plan in place. I know when to enter a trade...but oh I struggle on when to get out... I question: How much does my plan leave on the table?.... If I re-enter the same trade after exiting that is such a waste isn't it?....- Should I keep trading after a nice profit or should I wait for the market to trade itself out to a new level? When should I stop trading for the session? Because I know the more risk I expose myself to...is more risk overall. But the market does not know my condition and if I have an edge surley backtesting should help...but I am not a backtester. Should I backtest? What is the meaning of life? (I believe it is pain) ES P.S. AD..I expect something from you in code that I can ponder for the months to come and then I will get the AhHa moment when I understand what you post...sometimes I never get it...but at least give me one more thing to chew on before you leave. By the way I hope it is painless and in your sleep...I do not know you but this is the only good thing that I can think of to wish upon you..Rest good my friend. P.P.S. I can always count on a thread like this NEVER to give that "sounds good.. post of advice". This could be the greatest thread in ET for some...maybe not... we shall see. P.P.P.S. May I get reduced to an ameba sending me cowaring in the corner...could be the best thing that could happen to me...I feel like I am coming back to trading profitably...but I am teetering on a line of reversing back to a senile old idiot that only dreamed of being profitable. Will I be scared of looking at another chart again?...will I withdraw deep into failure?...or or do I carry on in denial?...do I need to face it?...I can't trade? or... or...or....(studdering again sorry...) P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. (edited by a moderator...)
The only place you are going, Art, is to the bar at the Dallas Trader Xpo in June. But, if you want to toss us dogs a bone, what does all your backtesting tell you works intraday?
Art, I think you should be me a little more clear on your trading if you really want to help unless this is another one of your joke threads. 1) Do you trade using and automated system that does the trading for you that you previously built and tested. I ask this question since if that is the case, then assuming its profitable, it takes away many of the psychological problems of trading manually, and I am not sure how you can help people who trade manually. 2) What is your win% normally, is it low or high, and normally each month are you profitable. I ask this question, since it relates to the psychological effects of either managing a low win% system where you winners are twice or more than your losers, and having to sit through many losses to achieve winning results vs having a high win% system, and how you can psychologically accept the losing trade when it finally comes. 3) How do you determine if you are starting to over trade and/or revenge trade and if you are ignoring normal trade setup considerations before entering a trade? Also, if Art has already died and does not want to contribute to this thread further, anyone else feel free to answer the above the questions.
Dear Artie... I have a great dilema. I would like a new bicycle, but I keep thinking that my old Trek is in too good of condition to make a trade. An old friend is hard to get rid of. I just can't decide whether to trade or hold. It's not a "plano" bicycle by any means. It's a nice ride. I think a man of your experience can offer some sound advice. Thanks. Depressed-over-bike-in-cyberland