Gordon, after you sell your car...spend some of it by visiting a physician and making sure you don't have ADD or ADHD. Your post rate of 3.66 per-day and complete focus on trading are symptoms. Are there things you know that need to be done but you can't seem to get around to doing them? Like keeping a trading journal up to date....
yes, i've seen the movie. i know Gordon Gekko wasn't a real trader. that is not why i chose the name. as viewed by other people (that did not know what he really did), he was viewed as someone who understood the markets and knew how to make money with them. that is why i chose the name. you say day trading is a sure way to the poor house, but i definitely do not believe that is true for everyone. for most of the population, definitely! but not if you're smart and keep at it. just yesterday, this girl i know came over. she knows i'm interested in the markets, but that is pretty much it. i never talk about my trading to people i know. anyway, my computer was on and she asked me what i do with it. i was like, "do you seriously want to know?" without getting deep into it at all, i just showed her some basic things. i realized she didn't understand any of it at all. it was then i really saw how far i've come. i deal with the markets every day, so i'm used to them, but when i think about what most people know, i have come so far. i can EASILY see why most people do not make it. but it definitely does not mean you can't do it if you try hard.
What was it that she didn't understand? The mechanics of the market (i.e. what ES is, what a chart is, what indicators are) or how to make money in the market?
If you really want to trade, there are plenty of people out there in your situation who have been where you are and have solved the problem. Some have gotten real jobs for a while, and been able to quickly get the house, the cars, the family, etc. Others have found the people (and that may be up to you if you choose) who have moved through this while staying very close to trading and gaining experience. Its a question of your values. If you really love trading, find a way to keep improving while you maintain some standard of living. I started years ago with my own money, blew that account out. (I can hear the jeers now, insert middle finger smiley here). I then got a job as an engineer designing auto parts, at night. I traded what was left of my account during the day. When my night company decided it was shipping out to mexico, I had nothing to do at night, was still getting paid, and ran systems tests all night long at the office, while I still got up and traded during the day. I credit NAFTA with a lot of my 'breaks' in trading. I have to admit it took the pressure off, and I traded very well. Still though, at some point not getting sleep catches up with you. By some happenstance, a guy I leased equipment to knew I traded and trained me in his specialty or system (and yes, his capital), and I got to give up the night job and work full time again trading professionally. All of that began 5 years ago, I am still trading but reaching another turning point....changing firms. I would have been ecstatic 5 years ago to be faced with the challenges I have today, my path was to find a way to keep improving my trading, and thats still my plan regardless of how much money I make or do not make at this skill. I love trading, it is a skill, and skills are learned. I also believe regardless of how much money you make, if that is your focus, and you take your eye off the ball, you can easily give it all back. I don't think that advice is ever inappropriate, regardless of your years of experience. Good luck.
point of this thread? well, not too long ago, i made a thread about my devastation. so i wanted to announce that i'm launching a comeback and tell how i'm going to do it. also, i had a few questions about prop trading at the very end of my first post.
See the thread entitled: "closing my trading account today" at http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18643 where GG says: ". . . i know a couple months ago i started a similar thread . . ." What'd that old geezer say? "There's nothing new in the markets" or something? Not making any judgements, just pointing out how this has happened before.
oh, you sure nailed me... when i started the one a long time ago, it was because i knew my destruction was coming. lol but then i was unexpectedly able to sell something, so i had a few more dollars to play with (but still not much at all) and could delay the inevitable destruction. it has also been the last few months that my trading has improved RAPIDLY. i actually feel like i have some methods i am confident in now. when i come back with at least $10k, i think i will do OK.
Thanks for the answer. This is what I'm walking away with from your reply in comparison to your prior posts. 1. Your unsuccessful at trading. 2. Your unwilling to look up local successful traders in your area that have already posted in the Hook Up thread... ignoring a possibility you may meet someone with a similar trading style as yours. GG Every single trader I have ever met that dwindle their trading accounts down to the minimum... while not having the ability to grow their account nor manage their financial lifestlye... to see them say what you say... i know i am really starting to get the hang of it All sounded like addicts or alcholics saying I have things under control...I don't need help...things will get better. Re-read what you said to me in your last post... Simply, you rationalized why you don't need any free mentoring from a successful trader in your neighborhood that has posted they want to meet other trades and share trading ideas. Geesh...this is scary or one big joke. Here's a very good link for anybody reading this post... http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/member2.php?s=&action=addlist&userlist=ignore&userid=8519 P.S. The prior two posts exchange between TGregg and GordonGekko is the main reason what prompt my above link. NihabaAshi