So NOW you're getting to the real reason us options guys are always talking about "naked options", "spreads", and "straddles" - we're the sex gods of the trading world, always long the stuff. I wasn't going to spill the beans, but now that you've found us out... (I won't even talk about "butterflies", "condors", "jade lizards", or (whew!) "back ratios" - people would be shocked. But hey, YKIOKIJNMK. Just don't do it in the street and scare the horses.)
Maybe that was a secret gov plan to boost up the population in western countries. (Big Smile) Congratz Blue.
Yes, you can very well work on your risk management techniques and it is also very important to do so. Good luck.
What happened to this journal... It's been almost a year and no update -- Did you go bankrupt, or lost your trading account? No shame in admitting that, Buying and Holding and investing in the S&P, I must imagine, must dwarf your trading performance, returns,
Gosh - a stalker of my very own! I'll be sure to mark it down somewhere. My list of blocked idiots is the first thing that comes to mind... Yes, I get that you must indeed imagine. Incompetents need a lot of imagination - otherwise, they'd never be able to come up with why everything in their lives is someone else's fault, and why they need to hate those who are successful. But given your previous confession of how you imagine learning to trade works - something about you sucking it out of your mentor - I only have two things to say to you: 1) No, I will not teach you. Good grief, what a slimy, revolting little creature you are. 2) Goodbye.
Hey now...I have a lot of imagination and don't consider myself incompetent. I can imagine what you think that I imagine what you think that might look like. Did I get it correct?
http://www.fallacyfiles.org/afthecon.html Meh, Heinlein did a much better job of this in "Puppet Masters". But those all represent something dangerous - an existential threat. The creature I was responding to was more like something you'd wipe off your shoe with a bit of disgust and annoyance at having to waste the time to do so.
Trading success is like AA...the first step is admitting you have a problem. Then find sources that can help you, Drink tea like Bruce Lee, you should give up coffee. Tea truly expands your mind, soul, personality, viewpoints and understanding. Your profile photo looks gruffy and stressed...do you drink whiskey, hard liquor?
Here it is, four years later, and having reached the point where I now feel fully content with the refinement of my (Forex day) trading system, I find myself with the time and motivation to return once again to my curiosity about options. Unfortunately, I didn't feel like there was a great deal of compatible chemistry between me and optionalpha or tastytrade; but fortunately, THIS time around I HAVE seemed to have stumbled across a site with which I DO feel an affinity, and this turns out to be Trade Pro Academy. I've started by getting to know the Greek, which also happens to have been one of your suggestions, and am forcing myself not to go too fast so that I have time to assimilate the information I'm gathering there. I'm limiting myself to one topic a day, but would love to just spend the whole day going through that enter website instead. However, though more satisfying, it probably would be nowhere near as productive. As master Gurney Halleck told Paul Atreides when practicing knife combat, "The slow blade penetrates the shield."
@BlueWaterSailor It's been awhile since this journal has been updated, but I wanted to let you know that your posts (along with @destriero's older threads) are solid gold. They keep me going. Like you, one of my biggest regrets is NOT realizing earlier that TRADING is actually the perfect match for someone who is an avid learner and wants to live life according to his / her own terms. I guess in hindsight it is obvious, especially since I know myself (and how I want to live life) better now. I've been dabbling in the markets for a couple of years, but have been very inconsistent (both in terms of profit and interest levels). I've since committed to do this full time, and really ramping up my risk management, processes, discipline, etc. So far, my P&L has been small but pretty consistent. I'm trying to get a much deeper understanding of WHY I am profiting (ie. real edge vs pure luck?). While I started off with trading vol, I am also trying to consume everything and anything so I get a broader sense of what's out there. I've recently been ramping up on fundamentals / macro, charting/TA, momentum, HFT / mm strategies, etc to (hopefully) get a better edge in terms of making directional bets (Most of my trades now are short vol, delta neutral) Anyway, I hope you are well.