Maybe you need time to calm down. Don't let your mood be your enemy. Walk away from the market for a while, come back when you are ready again.
OK..... NOW THAT A FEW HOURS HAVE PASSED, THE INITIAL SHOCK AND DISAPPOINTMENT ARE WEAKENING..... THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS TO ME. WHENEVER I HAVE TRADING PROBLEMS, I'LL FEEL TERRIBLE FOR A SHORT PERIOD, BUT THEN I COME BACK EVEN MORE EAGER TO DO THIS. I AM SERIOUS ABOUT THIS AND I AM NOT QUITTING. I AM GOING TO DO THIS. I AM NOT A GOD DAMN LOSER! I'M THINKING OVER NOW HOW I'M GOING TO START MY COMEBACK........ I'LL GET 2 JOBS IF I HAVE TO..... I AM NOT DONE WITH THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WILL KEEP ET UPDATED......I AM THE NEXT GOD DAMN MARKET WIZARD...lol I KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT THING TO DO IS......I JUST GOTTA GET MY ACT TOGETHER AND ACTUALLY DO IT. I STILL HAVE MY NEW CAR, PAID FOR. I SHOULD SELL IT AND PUT THE MONEY IN THE BANK. I CAN PROBABLY GET $15K FOR IT. THEN, I SHOULD NOT TOUCH THAT MONEY TIL I'VE DEMONSTRATED FOR A FEW MONTHS THAT I CAN BE PROFITABLE. IN THE MEANTIME, I SHOULD GET ONE OR 2 JOBS AND A POS CAR. I KNOW THIS IS WHAT I NEED TO DO.... NOW IT'S JUST A MATTER OF ACTUALLY DOING IT. SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN SOON, THOUGH... NOTHING CAN STOP ME!!!!!!!!!
Hell, 15K capital sitting in a car? Sell it, get the pos and start trading 100 share lots on IB; it'll cost you $1.00. If you can't show a profit, re-evaluate your situation. On a 100 shares a trade you can't lose too much of your stake; my idea of paper trading.
You people are still gnawing on this bone? Incredible. fl_trader001 01-31-03 Some of you need to see the reality of the situation. The reason why you want the lifestyle of a full-time trader is obvious. You can be your own boss, hang out all day making a fortune at a ridiculously easy job. It eliminates the need to go find a "real job", and the gambling thrill is very seductive. Even the weakest and most irresponsible "dreams of glory" are milked by the brokers, firms, and vendors who want to sign you up as a customer, continuously making profits for them while you labor away and never quite make those profits. The reality of the situation is this - real edges are extremely rare, and any that exist are guaranteed to be made extinct at some point (this is the nature of the markets). This is why even some of the "market wizards" went bust eventually. A losing trader wouldn't know a real edge if it was right in front of them, in any case. (They are usually too busy deciphering charts and researching the hundreds of methods out there that do not work) Most traders fail, and this is not an accident or some random phenomenon. Your basic trading odds are 50/50, and this is made worse by human psychology, which works against you. Add into that commissions (the vig), and it is almost laughable that people think they can make a living daytrading. Vic Neiderhoffer observed that if you were to flip a coin, winning a dollar if you guessed right, losing a dollar if you guessed wrong, but had to pay 20 cents on every flip (comms), your odds of coming out ahead after 200 flips is less than 1/100,000. Worth betting your financial future on? You can tell a compulsive gambler pretty easily. They are always "on the verge of success". The problem is always their broker, or the specialist, or the markets aren't what they used to be, or the ECNs are too slow, etc.. etc.. They use others as examples - "well, so and so made $600k last year daytrading - it said so on Elitetrader". Many of these stories are just plain false, or worse - lies. Others that do succeed, sometimes do so only because of luck, and eventually their luck runs out, and they find another line of work. There is a simple way to tell if you are a complusive gambler, and therefore a danger to yourself and people around you, and whether to know if you should quit and quit now - If you are breaking even - are you enjoying it? If so, have at it. If you are making money, you are doing the wise thing by trading. (By "making money", I don't mean profitable SOMETIMES - look at your income tax return for the year - did your trading pay off?) Are you losing money? If you are consistently losing money, and do not take a serious look at stopping the damage now, there is no explanation but you are caught in the delusional state of a compulsive gambler.
You have still not addressed why you have failed up to this point. It takes a new seed to yield a new crop. I don't see any change in you, I see emotionalism and instability of thought. I don't see a detailed analysis of why you think you failed, and why you won't fail again. You have hope again. Big deal, you are the type that oscillates between hope and dispair...it is your personality...it is manic, and many manic people are drawn to the market to help them play out their emotional and mental disorders until such time that they actually bottom out and begin the hard work of looking deeply into themselves to address the real issues and eventually do the hard work to confront the inner demons that keep them from success. I wish you luck, but even more, I wish you a bottom you can't wiggle or hope your way out of. Then, and only then will you seek to change what is not working on the inside.
yes, i agree very much. a good starting point for this introspection would be the "hail mary" trade. we've all made one or more at some point, but this is not a typical 3 year vet mistake. or is it?
Seriously -- these mood swings that you have might be indicative of a slight chemical imbalance. Walk away from this for awhile. Listen to some of the advice people are giving you. Get a job and live a bachelor life while you are young and watch the market on the side. This shit is consuming you to the point of sucking out all your energy. One minute you're angry and the next you're back ready to conquer the world. Ask yourself the underlying reasons of why you're in this. Is it the potential for money or prestige? Are you trying to prove something to someone or yourself? Whatever it is, you can obviously stop now and, if you are sincere, take time out to do a lot of the boring shit necessary to become more successful. I mean Gordon I'm with you 100% but you can't go in guns blazing after you've been knocked out over and over. Sit in the corner for a few months and read about your opponent. Buy the GOOD books from McMillan and others. Learn everything about econometrics that you can -- learn how to calculate vega and gamma in your sleep. If you're in a position and something goes wrong, the answer to how to hedge should be a reflex, not a laborious process of trying to figure it all out real time while you pull your hair out. Honestly, I'd suggest you trade small positions over days instead of daytrading. It works better for me and I think the longer time frames will introduce you to concepts you'll need to daytrade without getting killed quickly in the process. Best of luck to you.
i am a 3 year and dont do teh hail mary per se, but find mself when i want ot make money quick look at higehr volatile stocks at the same size...
no, dude, what's incredible is you. you're free to have your opinion, but if you don't like this discussion, stop reading it. losing your money trading is a very real issue for many people. i know people are interested in what i'm saying because it has happened to and will happen to many people. what subject on ET is more important, mr market's stock picks??? (sorry, mr market) you've been a real asshole throughout this thread and if everyone had your mentality, everyone would be a god damn loser.