Confessions of a loser who need to quit

Discussion in 'Professional Trading' started by Pension_Admin, Sep 11, 2009.

  1. I am a stubborn person and don't know when to give up.

    Also, I really enjoy the problem-solving aspect of trading. It bother me tremendously by not being able to become a successful trader.

    I also understand I am human and my ability is limited. If I keep pushing myself toward this direction, there is a big possibility that I will fail.

    I need to quit, but not now. I need to set a stop-loss in a point in time in my life before the loss gets too big.



     
    #21     Sep 11, 2009
  2. So for example instead of selling a vertical a month before expiration to capture time decay, you buy them close to expiration in the hopes that they will make money due to a large movement in the market during that time frame.[


    QUOTE]Quote from Jym:

    Yeah rarely if ever do you see anyone write that they make good money just in forex as their main instrument.
    They always seem to bring up one of their buddies who does.


    I just never could get into it myself. I tried it out a couple times just in simulation and would just go right back to futures or equities in a few minutes.

    And i just have one thought to throw out there....why aren't option credit spreads more popular?
    I usually only buy them a week before expiration and in a couple of months I've only been stopped out once since I'm usually pretty conservative with my strikes but i got greedy that time and tried to pick a direction.

    Maybe everyone is buying them and they're so unsexy people don't even mention 'em but they're the most consistent money I've ever made in the market.
    [/QUOTE]
     
    #22     Sep 11, 2009
  3. most traders start with 1,000 to 10,000 dollars and expect to somehow have the account, after commis, fees, etc... to be at 60,000 by the end of the year.

    Even with 25k for a futures account the odds are so stacked against you.

    I have to co-mingle accounts of friends and family, and I still, like most traders will say, need way more.

    I think the subliminal pressure of unrealistic % gains ruins a trader.

    With stocks I think you need 150k. I've seen very few do ok with 100k.

    yea, it's a big boys game.

    LOL
     
    #23     Sep 11, 2009
  4. gg12

    gg12

    No, it's not a big boy's game. You can start very low.

    You need to reduce commissions and spread whenever possible.
    If you really want to succeed you will succeed.

    Have patience to find your edge!
     
    #24     Sep 11, 2009
  5. He's actually try'in ta help you, Pension_Admin.

    You should take note.
     
    #25     Sep 11, 2009
  6. Ive been reading through past posts and the best traders on here are dormant until such time they see a bullish setup. What they do is wait for a good setup on the common stock and then execute making a 30+% gain and, in some cases, a double in very little time. Sometimes it takes weeks for them to find it, but they do and come out of nowhere to post on here.

    Its the folks in the ES Journal and other areas on this site that trade everyday who dont make dime one. I tried trading the TZA/TNA for about a week until I threw in the towel. I made some money and then I gave it all back. Its not going to take me 7 years to figure out that daytrading these indexes (and forex) is nothing but a fool's game.

    What I did a few days ago was went through several hundred charts. I came up with a short list that would probably make me 10-30% and very quickly. I was actually looking at AXL, but didnt buy in for some reason. All the select setups I picked panned out where as trying to predict the indexes was a useless game of frustration and money losing.

    All this takes many hours of work and scouring through charts. If you ask me, trading the indexes and forexes is the game of chance played out in the streets. Its better to come indoors to the tables and play a bullish setup.

    If the market is in a downturn and there are no bullish setups to be found then the answer is simple. Sit on your hands. It was Livermore who said that he made more money by sitting then by trading.

    All these "systems" are rubbish, pure trash. I dont see any of the great well known traders who used a "system". All the great traders just bought when things were breaking out and moving up. Besides Paulson, I dont see many traders making it on the short side either.

    I say go with what works. Buy bullish breakouts. If none appear then time to sit on the hands. Happy weekend to all. Im out of here.

     
    #26     Sep 11, 2009
  7. Redneck

    Redneck


    Then by default Sir

    You are stubborn and unwilling to change – what it is - not working


    Regards

    RN
     
    #27     Sep 11, 2009
  8. You are making this thing way too hard. Pick three equities, preferably liquid etfs and work out a position trading strategy.

    Write out a trading plan detailing how long you will remain in them, and what conditions will cause you to exit them.

    buy an initial stake, add more shares on reactions, sell the trading shares on a rally, etc., always maintaining the original position.

    It will bore you to death, but stick with it and quit second guessing yourself.
     
    #28     Sep 11, 2009
  9. 1. You really don't have a system/method if you believe that. So you can't tell us over the last 200-300 samples minimum what the win % is?

    2. Spend some time getting comfortable with expectancy, because it's much more important the win %.

    3. What attracted you to forex? It is the most rigged game in town. Unless you can fund an account at Currenex or Dukascopy ( i.e. ECN/STP passthrough ) forget the bucket shop. Now if you want to swing trade in forex with almost no leverage, sure, my buddy does pretty well at it that way. But trade and go forbid scalp forget it.
     
    #29     Sep 11, 2009
  10. You mentioned an important point. Good trading is boring. Gambling is exciting because there are no probabilities, unless BJ or poker.
     
    #30     Sep 11, 2009