When I was young my dream was to be a professional gambler. I studied probabilities, designed systems. I got be a pretty good poker player. I didnt do well in no limit games because I was not a good bluffer, but I did ok in limit games where the odds were on my side. I think I could have made a living at it but I began to realize there were other factors that I had not considered. Limit games are pretty boring 95% of the time. Hour after hour in a smoke filled room sitting at a table with seven people whose primary goal in life was to separate you from your money. I became disenchanted with my dream and moved on to other things. Fast forward to the late 90's . I read an article in a magazine about daytrading and a light bulb went off in my head. I was born to do this. I read a few books and opened my trading account in March, 2000. I rode the market down kicking and screaming all the way. I quit, got back in, quit, got back in. Finally I bottomed out and went into congestion. I traded in a range for awhile, then, slowly began to climb. I am at the point now where I know I can trade successfully if I want to. The thing is that what works for me is boring 95% of the time and I'm competing with people who want nothing more than to take my money.
Nicodemus please tell me what you are saying-or pointing out here? From whence comes the title of the thread-Deja vu?
Limbo, since you said please I will assume you are serious. Deja vu is repeating the past. Occasionally on Sundays, I toast myself a time or two and tend to get poetic. Sorry if the subject is off topic.
nicodemus - if you can trade successfully in markets like these - you should feel happy. it's like everywhere in the world - like always in life - somebody wants your money - gotta accept it.
Nic-Again- sorry- I don't understand what you mean. Are you saying you may want to quit trading because it's boring 95% of the time even though you know you can make $. And because the idea of people wanting to take your money is offensive to you? I agree with gerry875 here. Personally for me-especially in this market-even if I was bored sh--less-which I am alot--if I'm making good $ it's an easy price to pay. Also in anything we do people want to take our $-IMHO.
You may be bored, but at least you don't have some a*!hole riding herd over you. That's the lot of many people, they are bored until the a*!hole again proves he's an a*!hole and then they are mad until they become bored again. If you want excitement, buy a fast motorbike with your gains.
Limbo.. No, I dont want to quit trading. I love it. I dont hate the people who want my money. They are my food source. My point is simply that patience pays the bills.
I've got one trading style that works very well in trending, volitile markets. I have a real hard time using it though (when appropriate) because it only triggers 2 to 3 times a month. An hours preparation is required each night for the following day. That means I have to spend an hour every evening preparing and then sit at my trading station for 7 hrs a day, sometimes for up to 3 weeks, doing absolutely nothing. It's hard to keep myself pumped and ready for that long a time without letting my guard down. The last time I used it, after 3 weeks I finally got fed up and stopped. The very next day it would have triggered and made me 8%. Man, that's the hardest work their is, doing nothing. It is an advantage the non-professional trader has though. There's no way an employer would tolerate someone sitting at their desk for weeks twiddling their thumbs.