as far as the risk discussion is concerned, after 6 years trading full time I'd have to side in the risk is good camp. Most of succesful guys I know (disgressionary here, not system based) take on large levels of risk pretty regularly. Key is they never lose their heads in extreme situations. I think a lot of people confuse risk with reckless behavior. If you have a system that has strict risk control..and proceed to do away with such controls, that's not taking on risk, that's just moronic. However if you are a disgressionary trader with positive returns, at some point you have to realize that to make great returns at times you have to take on risk. Course if you can't make money in the first place then forget it, you shouldn't even be trading. Perhaps in the end it's all a semantic debate.
Wow, given your history of failure in part-time trading I am very surprised that your wife thought it was a good idea to make trading a full-time career. I can't offer any real advice but I have to agree with the other posters who say that it sounds like you have a trading addiction problem. Why don't you take what money you have and move to an area where wages aren't low? While I find it interesting that you feel that the fact you are trading the last of your savings and have no other income will not affect your trading style (e.g. scared money), I'm not sure that's a good thing. Its sounds like you could easily blow-out the last of your savings. Maybe you should give half to your wife now and tell her to open a secret account in just her name that you have no access to. Good luck with your quest to find a mentor.
Gamblers will never quit, they are so self confident that one day it will all come together. It's unfortunate, but there have been a few other cases on this board that I have participated in, and I'm not seeing a few of those other traders around right now, even though they blocked me and said I was crazy. A gambler will never give up on this until he ruins his or her life. I don't have facts to prove this, but I do have examples on ET. To the OP, if you in anyway, shape or form feel like you have a tendancy to gamble, I must urge you to seek help before you ruin your life. That's all I got, and if this is not the case (I hope I'm wrong), then just work hard and find a strategy, but I like the suggestions of taking a break. I'm not an expert on this or anything, but I have studied things that have related to this, and it's bad, and if you can't suck it up and admit you have a problem, then even though you might not deserve what you get, you will suffer. Some of the greatest remembered people in our time were great, not because they never gave up, but because they knew when to give up and move onto bigger and better things to propel them to greatness. Time to take a vacation and reflect. I suggest a cruise, when I came back, I felt like a new person.
-don't you think you have enough your share of mentors by now. -you are the true edge, true it's a little dull by now but it can be sharpen. -I think so and probl the rest of traders think that way about themselves, too. -during many 'winning phase' what was the factor, can you replicated it or is it just luck.
Man, there is just no way to get through that attitude of yours is there? I never called you a loser pal. You keep calling yourself one, you seem to have been doing it so long I think you actually believe it at this point. Do you see the irony in your past statement wrt MP? You are critizing a method that sets the framework for my trading while you yourself do not trade successfully. At this point, I give up.
Yes, I have given this some thought. Your suggesting it intrigues me. My knee-jerk reaction is to say, "No, of course not!" But, rather than do that, with your indulgence, I'd like to explore this. What in my posting makes you see this in me? It is true I have lost money, risked more than I should have, etc. But what would my motivation be to "find ways to empty my account?" I'm not a gambler in other aspects of life. I never buy lottery tickets. Never been to Vegas, Atlantic City, or even Casino Niagra. No drugs, drink, don't smoke, and I'm not an indulgent spender. I am concerned, because I know that often an addict is the last one to know/recognize his addiction. So I would be a fool to completely rule out the possibility. Losing money has been extremely painful for me. One might argue I'm trying to self-inflict pain. If I had to self-analyze (which to a large extent I guess I do), I would say that my vices have been greed and laziness. Greed of trying to make too much too quickly; and laziness of failing to apply myself to the trading profession, and to treat it as such. But this may all be justification to what is no more than a gambling addiction. Which brings me back to my question: What about my writing convinces you that this is the case? Thanks for taking the time.
Jho, Please read my post above to B Ling, and reply to it as well, if you have the time and inclination.
Please don't give up mike.. Never Give Up. When I refer to myself as LOSER, I am referring to the charateristic FUTURES trader. I can do it because I have ENOUGH (a little too much at times) CONFIDENCE in myself and my trading prowress that it doesn't affect me. But, I applaud you for sticking up for the poster here. Where I told him, it would be better for him to QUIT, that he can WIN by QUITTING, you say there is a WINNING method, and there is a way to WIN when you full well know that 95% of the time, he or someone else will not find it. Mike, let him get on with his LIFE. Good God.