You trade like him: From Schwager: The New Market Wizards: Zen and the Art of Trading I interviewed, an individual who had made several hundred million dollars in trading profits for his firm, to allow me to use the following excerpt anonymously, as I felt it offered an unusual and insightful perspective on trading. ==== I still don't understand your trading method. How could you make these huge sums of money by just watching the screen? ==== There was no system to it. It was nothing more than, "I think the market is going up, so I'm going to buy." "It's gone up enough, so I'm going to sell." It was completely impulsive. I didn't sit down and formulate any trading plan. I don't know where the intuition comes from, and there are times when it goes away. ==== How do yon recognize when it goes away? ==== When I'm wrong three times in a row, I call time out. Then I paper trade for a while. ==== For how long do you paper trade? ==== Until I think I'm in sync with the market again. Every market has a rhythm, and our job as traders is to get in sync with that rhythm. I'm not really trading when I'm doing those trades. There's trading being done, but I am not doing it.
let me clarify because it appears I have offended you, which is not my intention at all...and please, be calm. I really like the definition of "loser" from Elder's book: "Trading for a Living" he states that if you are entering planned trades and getting stopped out then you are not a loser, just simply experiencing what he calls "businessman's risk" which anyone in business for themself must take: (a grocery store owner takes a risk purchasing inventory...no guarantee it will sell for a profit etc...). However, If someone allows the trade to go even a small amount beyond the businessman's risk (predetermined risk amount) and allows a greater loss to accumulate...they are a loser. Plain and simple. Personally, I am a degenerate gambler who loves risk AND have enormous greed issues...ie, a loser...ie, a pig for slaughter. So I am not judging anybody. You mention professional money managers not beating the stock market...lol. They are still getting paid though aren't they? What do they have to do with retail trader's success or lack there of? Nothing...just a handy little excuse to toss out as a way to justify not generating alpha. "bUt tHe PRoS dOnT eiTHeR" lol. If you are 20 years deep...have been studying Brooks' and others for a while now...and still aren't making money...that sounds like the definition of "messed up". Something major is missing and at this point it cannot be found in any book, or video, or new setup, etc... So let me ask you something: why, exactly aren't you making money? I'll start: I am a loser because i Overtrade poor setups and suck badly at taking profits. And I am not making money because I am very prone to mistaking luck with skill.
Good Evening ironchef, I never read Market Wizards and never ever will and have no clue on earth is Schwager is. And damn sure not reading Zen and the art of trading. I do not know how I trade sir, I trade whatever I feel like doing whenever I feel like doing when the market is open and make money. I have no trading plan or trading method or any of that stuff. Risk management, discipline all that pie in the sky marketing bullshit being sold to other people. I do not believe in any of it. I have no trading plan, no trading journal, no nothing, no trading method, no paper, no notes, no NOTHING. If I feel the instrument I am starring at will make profits, I enter buy or sell button. That is it. If I feel I am wrong, I exit for a loss. Everything is based on what I see and how I feel about what I see. That is it. I do not read trading books, I do not studying trading courses. I do not do anything of that waste of time stuff and damn sure I am not back testing nothing. I stare at the chart and click buy and sell button and make money. That is it. Nice and simple. Then I log off and go do other fun stuff with my time, like chat with you guys and play call of duty.
Good Evening themickey. I just click the buy and sell button buddy and make money, then close the chart. That is all I know and all I need to know. Knowing extra is a waste of time
In other words, just like this: There was no system to it. It was nothing more than, "I think the market is going up, so I'm going to buy." "It's gone up enough, so I'm going to sell." It was completely impulsive. I didn't sit down and formulate any trading plan. I don't know where the intuition comes from.
there is nothing better than trying to be the best in the world in something. for some money has no value. As BOB DYLAN once said: "they were so poor all they had was money"