First link was broken. Regarding the last link, are there any calls there or just analysis of what happened? For what it's worth, I've had a lot of pretty accurate calls myself in the ES journal on this site. Live, not after the fact. Often traded and backed with a blotter when people have asked. I also called a 10 dollar drop in crude that I didn't trade. Bottom line is that in the end I was still a net loser. Some calls here and there doesn't make anyone a successful trader or a millionaire. It takes a lot more than that. I know there are a lot of people on this site who likes being the guru. It makes them feel important and they enjoy posting. But the fact is that they're not making much money, if anything at all. That's why I'm speaking up in this thread. I'm not making all the money I want, far from it. But I was at a point in my life that even though I think I could have a succeeded if I continued pursuing day trading, I didn't want to take that chance at the cost of exploring other options. I figure I can do both. Actually, I didn't blow my last account, but I wasn't making consistent money either. I had to withdraw most of my cash to cover an unexpected expense and then didn't have enough money to continue at that point.
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showpost.php?p=3939089&postcount=24 If you'd bother to read it, you'd find plenty of trades that are posted in advance, but, in typical LF form, you'd rather not put forth the effort. As have I. Before the fact. That's how I can avoid insulting people with "evidence" that's easily faked. And since you were a net loser, then it's not possible for anyone else to be net winner. Actually the reason why you're "speaking up" in this thread is to rationalize your own failure. You're part of that "I can't do it so it can't be done and anyone who claims that it can is 'dishonest'" group. I've provided a trading plan and rules and examples that anyone who can tell time and tie his own shoes can follow, as has NoDoji. But you can't be bothered to read it, much less test it. You'd much rather look outside yourself for your failure than fix what needs fixing. While debating this with someone who wasn't even born when I began making a living off trading has been tons, there's really no point in continuing to do so with someone who's too laissez to learn his business, or, more accurately, his casual pasttime. You were and are, in your own words, a "net loser", i.e., a loser. Whose fault is that? Whose responsibility is it to fix it?
Typical LF form? Why do you feel the need to insult me? Meditate on that, old man. I'm always putting in massive efforts in everything I do. Don't you worry about that. Absolutely not. I know enough about intraday price movement that I know it can be exploited for profits. But I also know how damn hard it is and how many fake gurus there are on this site who likes you to believe otherwise. Ah, so you're a psychologist now? I've never said it can't be done, but when someone who can't pass a Combine on three attempts continue to act like a guru and apparently is still selling things for a living instead of trading profitably, I have to speak up. I didn't even talk to you, so I don't know why you're acting so hurt.
Because you're so eager to insult me, and others. Let's not go all innocent here. And yet you are a "net loser". Perhaps, as I said, you ought to direct your thoughts inward rather than remain in attack mode. And yet you can't do it. Why is that? Actually, you have. That's between you and austinp. As for the remarks you've directed toward ND and me, that's another matter. Hurt? Hardly. I survived Albert Labos. What bugs me is that people like you perpetuate these myths about how it can't be done and potentially dissuade those who might actually have what it takes to study and learn and test and develop consistently-profitable trading plans from ever making the attempt to do so. Perhaps if you were to develop such a plan, you wouldn't be a "net loser". You're typical of those who confuse luck with brains. Or talent. Or skill. You make a few calls and impress the easily-impressed, but you don't have what it takes to go the distance because you've never done the work that's required. I know nothing about the "gurus" you mention. And I don't care. Whatever success they may enjoy doesn't put any money in my account. Whatever losses they may have doesn't drain my account. Anyone who's dumb enough to follow somebody blindly rather than put in the time and effort to develop something of his own is just low-hanging fruit, and I can't work up any sympathetic tears. All I care about is whether or not somebody has a trading plan, and those people are thin on the ground. If you want to become a "net winner", you should strive to become one of them.
To be honest, I think it was because I was in a position where I had to make a killing in order to make it, which often made me take risks I should not be taking. I often had green days that ended up B/E or red since I continued trading. I also traded with too much leverage. On my last TST Combine, I was very well in the green during my last days, but in order to reach the profitability targets on a set amount of days, I had to swing for the fences, which set me back enough that I would have not chance to reach my profit target. It was pretty much the same with my live account, which I had to eventually liquidate in order to pay for expenses. When I'm ready to pursue day trading or swing trading, it will be from a long-term perspective with no pressure to make X amount of dollars in X amount of time. Where? Then why are you talking to me? Can't say I've directed any remarks to you or Donna in this thread, until you quoted me and that was to you, not Donna. You continue trying to make me look bad in order to once again cement your own status as a guru. Don't you have anything better to do with your time and your millions of profits? Instead of being so generous to share of your wisdom on multiple message boards, maybe do something that's actually meaningful? Help someone who really needs it? Put those millions to use somewhere... You're only feeding your own ego. I've spent thousands upon thousands of hours studying the markets. Several years immersing myself in the markets 24/7. I've read and studied over 100 books. I've spent thousands of hours backtesting and live trading. I measured the market. I compiled a historical database. I had a trading plan. Always. But that alone is not a guarantee for success. You keep talking about hard work, but saying that hard work equals success is like saying you will get rich digging ditches. You need to work smart and work the right way as well. You're the one selling pipe dreams to people. Doesn't matter if it's free or if you're a vendor who's charging for his services. In fact, I had a mentor when I started out that tried pointing me in the right direction. He was very helpful and I'm sure he meant good, but it turned out that he blew his account multiple times and had never made any substantial money trading. But boy, he talked the talk and he NEVER said otherwise until I exposed him. I politely asked him if he were making money and he told me that it was rude to ask. I later exposed him indirectly. So yes, you're naive if you're blindly trusting people, but at the same time, the gurus have a responsibility when they're giving out advice to people. One could easily waste years of one's life studying useless information when believing a guru. Because that's what it's to be completely green in the world of trading. You don't really have anywhere to go when you're first starting out. That's why I ALWAYS made sure to tell people who PM-ed me or asked me for advice that while I believe I have some good ideas, I'm not yet consistently profitable. I was always honest about that. I'm only asking that other people do the same thing.
And so on and so on. Those who are members of your group insist on blaming something or someone outside themselves for their failures, or, if you prefer, their lack of success: gurus, vendors, authors, market makers, "smart money", brokers, sunspots. Never does it occur to them that their failure -- or yours -- comes down to a lack of a thoroughly-tested, consistently-profitable trading plan and the discipline to follow it. You don't have that. And that's no one's fault but yours. Try being honest about that.
You're making a fool of yourself and ignoring my replies to your questions as it suits you, because you don't have anything to say. In the end, I don't blame anyone else than myself for losing. And yes, I've been pretty hard on myself for my failures. But I'm banking it as a lesson and you can be damned sure I've learned from it. Some of it, I'm trying to put forth in this thread and that is a message to newbies about not trusting gurus blindly and I'm also asking gurus to kindly reconsider their bullshit and stop leading people on if they in fact are net losers. It's a dishonest and cruel thing to do.
The message, however, is not to blame one's failures on whomever but to develop a thoroughly-tested, consistently-profitable trading plan. This crusade of yours to place the blame on something or someone outside oneself merely perpetuates this losing attitude. Spend your time on putting together such a plan then sharing it with others rather than pursuing MacGuffins.