Well said. But like I said in a previous post, after a while successful traders do not give a rat's ass about the outcome of each trade anymore. Each trade (let's say trade # 719) becomes just another freaking trade, end of story. In fact, successful trading is boring to the extreme.
Probably, but there still must be a point where a trader admits system is no more reasonable to trade. Otherwise there's a risk of total blow up.
Well, if you ever reach that point Cornix, then you must just accept the fact that your trading system had no real edge to begin with, simple as that.
Baron needs to add facebook like buttons. Probably the biggest problem that beginners have is that they want to be excited. You have to decided if you want to be excited or make money pretty early on though. Most people are actually significantly more invested in escaping the boredom of every day life - and as long as that is the primary motivation they are pretty much hopeless as traders.
Can't there be a case of system working for some time and then stop working? So that edge existed, but disappeared.
In rare instances, yes, Cornix, you are correct. Take the famous Turtles for example. They made hundreds of millions trading a simple Donchian breakout system, with a 20 day lookback period. But after a while their fantastic system was no longer profitable. So they simply changed the lookback period from 20 to 40 days and voila! they were back in business and made out like bandits, once again. The rest is history... Adapt or die, that's what trading is all about.
Yes. I used to make a decent income on NYSE Opening orders, getting on large standard deviation moves at the open with the specialist and flipping them shortly after the open. It doesn't work the same today as it did in the past, which was an expensive lesson for me to learn. But you just adapt and move on, or find a new line of business. One thing about trading - you don't build a career. I can't remember who said it, it was in one of the Market Wizard's book, but I can't remember which one or who it was that said it - but he is right. You may end up having a career in the markets, but you are not really building anything. Your edge can go away, and if you don't adapt you are done.
Yes. That was exactly my point. We should watch ourselves and our systems to know when to hit it hard or back off in order to survive and move on.