GG, November - It Begins

Which section does this 'trading' journal belong in? Journals or Chit Chat?

 

It belongs in file 13

 

OK, Mr Paper Trader, live up to what you said you would do

 

what a surprise

 

So far I've waded through ten pages of GG's evasions and one line non-sequiturs. Do you want to improve as a trader or not?

Put up or shut up, bro!

 

At this point, who cares?

Even though there are quite a few jerks hanging around ET, there are also quite a few people genuinely eager to help. There are also quite a few people who need that help. What a shame that so many people who are eager to help and have something to offer have wasted their time offering it to someone who places no value on it.

--Db

 

Gordon. I don't get it. DB says something with no malice. I don't know what prompted your response. You may have inferred that he was specifically singling you out. I don't think that was necessarily the case. What he says applies to a great many of the guys that post here (IMHO). However, even if it were directed exclusively at you, you should have taken it (at worst), as constructive criticism.

Here you are, ostensibly trying to learn something about trading from others on this site. Obviously, at this moment, you are not in the position to be teaching (and that is no insult....everyone goes through cold stretches.....everyone). I believe that just about anyone with enough determination and staying power can eventually become a profitable trader. Trading for 3 years in this environment... it is not surprising to hear that you haven't gotten consistent yet. It has been a tough time. As Xtrader so clearly implied.

You start a "journal" and don't post a trade. Seems like you are looking for answers. Which is what you should be doing. Just don't expect any miracle solutions. Learning happens when you LISTEN to everything, absorb what you can, and implement what makes sense TO YOU. What you think you will be comfortable with , and what you believe will work for you.

Getting angry at someone who points out that you will serve yourself better if you listened more is senseless.

Now, if you do want to listen to someone brilliant, try this; you stated more than once that you have "ideas" and "systems" etc., that seem to you like they should work, but don't. They don't "beat the market". So my advice to you would be to stick to what you claim to be good at. You said discipline was a strong point for you. And obviously so is your tenacity.

If I were you, I would capitalize on the strong discipline. I would forget about trying to be creative with your "ideas" and "systems". Go back to basics. If you can be as disciplined as you claim, and you just do the absolute most basic and non-creative strategies, you will get your 4 week winning streak. I promise. It will most likely be boring. It will be a grind. But it will do wonders for your confidence...it will make you think of yourself as a winner. And that is a HUGE part of being a successful trader.

So forget about lying awake at night thinking of "ideas". Forget any kind of creativity. Buy strong stocks and short weak stocks. Be on the right side of the market. Be aware of what's going on. Determine in advance of EACH TRADE how much room to give your losers and your winners. Remember that if you flip a coin, you should be right half the time. So if you can guess right half the time with your stock selection, and you make sure you cut your losses quickly, and don't be greedy with your winners (there is time for that later....), you will experience success. Or at least increase your probabilities tremendously. Now is the time to trade like a robot. Robots don't think. Start "thinking" when you build up your confidence and your account value. Right now you truly NEED to put together a winning streak.

Don't give up. And certainly don't give up on dreaming up your unique trading plans. But save them for later. Now you need to do something you haven't. Make money consistently.

Also, I have no idea what your account size is, or if you have another source of income, or what your expenses are. But if you are shooting for $100 a week after 3 years, I hope you only "need" to be positive for your streak. The amount is not relative from what you are saying. Paper trade the creative stuff. But trade REAL MONEY to establish your winning steak. Paper trading is, IMO basically a waste of time UNLESS you are trying out something truly unique. Or something you want to fiddle around with as an experiment. But paper trading will NEVER do anything for your real life confidence and real life consistency.

If you want to know why I think paper trading is a waste of time, PM me. I don't want to bore everyone who already knows this. Which should be just about everyone.

Good luck Gordon. Also, you never answered my previous question. Is your mom hot??

Peace,
rs7

 

GG, I copy this thread with you in mind http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11175

 

rs7, i know you're one of the good guys here. i'm not going to harp on such an insignificant thing, but it's obvious that dbphoenix's comment was directed at me, specifically. that's why i responded the way i did. i've put more effort into trying to trade the last few years than just about anything else. so i'm not going to respect anyone that comes along and says i don't deserve any help i get. he has no clue. usually i don't respond to the negative people here, but since it was my journal, i felt like i was more obligated.

anyway, this is situation with the journal. a few days before i started it, i posted one of my usual pissed off, frustrated trader posts. many people said to post trades. i thought about it, and i realized they were actually right. unless i'm being specific, how could anyone point me in the right direction. so then i made the journal.

the day after i started it, a few things hit me. i didn't want to post anything that was told to me by someone who tried to help. if someone PMed or emailed me something useful, i'm not going to post that all over the internet. so then i had to eliminate some current things i was working on. that's why i said i was still thinking of ideas. that's what the delay was.

during this time there were non-stop smartass comments in my journal. of course that wasn't going to hurry me up. now it's in chit chat section and i'm like, "fuck it." i could actually care less what section it's under...but after all the bickering a journal leads to, i'm starting to doubt the whole idea. it's not that i can't take the badgering, but sometimes i just think i need to figure this out on my own. many people have tried to help, but i still have problems...so i'm starting to think i'm the problem. i need to just keep at it until i get something.

right now i have a major debate going on in my mind. as i've said in other posts, in the past i have been stopped out to death. i get winners sometimes, but they don't eat up my losses. so at this point i'm wondering if i should totally reverse my system and go for small gains. OR, do i try to make my original strategy work somehow? ET is great, but imo, there is a major flaw. if i were to say that i'm going to reverse my original idea, i'd bet the common thinking would be that is not a good idea. but, when you step back and realize most traders fail, how do you know who's right? maybe i am on to something. it's hard to say..... do i listen to everyone here or don't i? that's why i'm starting to think i just need to keep at it til i find my own way.