I have never made the big bucks. I have been so focused on controlling risk. I am a small time piker, trading retail paultry sums acting like I am a big cheese. I have no idea of the trading world out there and what it CAN be. Instead, I sit here in my living room and in my boxer shorts writing endlessly on this anonymous internet forum known as ET. Do the great traders have gambling and titanium balls in common? Is that what it takes? If a daytrader spent his entire lifetime building a fortune the hard way would he become an idol...or just die as an unknown in his profession? Does the 'limelight" demand spectacular things from the wannabees...like a steroid using bodybuilder pleasing his crowd with vascularity and gargantuan muscles? I want to rise to the top of my profession, but if I must be at the right place at the right time ...or take on huge risk with conviction, it will not happen. I am not saying that it has to happen for me, but it seems that way. Mr Cohen is a great trader and can harvest others to make money for him, but I think he has the red phone and is well connected. Michael B. P.S. I wonder if that unknown "cult" of great traders read or have ever glanced at ET. What about how they think? ....How they talk about their clients....etc...Was the wizard book accurate? Do they reveal to Barons publications, what they will do in the future? Do they reflect their attutudes for losers like me to learn from and are they able to articulate what it takes, or is it just an unexplainable talent? P.S.S. What about the "unknown cult of great traders" ?
Gambling and titanium balls are to be avoided at all cost.... They lurk and occasionally post to pry.... Yes, very accurate...... Maria P.S.S. What about the "unknown cult of great traders" ? Yeah. What about that, what do you mean????
Maria, I mean the great traders that keep a low profile that are never recognized. There must be some talented folks making millions to be never idolized as our thread author states. But I could not imagine any of them ignoring ET Michael B.
Hi ElectricSavant, I do not fully understand your logic. You are saying that you are a small time piker, not sure which instruments you trade, but let's say it is ES. If you successfully trade 1 contract at 12.5 per tick, what stops you from adding 1 more once you reach certain amount based on your risk parameters. Then add another one and so on. ES can easily handle 30-50 contracts a clip, that is 375-625 per tick. This will bring very handsome profits over the course of a year, and the risk is the same as if you were trading 1. What stops you doing this? Regards, redduke
Hello Red Duke, (thanks for the post, I have always appreciated your knowledge) I trade retail spot Forex. I scale in. If I start too big, I do not have time to react to what the market is telling me. I use a hedged approach which greatly increases the time at which the arbitration comes back in, allowing me to corner the trade. The way I trade, there is no way to increase in the way that you suggest. I produce a smooth upward sloping equitiy curve but the yield will always be limited. But the risk compared to the yield is incredibly low even though I can climb into 50:1 territory. I have discovered there are times that I can begin the arbitration heavily, I call this a fast compounder.... The bulk of my trades however are done with the slow compounder. I do not use charts or trade a direction other than the opposite direction of the entry imbalance or the imbalance I create . I am an extremely conservative Trader and I am searching for answers. I may never find them. I like to trade the way that I trade, but I will never be a super trader. It is not possible to talk to other super traders and hang out with them. I cannot write much more about how I am trading RedDuke. Thank you for reading my long post. Michael B.
Michael, One of the things that I adhere 100% is that what ever the method we choose, it has to fit our psychology. If one trades something he does not believe in, that is a recipe for disaster. I am glad to hear that your method suits you well. Regards, redduke
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/1999/Mar-28-Sun-1999/business/10825908.html Any more about his story?
Love this sentence. I stop trying to predict even next minute. One of the things that helped me a lot was Mark Douglas âTrading in the Zoneâ. Since no one knows future, I see a set up and I take it. If it works great, if not, I have a small loss or BE, and wait for the next one. redduke