But there's also the realities of life versus having to watch charts? I mean... Even if you did want to watch charts all day, couldn't you lose out during 5 minutes you had to do some laundry? Just saying.
You can miss trades, lose money just to go to the toilet, answer the telephone, talking to someone complaining about your manager while you're trading, faxing off signatures on inventory, talking to grandma, talking to mom, talking to a teacher at your kids school, doing laundry, making a sandwich, signing payroll checks for next month...endless list...right ? You can have another job and your boss calls you to come in early for work...anything...right ? My point, many here are most likely not watching charts all day. wrbtrader
Which is a great reason to me not to have a strategy that relies on watching charts all day. But what keeps drawing me back is the profit potential with all the leverage. For example, I just bet $160,000 fake dollars spread across 16 currency pairs going long on the GBP post-Brexit. It has currently lost $47,000. But what if I had guessed the opposite? What if I went with the mainstream opinion that the UK would face troubles after Brexit? Then I would have profited $47,000 (minus the spread). I would feel pretty smart.
Why bet 160k if trading is a waste of time or roulette to you regardless if its simulator or real money ? I just can't see myself calling trading a waste of time and then turn around to entertain thoughts of one more trade, a big trade...big profits about the UK decision involving Brexit...I can make back everything I've lost with this one trade. Further, I've seen you make a few comments about the "work involved" in trading is beneath you sort'uv speak as if you have other things to do. Seriously, if you don't have time for the work...you shouldn't be trading. You're just torturing yourself and those that personally know you (close to you) may be torture too. Seriously, its like dating someone or you're in a marriage...you then end it. Next, you start calling the person to see how they're doing, do you want to go out for tea, how's your mom doing, wanna go work out at the gym... You really got to let it go if you're mentally not into trading and don't let someone posting hindsight charts, offers to help you sucker you back into what you feel deep down is just roulette. Yet, investing (not trading) is something different and some have problems separating the two (invest vs trading). Take a deep breadth and walk away from trading. wrbtrader
Exactly ... you would feel smart. Traders like to "feel" a growing trade account balance. Smart ones flame out.
I would refer to my GBP example as "speculating," rather than investing. Investing is buying something that gives off cash while you own it. Business profits, real estate rental income, or even stock dividends.
OP is right, TA is bunk science. I used my Ouija board yesterday to predict incredibly correctly Tesla's top at 946. 30 minutes later the stock dropped 100 bucks and today another 160 bucks. Down with TA, Ouija rules!!!
I am claiming I used TA, of course. I recognize a stock going vertical and ready to blow up. Now it is not easy to actually pick the very top, because it could have gone another 100 bucks but there were all kind of TA signs, double top with RSI divergence, etc. The daily chart ended in a doji, look up what that means...