A lot of your trades look like breakouts to me. If enough of your "followers" were to take the same entry it would be a rat race to see who gets in first and who gets in 2nd, 3rd, and last... You have also talked about not liking "reversal" trades and yet I have seen in some of your videos where you did go short after ER had run up quite a bit during the first hour or so. Not exactly a "directional" trade... Another video you talked about where "if you were an experienced trader" you could of gotten in here (where you then showed the first and second half of a double bottom that happened to both have hammers at their bottoms). Again, not a "directional" trade. (And no, they were not pullbacks off of a higher time frame). At that point, you lost me as being a "directional" trader... And yet you blast reversal traders... hmm... In some of your charts on your site you show yourself trying to pick breaks from "coils" as you call them with you reversing back and forth untill you finally hit one. I hope for your sake you don't trade like that on each and every choppy day or worse yet, teach it to your "students"... BTW, there is a PnL thread here at ET. You might want to go and show us your PnL backing up the size you say you do. I would hate to think you are a 2-lot trader acting like a 20+ lot trader. Or worse yet, trading on a sim like our good ol' friend Franz from TI...
Guys, we really have to make a Livermore FAQ, because it is getting very repetative... No, you don't have his legacy right, obviously. Bad traders don't make millions, over and over again. Instead of giving you the answers again and again, use the Search feature. Or read about his life...There is a reason (you obviously got it, that there MUST be a reason) why he is held in such a high esteem...
How much you need all depends on what you will give up from your current situation. Where do you sit on the bell shaped curve of total compensation compared to your peers? The further away from the middle and the closer to the left (lower end) will make it easier to leave your current situation. If you are anywhere to the right of the bell shaped curve (upper end), the more difficult it will be to leave. Speaking for the 30 year and 10 year Bond futures only, if I were single in my 20's with my income towards the lower end of the bell shaped curve, I would set aside 1 year of my current gross income that I can live on, and establish a trading fund with no less than 30,000 USD but no more than 50,000 USD. The rationale for the above is the following. 1 year's gross allows you the cushion of having the additional difference between your normal gross and net income for the year. The trading fund size allows you to have 3 - 5 ten thousand dollar accounts. You need 3 - 5 because you will blow through at least 2 of those ten thousand dollar accounts unless you are some kind of trading genius. In bonds your daily goal would be 6 ticks per contract in the 30 year which equates to 187.50. You would trade 1 contract consistently, and eventually work your way up to 2 contracts. You would never trade more than 2. At least for 1 year, maybe longer. Lot more to say but that is enough for now.
<i>"No, you don't have his legacy right, obviously. Bad traders don't make millions, over and over again."</i> Bad traders lose millions, over and over again. I can think of two accquaintances who both made more than $1mil and lost more than that TWICE in 1999 - 2001. Neither of them trade anything today. They each made millions out of small accounts twice... does that define them as good traders? Why didn't Jesse retire fat, rich and happy? I only reference Livermore because someone once quoted him to me as saying (paraphrase) that "Anything he ever learned from someone else about trading was worthless" I would interpret that to mean anything shared in this entire forum amongst us is worthless. Is that accurate? Did he not state that the only stuff which "worked" for him came from within? In other words, exchange of information with anything else was a waste of his time. Therefore, why are we in this forum here right now? Many times I've said in public that Livermore may have been the greatest human being who ever lived. He gets all the love & respect from me <b>as any human being</b> rightly deserves. I'm very clear about referencing him as a person versus referencing his acumen as a trader, now practically deified. My last post about Livermore... it's not an interest of mine. I do appreciate the comments shared. ** On the Travel Channel, there is a feature presentation on "Ten Best Waterfront Mansions." One of those, I think it's #1 in their poll is owned by a bond trader named Bob (Something). To be honest, I cannot ever remember his last name, even after watching that episode three times. Gotta write it down next time. Anyway, Bob (who I've heard of before) enjoys an absolutely palatial mansion with acreage measured in square miles and lakefront measured in linear miles. That is the type of lifestyle I aspire to... that is a legacy I wish to duplicate. Please feel free to emulate who you wish. When Bob does "his Reminisces" book on how he made (and kept) nine figures by trading bond futures, I'd pay $1,000 asking price for that. Check out the episode on Travel Channel... there is my definition of a true master trader.
77, Bit, et al, I see where y'all have spent some time trying to figure out exactly how I trade. Why is that? Why not spend your precious, finite time studying & tweaking the methods = tactics you currently trade with? All of us can always improve our results thru constant study of the markets and our own tactics. It seems to me you are chasing rabbits down the wrong trails. Understanding how I trade requires complete understanding... not able to reverse-engineer thru bits & pieces, no more than I could do the same from distant observation of anyone else. If I ever have the desire to post PnL, I'll do so. Right now I have no reason to... what would be in it for me? What do I get as a reward for the efforts expended? Gotta be a whole lot more than acceptance & respect by a few people in this forum... that does not motivate me at all. Now, if we're ever talking about a live trade contest, real money in real time where biggest % gain winner takes all, I'm down with that any time. Someone(s) care to trade for a specified period of time, real money tracked PnL in here where winner takes all, count me in :>) Best Trading Wishes, Austin
Do good traders loose millions and millions over and over again? Extraordinary man and he clearly had some remarkable market skills. It seems equally clear what some of his defficiencies where. Cheers, Nick..
Perhaps word would get around ET that a vendor was actually walking the walk vs. talking the talk and a whole bunch of 2k checks would fly your way. Isn't that reward enough? Especially if you want one of those big mansions you speak of on the Travel show you talked about. You might even get enough for a down payment...
Version, I'm up for a live trade contest versus anyone(s) interested in seeing who-what is an accomplished trader. Anyone who thinks I won't walk the walk is invited to walk it with me. Let's trade from 10/01 ~ 12/15/2006, any size account $25k or bigger. Each trader is free to trade any style, any symbol, any market. $10,000 entry fee per person. Daily results for all entries can be posted in a thread right here on ET. Whoever rolls up the highest %gain in this period of time wins all entry fees. If I win, my take of the prize money will be donated to this charity which I support: <b>http://www.hillside.com/Services/index.htm</b> Wouldn't that be fun, interesting and a positive experience for all? There's anyone's chance to see my PnL results in real time, with real money on the line. How's that sound?
Austin, This challenge deserves a thread all of it's own... See this link: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1195096#post1195096