And D. T. who owns casinos. ------------- I would not call the OP a gambler. Professional gamblers are the most disciplined people, that behavior is plunging. I have had my share of ups and downs over the years and took me a long time to break down my trading methodology and examine and figure out what was happening. Aside psychological factors which I did not look into I found out that I became unstable if I traded certain size. I am sure this is a variation of the Peter Principle at work. We give ourselves permission (basically promoting ourselves to a higher level) to a point where it does not make sense from the standpoint of our finances and level of experience. The hard part is that we are doing this unknowingly and there is no one to hold us in check. One can have everything written down and swear to follow the rules and still in a particular moment of weakness put on a larger position or ignore safety rules.
Very compelling post, its one I hope a lot of people read. I'm sorry for your situation. In my experiance one group of people who have a hell of a time with the market is those who use it for "excitement". They are bored with the day job, and the market seems very exciting with all the ups and downs and the fortunes to be made (and unfortunatly lost too). The very best traders have other activities in their life that provide this type of stimulation if they need it at all, or they just simply are not the type who needs it. Hope that helps.
Why wouldnt he be careful when he was up that muh? the same could have been probably said when he hit 75K, 100K, 150K etc etc. He was taking too much risk all along and it was only a matter of time before his number was called.
I don't have time for souped up sob stories like these especially when they come off as fake. Make a mistake once maybe people can have sympathy for you. Make same mistake twice: shrug. Make same mistake thrice: you are either completely incompetent, a self-destructive attention seeking whore, or a really really bored twat. I diagnose the third with a bit of the second thrown in. Why don't you take your skills and write a novel? This thread reminds me of an earlier one about the guy who went through the whole process of starting out in trading detailing all his little trials and tribulations, and then suddenly disappeared just as he was supposedly starting. What was that thread again? Probably the same author.
Another Elite user has brought to my attention that this book (by Terry CARROLL!) is not available now except for one internet shop where it is EXTREMELY over priced. ** Please ignore this recommendation ** My sincere apologies to anybody who has been trying to get hold of a copy. Zzoom.
You're CLEARLY taking too much risk and you have no clue what the risk of ruin concept means. That's vital to trading, and your aptitude in this is on par with a retarded person. Get more conservative or get out of the business.
What separates the degenerate gambler from the successful trader? The trader sits on his hands and picks his shots. The gambler only knows the action.
One thing I've learned from taking huge losses on irrational trades is that position size is extremely important for not destroying your account. Even if you don't make profits at the very least, small positions will keep you in the game longer so you can find a winning strategy. I can relate to the need to want to constantly trade but i would suggest that you paper trade for a long time before you ever consider trading real money. This will help your subconcious because you can develop a system that works and that you have confidence in and also it will in a way "take the edge off" when you want to be in the market. I think once you can show yourself that you can be disciplined with small positions and you consistently make profits...then you can try some real trading with a very small amount of money. When you make profits, remove half from your account and put it in a savings account.
You guys are falling for this story. I can tell this is phony by reading the first few paragraphs. Come on guys, don't respond to these threads. He went from 5k to 85k back to 2.5k back to 235k and ended with $4950, hollywood ending.