I think that for many market participants Quitting is or can be the most intelligent, rational decision. Not to be derided. If one doesn't have the aptitude to take money out of the market it is cearly better to recognize this and quit sooner rather than later. Without a 'path to profits' I would quit in a heartbeat. Doing nothing is the most difficult discipline to master.
fkeane! Good point! I think as a society and more so Hollywood makes one feel bad about "quitting" as though one didn't try hard enough or whatever. It's nice to dream big and shoot for the moon, but in life as well as in TRADING, cutting your losses is very important! It's OK to fail! And fail. And then fail. Then you realize you are not getting anywhere then you should decide 1) take a break and come back 2) that maybe trading isn't for you. It's not just trading. Sports, music, arts,etc. any field where only a small minority can succeed then one has to decide if it's cut out for you right? Unlike engineering or maybe computer or lawyering or doctor or teacher or just any "normal" profession where even the average worker can be compensated "ok". In trading like in pro sports, to be able to support yourself and make decent living you almost have to excel in it. You can't just be OK and survive in today's market. You'll either get 1) wiped out 2) slowly whittle down to zero... Having said that, I still think anyone with average intelligence can be a decent trader. But they have to work hard and more important work SMARTER. Do people analyze their trades and see what went wrong and why? That's the key to change if you still want to change... Without recognizing your mistakes, then it's impossible to become better no matter how many years you spend banging your head against the wall trying to be a better trader.. good luck all! trader99
To fkeane, As I said before, "If you have a dream, give out, give in, but never give up." That's my story bud and I'm sticking to it !!! E. H. Killian - alias - plumlazy - one hard working man. PS... I'm a long way from Hollywood !!!
I don't know about you, but I don't have a clue as to who I'm making money from. Could be anyone on the otherside of my trades. Might just be someone else on both ends of my trade that's making a profit trading a different timeframe.
plumlazy: EXACTLY! Just because you made profit in the 30sec to 5mins that you hold a position on an intraday basis does NOT necessarily mean the person on the other side of your trade is losing money. If a big longer-term trader buys 10,000 shares on a superrally day(like yesterday) and you sold to him your 1000 shares lot and make your 20cents move($200) and be all happy doesn't mean he's screwed, because he's looking ot make a 1pt or 2pt move which happened yesterday. so, for him he just made $10K-$20K. so, it's hard to say who you made your money off of...
************************************** Sucess is failure turned inside out The silver tint on the clouds of doubt You can never tell how close you are It may be near or it may be far -So trade small when you start. ------------------- I am thankful my banker dad never let me quit[ as a kid] reading when I had trouble. Had to keep doing it until I got it RIGHT.