If you had to do it all over again....

Discussion in 'Professional Trading' started by cashmoney69, Jun 1, 2006.

  1. If I knew then what I know now...I'd get all the lottery numbers right, every time. Unfortunately, there is no going back. Most such observations made with the benefit of hindsight have little or no practical value for the same reason that we probably shouldn't feel too prescient just because we are watching a repeat of a television program and know how it will conclude.

    I think that a better question would be, What might you have done differently knowing exactly what you knew then, not now? What might you have overlooked that perhaps you should not have overlooked at that time with the information available to you at that time? That is something you can learn from going forward. Then the regret, if any, need not be gratuitous. (Even so, I imagine that regret is seldom ever a good thing.)

    Against this background, I wish I traded smaller when I first started. I had no business trading the relative size that I did with the "knowledge" I had then. I should have known that then.
     
    #31     Jun 8, 2006
  2. oh, another thing:

    never short on margin.


    (it was a hard lesson :)
     
    #32     Jun 8, 2006
  3. big bump for that lesson...


    that was the hardest lesson I learned trading..lol
     
    #33     Jun 8, 2006
  4. mineyours

    mineyours

    I am a 20 (ADD) something you mentioned previously, with a lot to learn. I strongly hope you reconsider your posting finale. You have been without a shadow of a doubt, for me, the most insightful and thought-provoking poster on ET to date.

    Would you or others with knowledge kindly critique my initial approach? I am at the theory stage. 3 months, perhaps, from going live.

    I intend to research and trade, 100% systematically, each of the following strategies over two timeframes. Of course, on the proviso they backtest with a positive expectation.

    Strategies:
    Intraday trend following (BreakOut model from 15 minute Hi Los);
    Intraday trend following (consensus indicator model);
    Volatility BO;
    ORB;
    Mean Reversion BOs, i.e. breakout from the other side of a channel post trend following breakout.

    Markets:
    Dax, Bund, Euro, Yen, WTI, Pound, 10Yr, Mini Dow

    Timeframes:
    15mins, 90mins, Multitimeframe in terms of the indicator trend following model.

    Any comments most welcome.

    All the best,
    MY
     
    #34     Jun 8, 2006
  5. GTG

    GTG

    I'm really sorry to hear that. I stumbled upon some of your old posts a few months ago while doing a search, and spent several days reading everything you've written here while taking notes. Some of the stuff that you've written has really opened my eyes to ideas I had never thought of before. Thank you for all that you have contributed to Elite Trade. You will be missed.
     
    #35     Jun 9, 2006
  6. Hi Mineyours,

    I am doing something similar.

    Would like to know how long are you holding and your r/r target.

    Cheers




    Will
     
    #36     Jun 10, 2006
  7. Adobian

    Adobian

    I want to ask some detailed questions related to this topic:

    If you are starting over:

    1/ would you start with a larger amount ? What is the miminum that you would start with, if the 25K min was not a requirement.
    If 25K requirement doesn't allow you to daytrade, would you trade longer terms, like position trading, using small amount ? how much ?

    2/would you trade options instead of stocks ? Futures instead ? Commodities or Indices ?

    3/ What would be the biggest, major change in your life as a trader, if you are starting over this time, now that you are older ? Like would you get married first ? Divorced ? Would you buy your dream car as soon as you get the money in, before it's too late again like you have regretted last time ? Etc.

    4/ would you use the same broker ?

    5/ how would you structure your business in terms of legal tax structures to get the most benificial ?

    6/ would you quit your job ? Would you keep your day job ? Would you take a second shift job ? Or Full time trading and not worrying about bills ?

    7/ Would you still watch CNBC ? Read the News ?

    8/Would wake up 1 hour earlier ? Would you go to sleep early ? Would you spend less time with the computer and more time outside to be a real social person ?

    9/Would you engage in online fights /discussions more or less after knowing it doesn't matter what people say on those forums the stocks will go up and down on their own ?

    8/ Would you use chat rooms more or less ?

    9/ Would you make more trades per day ?

    10/ Would you have more guts to cut loss ? Would you have more discipline to set stops ?

    11/ Would you still discuss what you do with people around you or would you keep it a secret ?

    12/ Would you invest your profits into other business (stores, restaurants) or all will be retained to get bigger trading power ?

    13/ Would you try to travel more often ?
    Get out more and talk to chicks more ?

    14/

    15

    Please add your own questions. THanks.
     
    #37     Jun 10, 2006
  8. Just a suggestion - if you want real feedback, you'll ask for a little less and put together the responses to form something meaningful. Asking for such granularity is going to do more harm than good as, ironically, the audience that would respond to such a lengthy query is generally of lower quality.
     
    #38     Jun 10, 2006
  9. Uh, now you are talking.

    I would say something like, "Yea, sweet thang, you some over to my crib and we will share a glass of Covasier and get our groove on. Or discuss the binomial vs. Black-Scholes option pricing methodology."

    They have a very hard time resisting that one.
     
    #39     Jun 10, 2006
  10. Adobian

    Adobian

    Those questions are merely suggestions. Some of us might answer to just a few. I guess you never have to start over over again :) ?
     
    #40     Jun 10, 2006