Hijacked exactly what? Nothing of value to traders, that's for damn sure. Let's make it easy on everyone and all agree: day trading is futile, a waste of time and money. Matter of fact, it can be equally said that ALL time lengths of trading are futile. Nobody can succeed, nobody can teach, nobody can learn, everyone across this entire site in any thread who suggests otherwise is wrong. Now with that, we can all leave ET and never log in again because there is no point in frequenting it any more. We agree that trading is futile, nobody wins and nobody can. Baron can do everyone the biggest favor and take ET offline now, saving you from any further temptations and loss. Mission accomplished here in this thread. Sorry the trading thing did not and cannot work out for anyone. Best wishes in your jobs or careers elsewhere ciao
Most traders are recreational traders. They do it for fun. They do it for the camaraderie. Like Fantasy Football. So when people post results, it doesn't matter whether the results are manufactured or not. Who cares? It's no different from bragging about the size of the fish one caught. And if the audience loses money, it doesn't matter. They don't do it for the money. They do it for the fun. To see if they guessed right. To participate in the couldawouldashoulda after the session is over. But there will inevitably be those who want to move on from this, who begin to realize that trading isn't "fun" in the usual sense, that they'd like to stop losing, even if they can't do as well as the alleged PnLs they've been reviewing. They also realize that these PnLs are of no use whatsoever because they aren't accompanied by trading plans, and without the trading plan, the trader has no way of knowing how those alleged results were achieved, if in fact they were achieved. So the trader who wants to move on has a choice: continue to follow PnLs that have no trading plans to back them up, or study trading plans that have no PnLs. It will be no great leap to realize that he is far more likely to develop a trading plan by studying trading plans than by window-shopping PnLs which may or may not be real. Those who have reached this understanding, however, will soon understand what Mark was saying earlier, that trading plans rarely work off the shelf. They nearly always must be modified to suit one's own circumstances. Therefore, whatever results are reported with regard to a particular trading plan have only to do with its potential. Even mine, which encourages the trader to exit when the line is broken, must be tweaked by the trader to determine what constitutes a "break". A tick? A point? Two points? The trader's choice depends largely on how fearful he is but also the metrics he's been keeping (assuming he's been keeping any). There is also the fact that somebody else's trading plan cannot address the depth and extent of the trader's fear nor the depth and extent of whatever addiction he may have. And even if it tries, there's no guarantee that he will follow it. To the contrary, it is nearly a guarantee that he won't. Donna (NoDoji) has devoted an extraordinary amount of time trying to help others. For nothing. Those who attack her for not posting PnLs betray the fact that they have no idea how trading works, that it is a matter of study and research and planning and testing and implementation and review and analysis. And those who are not willing to do the work will not succeed, at least to an extent that will enable them to make consistent profits, much less profits that will enable them to make a living from this. Those who are interested in learning how to develop a trading plan can click the link. It can be used to create just about any kind of trading plan, from mechanical to discretionary, from scalping to swing to trend. It is not, however, the only template available. Those who are interested in how I use the SLA and AMT to trade can, again, click the link. It is all, of course, free. Those who choose to do neither should ask themselves whether or not (a) they want to make consistent profits and even (b) make a living at this. If the answer to either question is "no", then continue playing the game and hanging out with the guys. You should know, however, that many traders go on this route until they go broke or get tired of it. If they don't get tired of it, they re-fund themselves and keep on keepin' on. Some have been known to go on like this for more than twenty years before losing everything, including their families. If you believe it can't happen to you, then best of luck.
I have spent maybe 3 on ET this year and over 2 of those hours have been spent reading this thread! Anyone that has NEVER shown any blotters of trades or at the very least a chart showing native platform entries and exits simply: A. doesn't have a trading plan to go with whatever they "teach". B. Is unable to trade, from an emotional standpoint. After this much reading my conclusion is most gurus fall into one of these two categories (I suspect the latter). The "problem" lies in the fact that most assume those that teach practice what they teach. Schools are FULL of non-practicing teachers right? However in schools the teachers willingly admit they do not practice but from I have read they do nothing to inform the audience they do not (or no longer) trade. Whether DBP actually trades actually is not that important (there are tons of system sellers out there)... but we all have egos.. If he was profitably trading he would have posted proof a looooong time ago.
I am not sure this is the case. Most are addicted imo. It will likely end 3 ways (i) stop trading (ii) go broke (iii) learn how to make money and stick with it. I cant think of anything worse than trading as a fun activity (aside for putting my pecker in a meat grinder). If you dont make money it is not fun at all is it. making money trading is satisfying not fun in my experience.
Those who freely give advice should be expected to demonstrate that they didn't just read it somewhere. Or at least those who are the recipients of this advice should expect some evidence that a trading plan exists.