Yes, so much of the day trading biz is a wizard of oz show............ But with vendors/gurus........... it took me a while to realize this, but they are simply giving people what they want. Just like religious gurus, spiritual gurus, or any other kind of guru. They exist because people have a need for them. The crazy thing is that if a trading guru is busted in some way most of his/her followers will continue to follow him/her, and if the guru continues his online presence he will continue to gain new followers. You see that with JH here and MFB at BMT. It is mind blowing indeed. What it boils down to is that most people have made up their minds about day trading before they've opened their first account, and will seek out things that align with their beliefs and ignore anything that says otherwise. So it's like the old saying goes..... everyone gets what they want out of the market. And everyone gets what they want out of a guru. You can't save people from themselves. In that light it is surely a waste of time arguing with a guru because he/she will never provide proof of anything to anyone. No point in trying to run him off a forum because in time someone new will take his place. No point trying to convince his students to stop following him because they don't want to hear it. So best to simply ignore gurus you don't like with your ignore list. Although that would mean no more ET battles (which we all admit are so much fun to watch!!!)
Seems like you're swallowing EVERYTHING DB says, not just the methodology. Just don't have a too open mind, that's my advice. And re-read what Pigsky says above me.
I think his point was that any one particular way of trading is not the end all be all on the subject.
So true. I'm sure everyone who enters this field belives they will be a success and they believe themselves to be the exception to the statistic saying most small traders fail. Of course, they will be putting in much more hours than everyone else and they are after all much smarter as well (most people believe they're smarter than the average). And if anyone dares try breaking their 'dream' or bringing some realism to the table, they are deemed as negative and not having what it takes to become a trader. Pretty hilarious.
Another less cynical way of looking at this is to remain aware of the base rates for success among aspiring traders, thereby putting in massive 'deliberate practice' to move the needle up. Instead of being naively optimistic, they may be doggedly realistic. Beginners in trading are not always beginners in life.
No, beginners in trading are not always beginners in life, but still, there's many spectacularly smart people who've failed as traders while killing it in other areas of their life. That's reality. Regarding deliberate practice, the tough part about trading compared to any other field is that you're basically left on your own and don't even know what to practice. I'm studying math now and I have thousands of people who've walked the path successfully before me who's willing to help me. Still, it's pretty hard work and no one will do it for me. But at least I know that I'm getting advice from people who know what they're talking about. In trading, it's perfectly possible to spend years working really hard at something that turns out to be futile in the end. Maybe you find a nice mentor who you trust, but further down the road you discover that he was dishonest. Of course, one should always be positive and optimistic, as long as it does not turn into naivety and recklessness.
He sells a book---plus he continuously misleads starting traders. If he just admits that he doesn't trade but sells a system But he prefers to make you think otherwise.