What cityboy was saying was no retail trader can be successful. Sorry, not buying that BS! There are retail traders her on Elitetrader that are successful. I guess you have to define what is successful. If you made a decent amount of monies year after year, I would define that as success considering many more fail for various reasons. Of course, you have legions of BS artists, trolls, pot stirrers with nothing else to do! Those guys do not trade the stockmarket because if they did, they would be broke a long time ago! That I have no doubt of!
volpri, Why not take up for him? He provided a well written post that bring values to ET forum. Diversity thinking essential.
zenostiffler, The ET members are VERY influential to "me". I am thankful for any post I can use. A smart and simple person as myself, learns to read between lines for good valuable and useful information and it apply it towards my own gains. This thread is full of knowledge, just check the post before yours!
Gentlemen....the post is thought-provoking and encourages debate. It has value in that it challenges assumptions and allows you to think in new ways. In fact, it is about applying a 'trader's mindset' to a difficult game....one which you are almost certain to lose.....in such a way that you will dramatically increase your chances of winning. You have to give me credit for having the balls to be unconventional in the face of constant attacks. Here is an example....hopefully some lightbulbs are going off somewhere... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobayashi_Maru Kirk argues that the test itself is a cheat, since the program is unwinnable, and thus cheating is the only solution. Spock counters that the point of the test is not to win, but to face fear and accept the possibility of death, like Kirk's father did.
I agree that Citiboy12 has some useful things to say. And some of the other intelligent and moderate people here. But the quality as a whole on ET is very low indeed. Mostly loudmouthed and ignorant rednecks. And of course fantasists.
You are correct to an extent but generally wrong. Statistics describe and outline facts- that's how they work. This particular study drew certain conclusions from a diverse group over a long time frame. It did not measure a single individual. Also, it was not adjusted for e.g. for individal 1 Work ethic 2 Access to knowledge 3 IQ 4 Insider information That would take another study. However, I would caution you to come to the conclusion that simply working harder will make you successful. This false idea is proposed by a lot of 'feel-good' motivational speakers. It can be a contributing factor, but will be one in a multi-variate equation explaining success. As an example, Warren Buffet is a multi-billionaire but he does not work millions of times harder than somebody from the ghetto who makes a fraction of what he does. The 'work ethic' programming is used to brainwash people in many ways as is the 'be positive' programming which suspends critical thought and makes people more susceptible to sales tactics. It also gives a quick explanation to attack a failure ...'he was a loser because he did not work hard enough'. It is particularly prevalent in American culture.
I would, if he had an audited P&L, worked on a performance fee and the investment compared well with other 'trades'.