I've got a secret

Discussion in 'Trading' started by tampa, Feb 17, 2002.

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  1. SGD

    SGD

    I have been trading for 8 years. I have always been profitable, (after my first 8 months). I have read hundreds of books, attended many seminars, watch many videos, reads many magazines, newspapers, and newsletters, and checked out a lot of websites.

    The only thing that was really worth reading was Mark Douglas' two books, "The disciplined Trader" and "Trading in the Zone".

    But, I couldn't be where I am today without reading all of the other material that is out there. I still read, watch, and learn.
    My brian is always working. Even though 99.9999% of the stuff out there is complete garbage. People out there are just trying to prove themselves, if they can't do it in the market, they write a book, etc. It makes them seems smart and knowledgeable. Take Stocks and Commodities magazine. Most of the articles in that magazine make me sick. All these delta, betas, sigmas, and statical garbage. Come on....??? How can anyone make consistent money following that stuff. I thing those people get some self worth and feel like they figured something out, that looks complicated, wow, now they accomplished something.

    First of all, If you are not disciplined, you don't even stand a chance. That is first and foremost!!! Second, you must have some sort of edge. A strategy that works. You have to have direction with your strategy. You can't be a lost sheep, or a fish in the ocean with no plan. You have to have confidence in your self, that you can make money, and most of all, that you will not get destroyed when your wrong. I have confidence when I trade, because I know that I can handle the situation.

    You must know yourself and find a niche in the marketplace.
    Be disciplined and look at the probabilities. If your in a trade that usually works out 1,2,3,4,5,6, or even 7 times out of 10, DON'T take that trade. If it's not and 8,9, or 10, I won't even thing about it.
    (There is so much more to all of this, but this is what is coming to my mind right now.)

    There are books, etc. worth reading, and I do have respect for traders and authors that are profitable and share their knowledge. I am glad that they share their insight with others. You can always learn something from someone, even if that "someone" is not profitable.
     
    #21     Feb 18, 2002
  2. nitro

    nitro

    These are the "places/things" that have been huge for _ME_.

    1) I worked on the floor of the Merc at 19 in the Treasure Bill pit when interest rates were double digits. I _SAW_ the SP pit open up. This was a real education.

    2) I wrote C/C++ and Basic programs for a private company that does automated trading of the futures. This helped and hurt me. it helped because part of my job was coding systems published to see if they worked or could be made to work (using strict statistical discipline.) Also, there were three Mathematicians that had an interesting perspective. It also hurt me, by sending me down the "wrong" path (for me.) In retrospect, there are some things I got out of it, but I didn't know what was "good" and was "bad" at the time.

    3) I went to Bright Trading trading course. There, Grandmasters tell you how they trade. It was a turning point for my trading.

    I have a sizable number of books on trading (including Charles Cottle book on options, but no its not for sale :) ) The only ones that I found really useful are:

    0) The "Murphy" books - how many of these does one need?
    1) When Genius Fails: The Fall of LTCM
    2) Trading in the Zone
    3) (Not really a book) My computer(s), TradeStation and Mathematica - to test that 99% of all the garbage touted as useful doesn't work.

    nitro
     
    #22     Feb 18, 2002
  3. I'll put in my 2 cents...
    i agree that most authors, "gurus" etc...don't make or write about any systems that are worth paying for...I know that's not gonna make the recent vendors around here happy but f it...

    like praetorian2 said, trading is boring at times...and you need to wait until you see that one set up that makes you say to yourself, "ahh! there it is!" , and bam! put on the trade...

    if someone feels the need to put money into learning about trading read Market wizards or pit bull...any book that talks about a traders past experience, about how they controlled their emotions.
    here's a portion of the Jim Rogers interview in Market Wizards:
    "I just wait until there is money lying in the corner, and all I have to do is go over there and pick it up. I do nothing in the meantime./You should just sit there until you find something"

    It seems that a major problem for some traders is they do the "spray and pray" method..."i felt that this would go up, or I tried this and that" and they put on 15-20 trades a day...maybe that works for some, but I think its so much easier to wait, be patient until that trade just stares you in the face and says "free money". Thats one thing about being in a big trading office, some people get caught up in the crowd mentality, and then the firm makes a killing... while the traders churn away
    I was a philosophy minor in college but I can't remember who said one of my favorite quotes..."the masses are asses!"
    if anyone can find out who said that please post it.
    Peace

    :D
     
    #23     Feb 18, 2002
  4. nitro

    nitro

    Wasn't it Karl Marx?


    nitro
     
    #24     Feb 18, 2002
  5. yes, i think it was. Thanx Nitro.
     
    #25     Feb 18, 2002
  6. I thought it was "the masses lose their asses".:)
     
    #26     Feb 18, 2002
  7. tampa

    tampa

    Are you reading this stuff? Frustrating, isn’t it? So much wisdom, and yet no detail, no specifics

    At the risk of alienating the other guys, I will tell you what they are doing. They tend to be buyers as prices move higher, and sellers as prices move lower. It works most every time!

    So now you want to know how to tell when that’s going to happen in advance? Well, that can’t be done. The best you can do is to take some out of the middle. That’s what trading is all about. No top picking, no bottom fishing. Just high probability, low risk plays in-between. .

    As for that “edge” everyone is always talking about? It’s knowing that the other guy doesn’t really have one, but thinks that you do!
     
    #27     Feb 18, 2002
  8. oneway

    oneway

    This fits into the discussion. From QuickTrade on another thread.

    patterns fail because they don't exist.. they are a creative illusion in the mind of the trader who desires a repetition of order in chaos.. just as the brush strokes of a master painter are wholly his own, the interpretation and recognition of chart patterns belong to the trader.. to understand their meaning, one must first understand the artist..

    -qwik

     
    #28     Feb 18, 2002
  9. tampa

    tampa

    ...heavy, very heavy.

    this is art, not science.
     
    #29     Feb 18, 2002
  10. The secret of trading is to find there are no secret in trading. Till the time you discover and accept that secret you believe
    1 Secret of trading has something to do with hardware; multi monitor set ups, ultra fast machines
    2 secret of trading has to do with software.. real time scans, artificial intelligence ---
    3 secret of trading has to do with finding an advisory service.
    4 secret of trading has to do with chart patterns.. so more exotic the better bar, candle, kagi ----
    5 secret of trading has to do with broker you use.. direct access and ---
    6 secret of trading is in your account size..
    7 secret of trading is in attending one of those fancy trading training program
    8 secret of trading is finding a trading mentor who charges you by hours.
    9 secret of trading is with one of those professional trading firm
    10 secret of trading is in one of those trading book
    Once you go through all those stages and survive and still have capital to trade then you find secret of trading. The secret of trading is within you.
     
    #30     Feb 18, 2002
    yc47ib likes this.
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