Yeah, but most don't want to psychologically accept a low win rate. I fell into that trap when I first started. Well, actually for quite a few years.
More important than high win%, is a strategy that inherently has a stable win% and does not vary too much.
Isn't there some sort of 80/20 rule? It seem like 80 percent of my profits come from 20% of my trades. One good trade can make your year, one bad loss takes you out of the game.
Yes. And one that fits your personality. That's why I'm able to take multiple losses in a row. It sucks, and I need to suck in my gut sometimes because of some discomfort, but I guess I've learned how to be comfortable being uncomfortable. I know I'm stealing that from someone. Didn't a Navy Seal say that in a book or something?
Don't want to beat a dead horse (many previous threads here have done so) but general statements ... generally are meaningless. What someone else does is what someone else does - whether that someone is a professional or not.
he probably washed out and didn't make retirement money. Most people don't make retirement money by their early 40's at a firm like Goldman. They will have a few million in net worth but its not enough to be done forever. And a sellside trader is a very different skill than a prop trader or an investor.
I'm not sure, but it may have been Richard Dennis who said all of my profits have come from 5% of my trades. I think that was in the first Market Wizards book. Not sure it was him though.
I know. And thank you. I'm a pro by definition. (licensed, working prop), but it doesn't matter. When someone asks me what I do, I just say "stock market". It saves a lot of hassle. I told a couple of people I was a professional stock trader about a year ago. What a pain in the ass.
Next time, tell them yer a "stock operator" like Livermore. Many moons ago as a cab driver in Florida, I picked up this totally drunk guy and drove him home. I told him the fare, was like $12. He said "Well, I'm a stock *insert weird word here, I cannot remember what word he used but it was not broker or operator*, and I had a really good week." He gave me a $100 tip. I was like, dayum! Moral of the story? Screw trading. Just drive a cab and pick up drunk stock *insert weird word here*.