This is a P.S. to what I posted above. The young man who wrote the quote below, age 19, has already figured it out -- or was fortunate to get some very good advice to help him figure it out. Wish I had known at age 19, what he knows now! (This is just another way of saying what I have already said in my post above-- but I much prefer his way of saying it!) Read this and profit!!! "Well , I am 19 year old , currently trading for my second year , my father used to trade back in the 1980's right now he's working as a vice president in a marketing firm , my sister used to trade back in 2007-2010 as a commodities futures trader - very successful , although she decided to move and " save the planet"(Money is not her goal) I hope she succeeds ,so right now it was my turn , There's a big chance I won't beat my sisters records until I am in my mid 20's but I will try , I've received training from some of the great traders - my dad's friends and I did learn a lot , I view trading and great traders as serial killers , serial killer never attacks unless he knows that odds of making a kill are great , if a serial killer jumps on every victim possible on daily-basis without analyzing them properly he's likely to get caught and his life will be over. As a retail investor /trader you can choose the time you want to trade as well as the price , you don't need to be in the market every single day , leave that meat in the middle for Lions and crocodiles - let them fight it out ,leopard is not one of them , leopard knows when price and time is right , take the best risk/reward opportunities .Market does give a lot of time for a person to react and recognize the opportunity , At times it gives too much time - still many don't take advantage of them , Don't be blind and don't be a follower , innovate. P.S I am too young to realize what is wrong here , unless a lot of people are way too emotional"
You can't be serious! Do you want to make money trading, or would you rather avoid indelicacies and be broke?
The traders mentioned in the Trading Wizards are all winners. Some for hundreds of millions and at least one is a billionaire. I have a hunch you traded with no edge and overbet and on top of it, that you are not emotionally suited for trading.
I've had a good year, so far!, but it is partly due to how much easier it is to make money in a bull rather than bear market. I don't trade short term day or a few days anymore. My results there got worse with time and the last couple years I traded short time frame I lost money doing that. Since I started holding longer I cut my costs substantially and substantially improved results. I'm up a little over 30% for the year. When I was actively trading my largest loss was was 50K ~16% of my trading account at that time. I learned a great lesson, but one that was way too expensive. In the 1980s I started investing a little in real estate and over the years have added to that. I now have a substantial cash flow from real estate but I must say it isn't easy money. And just as in the market, there is risk. Because I actively manage the properties I own, it is time consuming. I hire a professional to do advertising and screening of renters, I manage the rest. I have put a lot of money into the properties I own, but it has paid off in substantially higher rents, and more responsible renters. The advice given in my 2013 post was to choose your market entries very carefully and that requires, sometimes, tremendous, patience. Most young traders it seems are way too impatient. And they have a tendency to underestimate market volatility. Over the years I have acquired a far better understanding of Macroeconomics, Central Bank Operations and Money and Interest Rates. This is a help in longer term trading and especially in long term investing.
Good for you! Am I correct in understanding that you are not daytrading now, but rather swing trading?
Some issues: 1. You have read the wrong things. You have learned from the wrong people, wrong author etc. No one will hand you anything on a plater or in a book. 2. You may not be fit to trade. You could be given a profitable strategy and still be unprofitable. 3. Trading may not be your calling. You may be successful in something else and that's great. Trading is not like school or university where you study for years, get a degree and sell yourself to get a job/money. You will not be rewarded for having put in the hard yards but for having an edge.
I have similar experience. Got better outcome after I received advice here suggesting I trade longer time frame. However, I still like to learn how to day trade profitably, using charts. Any of you have any suggestions for me?