so true! Hope = Greed! As soon as you start hoping you start losing. Back in the mid 1990's I was trading at shop at 50 Broad street and I was very content grabbing 1/4 pt profits. I used to say happy quarters, until a very well known and wealthy partner in the firm called me some choice words and told me that I would never make money grabbing my small profits. I am still trading and that peson is down about 90 million. The point is to do what you are comfortable doing. You will not go broke taking small profits, but you will surely have trouble if you keep hoping and changing your exit strategies mid trade. remember, we all have ideas when to enter a trade, but most don't have that all important exit strategy and even fewer stick to it if they have one in place.
FireWalker ... glad to see that you are, and so, I'll attempt to help a bit here I think you're doing a superb job of self searching from your detail of the pursuit ... let me make a suggestion that I feel sure has been offered, for I feel this is NOT the first discussion you've had with various folks concerning your malady...... nope .. first let me make an observation ..... all the "telling you" that the fine posters on ET have each one been there .. that it is just a case of hang on and things go well ... that this is a part and portion of paying your dues .... well, while I feel these opinions have merit and are highly truthful, I also feel that they miss the point .... the point of why right now and why for the past couple of years most likely, in my opinion, the answer will have come to you from something that you discover for yourself, but the various opinions offered here could help lead you down the correct path ... hope so now back to the suggestion that I guess will be a repeat of advice already given from elsewhere >>>>>>> poker and trading get me closest ah ha ... I think one MUST treat trading AND poker *(to be successful at either) with complete disregard for the dollar units ... chips chips chips chips ... not money .. not chips WORTH money ... just plain unadulterated chips that alone are just chips ... a method of keeping score of how well one is performing .. NOT MONEY hard to do but necessary, the way I see it now that is enough pontification from the old to the young ...gggg actually, it is impossible for me to tell IF you have ADD from what I've read here ... mayhaps you do , mayhaps you don't ... heck ... my immediate family is chock full of teachers ... instructors at all levels ==== elementary to college and all the elementary ones are taught to observe traits of ADD .. along with dyslexia and various other impediments to proper learning .... and not a single one of these folks who love me and care for me even entertained the idea that I had ADD ... hey .. I was too old to have this children's problem .... but really what it is --- the symptoms are different ... the adult ADDer has had to learn to cope with having ADD and has therefore altered his attitude/outlook/demeanor/actions in the sheer fact of getting older ... whilst the child ADDer just reacts ---- and most of the time the reactions cause problems for the other kids around him/her well ... lo and behold .. I do have it and another weird thing .. the normal treatment for older is the complete opposite for the normal treatment for younger .... strange as it may seem ... uppers ---- "speed" type of med.. is one of the most common given for ADD and ADHD in youngsters ... "non speed" --- is much more prevalent for older folks ... the type of med to treat depression ... and, btw, it is inherited ... and, from the fifty or so folks I know who have it .. again, strange as it might seem ... there is not a single one of them who would choose to be "cured" .... hey .. once one learns of tools to deal with it, the ADD becomes a large plus in life .... this has been true for me, and as I said, for all that I know who have it .... ok .. back to why I brought it up .... your comments >>>>>"I'm not hyper" most non juveniles aren't as they have "learned to deal with it" by NOT being hyper >>>>"I can maintain concentrated thought for 10-12 hours with very little degradation in quality" most "normal" folks can't do that .... they really can't ... ADD is not really named correctly ... it is NOT scattered thinking .. random because of a lack of attention .. it is that the attention of one with ADD NEEDS constant "input" ... and the ability to focus and concentrate HARD for a long period (10-12 hours) is HARD and, actually is an extreme example of focused and concentrated thinking which is fueled by constant input .... .... BUT I think you'll find that is one of the main strong suits of having it ... but, one must learn to deal with ADD according to different rules than "normal" >>know I'm failing miserably in conveying to you what I mean, because I re read what I'm writing and I know it sounds muddy .... gggggg<< I'm not saying you have ADD .. I'm just suggesting that you explore the area some, for it is quite evident that you HAVE been doing a lot of looking for some time .. this could be the proper area in which you need to look further ... I'm pretty tied up the remainder of this week, as it is spring break and we'll be out of town for most of the remainder of the week .. but, I'll get back with you should you desire some additional avenues .... horse
its my belief that we must all be losers at something before becoming winners, in anything in life. if you're starting out a winner, all that means is you're doing something too easy. everyone here in ET is here to learn and (better, yet) teach. yeah there are alot of people with agendas too, but they're easy to pick out. through all the blather, you can find some gems of wisdom. -m.o.
Firewalker, I keep this thread stuck to the side of my computer, puts things in perspective: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27486&highlight=tax+advice
Dollars and chips. I've tried that with some success, but not enough. Interesting that I'm actually a profitable poker player and that's real money (small stakes). But I trade the same way with real money and when paper-trading (posting trades into a real-time chat room with traders I respect). Something about the market sucks me in and I oscillate between diligent carefulness and uncontrollably impulsive. Thanks all, I've found a psychiatrist, friend of the folks. We'll see if I get committed.