Perhaps it's just your timing. The S&P hasn't exactly been on fire the last five months. If you're going to "push it", do so in a strong trend, not in this creep.
What's all this crap about being old at age 38? Today I heard that my sister won't marry a guy because he is too old for her (39). I understand that you have a family to support, so I have nothing to say against your statement in this regard, but 38 is not an age where you have to even use the word old. Until you are 50 (and if you're lucky genetically, until age 65) you are only as old as you want to be, at least if you're a man. If you feel like you can't take more risk or move around more freely, it is because you have come to realize that would not be good for you, or because you have certain responsibilities, but not because you're now 38 and not 20.
She is not required to be in perfect harmony with the ambitions of her participants... Let go of this concept that the harder you work, the better the bottom line will be... Who the fuck are you that she should bend over just because you put in some time??? There have been countless scores of speculators before you that have been eatin for lunch, breakfast, and dinner, and they were smarter and much more capatalized... You wanna get paid -- conform to her way... Stop being such a puss man, you wanna get paid then listen to her, be humble enough to get spanked when need be, and wise enough to understand what she is trying to tell you... You keep looking at her with hard eyes and expecting to get paid for your dedication and hard work -- the harder that sting is gonna feel when she kicks you in the teeth... PEACE and good speculation...
You really think I don't already know everything of what you just said? In your eagerness to spout your tantrums of a wanna be monk, you failed to read what I actually said in that post and in this thread. You intentionally left out the following sentence, which you conveniently ignored, of that statement to reinforce your rant. Instead, why don't offer some real life experiences you may have had conquering you demons on your way to being a successful trader. Peace my ass.
Yeah, now that you have posted this, it might become a self fullfilling prophesy type of thing. I trade mechanically with a system, as I too have trouble with this. I have a lot of respect for discretionary traders. Michael B.
bronks, I know you're in the iron construction biz, think about what you do for a minute. You force these enormous steel beams into forms, weld and rivet them into what you want them to be, into a configuration from a set of plans, maybe 50 stories high, with ultimate control over the final shape. Most males feel at least a subtle sense of dominance in the family matrix, female and children being the other players. It's built into the dna and most cultures. This leaves you with a large portion of you're existance conciously fashioned, controlled , created by your desire in the direction of your choosing. Possibly you are projecting this ultimate ability to control upon the mkt. at certain points, especially when you have more at risk. Maybe you cross a threshold of listening to the mkt. ( you are doing some thing right or you wouldn't have reached you're failure point) into trying to dominate the mkt. at some point. Or maybe this applies: Sometimes the ability to cope with size is a psychological game. It is a derivitave of the culture, more specifically whichever stratum of the culture you were trained into percieving is your naturally awarded place. Of course, this info is delivered to you by your parents and to them by their parents in the never ending game of protecting and perpetuating who "we" are. Size becomes a tool that can be used for destruction if one percieves that it is moving one into a place where one may not deeply believe one belongs. Many fall apart when trading large positions because it redefines who they are, conflicting with deep inner beliefs they don't even know they posses, hence the fear that causes inappropiate decision making. Or maybe I'm full of shit, only you know. Look at the charts with the failure points and decide why you took those trades, closely examine them. This game has so many freakin facets to it. The very best to you. __________________ Don't feed the monkeys
I am not a mechanical trader, but I would guess if your system works, it wouldn't matter the execution size, untill of course you became so big that your orders would actually affect the market! My guess would be you would gradually add....1 contract at a time trading consistently. If you start out trading 1 lots, the gradation to 2 should theoretically have the most impact as you are increasing size by 100%. Jumping to 10 contracts is a 1000% increase so you better be damn lucky, or have cash reserves if the next trade or 2 or 3 is a bad one. But increasing from 10 to 11 contracts is only a 10% increase and so on. Do you increase size according to the strength of the buy/sell signal? Does it distinguish between 1 to 5 star plays for example? Being a descretionary trader I increase my size according to my sense of what will be 1 to 5 star plays, based on a disciplined interpretive analysis of my indicators as well as "feel" of the market. Methodical discretionary approach.
Hey Banjo-- I've gone over your statement above many times with myself. It's a hard one to figure out but I can tell you with confidence that I have no idea what my sub-conscious mind thinking. LOL Amen Brother! Everytime I turn over a rock, I find even more lurking beneath it. [sigh] I always enjoy your insights. You make me look at things differently than I would have normally. Quite an interesting game this is.
Do you increase size according to the strength of the buy/sell signal? Does it distinguish between 1 to 5 star plays for example? I have been toying with this idea to base trade size on signal rank....but I use a modified kelly value and a modified Fixed Ratio Method that I adjust to an equity curve of performance. Michael B.
I hear ya man. And there are not charts, or remedies to this sort of approach. First i must say, congrats because you have the balls to push it as many traders do not...that will seperate you from 99% of the traders who make 9to5 money. (meaning traders who will never make serious coin.) However, pushing it involves some deep discipline. You need to have a market to "push it in".... Example....the fed day, after the announcement when the market did not and could not sell off. You get long....and when you start to see the bids come in like you have not seen in months, let alone on a fed day in years...you push it...you throw all you got into that rally and you press.....you have already scaled in when the market couldnt sell.....and you see the strength...you pile in. however....the days following the FED days, when the market is lagging any convection, and its response to the GDP surprise is and you try both sides of the market, but nothing really seems like it has energy....you dont push. So Pushing it is a good quality when you have discipline worked out.....and "Pushing it" is a quality many traders lack and are too afraid to step into the balls out mode when they fill it. You will, as i did, learn through trial and error, when to PUSH IT. Just remember....this market is very unforgiving and never, never , never confuse "pushing it" with "chasing it.'