Thanks. Now kindly bear with an old man, I am refining what I refer to as an ideal Proustian Questionnaire for trading, and it is a WIP. So de temps en temps I will ask one, to wit: Are you self-taught, or did you have a mentor who substantially influenced your method?
I have read tons of books, spent years in front of monitors watching price action, had a couple of mentors, etc.....bottom line IMHO, you kinda have to go through the experiences to eventually find your groove.....I still have a long way to go but IMHO it is something that is very personal and just takes time and experience. Some it could take 3 months, some 15 years.....just my humble opinion.
Very good, kind of what I expected based on your minimalist, and to me nearly unique, approach. I know only one other REAL trader (why must we always say that?) on ET who trades roughly like you do, and he is living large. So what are your plans long term? Go prop? Trade OPM? Stay independent?
I want to stay independent. If you can make a great living trading your own money why deal with the added stresses and hassale of managing OPM. Never say never to anything but I really don't see trading OPM as something I will be looking at doing within the next 10 years and more than likely never.
You are so wise! I wish I had half your good sense. Then maybe a CME membership or seat or whatever they call it? To get the expenses down when you trade large? Sitting in front of a shiny new Bloomberg with all kinds of analytical functionality you don't need?
Not sure what fees could really get much lower. I am pretty sure that if you are building large size then brokers will be willing to 'work' with you on lowering your all-in commish per car......all this talk of large size is so far down the road that I don't really think about it at all at this stage anyway. Goal for right now is to just maintain discipline and trade consistently.
Gotcha. Well, I am running down, and you have been most gracious in your replies. I have just a few questions left, of the Proustian variety. Could you summarize the benefits you get from ET membership? For example, have any posters influenced your own thinking, or changed your perspective on trading in any way? Will you go away, as so many other successful traders appear to have done, when you achieve the ultimate success you seek?
I came to ET to try and gather more information etc regarding trading. I have def been influenced by reading certain peoples posts in ET and have found this resource a tremendous help. Lots of junk but lots of quality info as well IMHO (isn't that life in general though I have always told myself that if I ever full arrived (not sure how I will define that yet but probably at least 3 or more profitable years of trading the same exact way and a large cash bank account to prove it so..... I still have a long way to go)......but if I ever get there I will def give back as best as I can.....again that is so far off that I don't really think about it too much but I know I will help struggling traders if I can when the time comes.