Welcome back!!! Missed your journal and princess stories. Did you get the princess at the end or did she marry another guy? Just find the same passion for trading as you had for the princess and you'll find your trading edge in no time.
if a guy who can't trade had a following, be very afraid for ET in that case I should be worshiped and my excrements packed and sold as worship items
Hitman was one of the very few people I admired. His determination and persistence level were above most of the "traders" I know. It is very unfortunate to see such an outcome for him. His last post has implanted doubts in a lot of traders' mind regarding the success formula. Pension_Admin
Hitman, I don't know if you will ever read this, but... I was just cleaning out my bookmarks, and found your old thread on Money Central in there. A quick search led me here. It's funny because a post in that thread led me to briefly become a professional online poker player, with an outcome that strangely parallels your trading career. After a year of playing in my spare time, I quit my job at the beginning of 2005, and started playing online poker full time. I made 65K my first year, and was sure I was going to double that in 2006. I did OK for the first half of 2006, and then broke even for the rest of the year, while living expenses drained my account and my risk tolerance. The form of poker I played had become a lot less profitable as the weaker players left the game and more pros and "wanna-be's" came in. I lost confidence, got burned out, and there was even a "princess" to distract me from the game. She eventually wound up with someone else as well. I made a little under 30K that year, but almost nothing in the second half of the year. After this I cashed out most of my remaining bankroll and went back to work, but I kept a small amount available to play low stakes while I experimented with different game types. Only now have I found a form I like and feel I can be successful at. I'm not quitting my job anytime soon, but I now feel poker can provide a good extra income stream for me again. While I've haven't been successful at trading yet, partly from lacking a decent bankroll and time to trade during market hours, perhaps I could offer some advice. You could consider the possibility of keeping a small amount in the market, and exploring different trading styles. For myself, I keep a couple grand in an IB account and trade very small longer term options positions with it, and I still read everything I can get my hands on about trading. If you can find some way to keep your hand in the market, perhaps you will find a style that suits you, and will regain your confidence and risk tolerance. I know what it feels like to lose it, and in a high variance game like trading or poker it can be debilitating.
Hitman made a mistake to leave the markets. That big loss would have translated to huge gains in the future if he was able to get back up on his feet. The markets will test you.