Great observation!! The market is not as random as most would think because people aren't as random, they read them same books and listen to the same people and the same news sources, the same everything, so they form predicable patterns, thus making the market less random. You need to see beyond the simple text book analysis and look at the why, why do people react the way they do, why does that keep happening over and over (this is very important, it's not hard to spot a pattern, a monkey can spot a pattern, it takes skill and out of the box thinking to decipher what drives the pattern). Nothing can really be accomplished in trading if you follow the herd, because trading is a game where you need to outsmart the other guys, it's impossible to win by blindly following them and not thinking outside the box. Figure out what they are doing, why they are doing it, and form a strategy to win. Once the herd changes their strategy (which they will) figure it out and execute again. **Off course there's more to trading profitably than just out of the box thinking. Money management is extremely important. You can't be right ALL the time, that's non sense, but do think different. In this field like any other field, the guy who succeeds is always the guy who steered clear of the same patter of thinking. It's nonsense to think that I can win by doing exactly what everyone else is doing, common sense would indicate that if that were the case then we would all win, when we know that only a selected few win. I guess the main reason as to why people run in herds is because it feels safe to do so, it's scary to be out on your own, thinking differently, but I feel that's what it takes to be successful in life, not just in trading.
holy shit that's funny Reminds me of , at one time I was a contractor for the state and their check bounced. The Bank manger talked me out of resubmitting the bounced check as a 3rd party check for state income taxes due.
Geez, I've read some stupid shit on this board but this has to take the cake for both extremes of ignorance and maladaptive ethics.
You are deluded in thinking trading is anything other than what he said... That is what trading is. Deceiving someone into buying something from you at a higher value than it is worth, and deceiving someone into selling you something for less than it's worth. LoL! Duh...
That's complete non-sense IMHO. Furthermore any trader who firmly believes that trading Is: "Deceiving someone into buying something from you at a higher value than it is worth, and deceiving someone into selling you something for less than it's worth." and Has the most damaging belief system I could imagine for successful trading psychology. I presume your trading profits reflect your beliefs. I don't know which came first the losing belief system or the trading losses/frustration? My advice ( to all who have agreed with your sentiments) is give up trading or start serious work on your belief systems for something that is more compatible with successful trading. Unless of course you goal is to ultimately play the role of a loser.
some proof ! scientific now, show us these predictable patterns that OBJECTIVELY exist.. JUST ONE WILL DO ) same books, same news sources, same everything - as in the other thread - the same old stuff day in day out , lol..
thank you, but those were all posts from various threads taken out of context because the poster can't trade and all he has left is a desire to nail those that can. But getting back to opies post, it wasn't about using stops, it was about the complacency this chop has incubated. In the old days, you used stops or you died. Now, stop losses have become stop profits. Like opie said, he even got an email from barcharts (which he didn't read because he never reads any of them) entitled Stop Using Stops which is the title of this thread I personally have not been using stops for some time, but I can only get away with it as long as 95% of the other traders do. So to reiterate, when I get an email from barcharts advocating that more traders trade the way I do, that gives me pause for concern. And the only point I was making, is that a warning (if you are a contrarian) has been issued that the big move will come. Now if you would please, take your useless bickering about stops somewhere else, It has already been covered on many forums and threads here on ET. The purpose of the thread was to discuss the "Big Move" which will catch me and many others unaware.
If you actually believe this and are still a trader, you must be a gigantic piece of trash just like the used car salesman who deliberately sells people cars they know are garbage. A person's trading adds value to the market. Limit orders provide liquidity and the market orders help price discovery. Only a total scumbag stays in an industry that they believe is totally based on stealing from some one else.