Swift Trade question, please

Discussion in 'Professional Trading' started by kitty1996, Jan 19, 2008.

  1. yes, i just wrote to you. it's nice reading your posts. thank you.please feel free to write to me anytime.:) ta ta:)
     
    #21     Jan 26, 2008
  2. SCV

    SCV


    he is telling the truth.
    i have seen so many master degrees or even PHDs failed this game miserably but many young gamers became star traders.
    i dont think this applies to investing/swingtrade, but being good at computer games will certainly help in scalping. and the swift game is all about scalping.
    its really depend on which style you want/believe. if you dont want to trade off a level2 or trade with a tight 5 ticks stop then swift is the wrong place for you. if you want to swingtrade base on chart/TA then its better to trade with your own money. imh both way can be successful but you need to know which one fits your personalty first.
    other than the gaming skill you need to be very passionate about what you doing. good luck. =)
     
    #22     Jan 26, 2008
  3. SCV

    SCV


    are you sure scalping is not a video game? i dont think any successful traders would think about the "real money on the line" when they executing their trades. ;)

    and to kitty the swift style is very short time frame.
     
    #23     Jan 26, 2008
  4. Maybe it is a video game for kids, but i'm not a kid, and most of the people at swift are kids.

    I just stopped playing games after Doom & Quake 1.....but I guess I did grow up playing video games, but still, in my opinion the capital markets have nothing to do with video games, and that includes scalping...scalping may take fast decision making, but it's not a video game - it's real life.

    Also Kitty, most scalpers lose in the long run anyways, just like most other traders on other time frames, so just do what you feel comfortable with. If it means holding onto trades for an hr - go for it. The amount of trading you do has nothing to do with how much money you make...it's the bottom line that matters.
     
    #24     Jan 26, 2008
  5. Well, these must be kids working at swift trade who don't have much to lose. When you grow up and have to make a living, you'll find that real money on the line makes a difference, especially if you are trading on your own, and it's your capital on the line.

    I think right here describes the difference of the speculator who trades his own account day in and day out, then the swift prop trader (who most are kids) who trades the firms account. I think the time (age) you are in life makes a difference too, to how you value risk capital.
     
    #25     Jan 26, 2008
  6. Fistfull

    Fistfull

    I feel like the only way to really get good at day trading is to view it as a game, and not to think too hard about the money. If you start thinking about the "real world" implications of the 10k you just made or lost you can really psyche yourself out.

    I think a high game intelligence and an ability to reduce winning and loosing to points on a screen is what makes a good day trader. People like this tend to play a lot of video games because they just plain enjoy challenging their brains in this way. It's the highly educated types that are used to learning out of books and being told the “right” way to do things that I've watched struggle the most. Trading is just so very different from school that it really seems to blow the minds of people like this and they can't cope.

    On top of that you learn so many skills from computer games that are directly applicable to day trading. Things like being intuitive with a keyboard, knowing how to set your keys for fast access, being able to to input complex commands quickly while under pressure, learning to identify winning strategies, being able to read and integrate information from multiple data sources at high speed, these are all things a day trader needs to be good at. When I play online strategy games especially I feel like I'm using the same parts of my brain as I do when I trade.

    I've met very few successful day traders that aren't also keen gamers. The capital markets may not be a video game, but thinking of them as such is very helpful and there are many skills that cross over in my opinion.
     
    #26     Jan 26, 2008
  7. These are all valid points and opinions, and it may be applicable to a video gamer himself who trades...anything to boost ones own courage, but this game is far older than video games. More of a self fulfilling prophecy I think - to justify some winnings....or taking losses quick...something to explain WHY something happens.

    Video games may be a small benefit to you - but I can assure you that most professionals don't have time in life anymore to play video games. Maybe in the past, so maybe some of these skills lasted...but that would be difficult to prove. (I personally wasn't a video game geek, but I did love Wolfenstein)

    I can assure you there are many lasting intra-day traders in this world that aren't keen gamers. Some of them probably played games or still do, but the majority of them probably don't.
     
    #27     Jan 26, 2008
  8. bespoke

    bespoke

    Scalping for 0.01 a share 200 times a day (or for most, 0.00 a share)

    or

    Trading for 0.20 a share 10 times a day


    That is why they want gamers. Although I suppose it doesn't matter that much since they also take 65% of your profits.
     
    #28     Jan 26, 2008
  9. Fistfull

    Fistfull

    Surely this is true, but I'd say this is skewed by the older guys that didn't grow up with video games. It's not that traders are naturally attracted to video games exactly, but that they tend to have very high game intelligence. For a young person growing up in the electronic world video games are the most common way this gets expressed.

    Just as the trader that grew up 50 years ago might have been a serious chess or bridge or poker player the trader of today gravitates towards electronic games simply because they are available and he has been exposed to them from an early age. The fact is that good traders tend to be good at games of all sorts.

    I suppose my point in all this as it relates to the thread is that if you've never been attracted to and good at games (be they of the electronic or physical variety) you probably won't be a good trader. There are exceptions, but I would say this holds true most of the time.

    I know the OP might not like this conclusion of mine, but I believe it to be accurate.
     
    #29     Jan 26, 2008
  10. i watched "wall street warriors" TV series, not even one mentioned about "video games" as a good indication of a good daytrader.
    http://www.mojohd.com/video/?sid=8

    so, i admit i don't know about daytrading business.

    but from that TV series, i am sorry to say i don't agree.

    daytrading like everything else in wall street, you need to study hard & work hard to compete with everyone else. and yes, you need to act QUICK & FAST at the opportunity...



    i doubt if anyone in wall st has time to play video games.


    and yes, i know a lot of prop firms don't have a high standard so they would hire someone with no intellectuals & only good at video games. it's why everyone would have no high respect for a person working at a prop firm, instead of working for real wall street firm or the stock/options exchanges. real wall st traders don't play video games; they don't even have time to spend with families, how can they have time playing video games? it doesnot make any sense!!!


    ask yourself THIS IMPORTANT question: any real wall st firm would require "video games" skills when hire a trader?
    no, they don't! they need tons of degrees, MBA & so on.

    only some prop firms do require video games skills & their staffs are very young while wall street traders are most often not that young. no one can have an MBA at 21 years old, no way!!!
     
    #30     Jan 26, 2008