OldTrader, I can't argue with experience. As I said, time is what sorts out all the crap. Looking forward to your posts. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the changes you have observed since online trading became so popular, and how you have compensated for the change to decimals.
i love this guy already! as soon as i read he opened up his first account with a fake id and that he started when the dow was at 600, i knew who i was dealing with. anyone who's been able to trade this long knows his stuff! this guy drew his own charts by hand when they came across the quotron!!! anyway, oldtrader, just wanted to say thanks for sharing your story with us and i hope you continue to post here.
OldTrader, these questions are for you! yes, i too, am in the process of making this discovery. however, this leads to more questions. how important is the entry? i'm aware that trade management is the key, but you still need some type of entry or you're throwing darts. if indicators don't mean much, what criteria should we use for finding a trade to enter? i don't assume you are entering trades at random? if you don't enter at random and indicators don't mean much, how do you determine a trade to enter? yes, i'm aware of this. are you saying we should not put stops at logical points? should we put them at an illogical point? or should we not even use these traditional stops at all? knowing that your above quote is true, how do you deal with it? i agree with everything you said. but again, even if we accept this as true, how do we deal with it? your post is a true gem. like i said in my other post to you, i'm glad you're here. if you could respond to any of my questions, it would be much appreciated. thank you!
all i gotta say is, i know when people know their stuff. super_ego does and so does oldtrader. there are also others...
My biggest mistake when I first started trading was to over trade. Be patient! Let the trade come to you, don't chase a trade just to be in the action. I cant tell you how many times I saw the perfect entry point unfolding in front of me except I was already in the trade 20 minutes ago now just hoping to limit my loss. Have fun and may the trading gods smile down on you. Mike
nasdaqmadness, Yes, that sums up my biggest discipline problem. If I'm trading for 8 hours and I only get to make 3 good trades and they only last for 5-30 minutes, then I'm basically spending the majority of my time waiting. I think most people who are ambitious feel like waiting is getting them no where -- but that's probably the opposite of truth when it comes to trading. Waiting is WORK. Probably a lot of people, when the market really starts moving, feel like they need to be onboard throughout the day. Even on the simulator, I often find myself getting very bored waiting and wanting to scalp for .50's-.75's or 1's, but that isn't good in the long run!
I have lurked on these boards reading them daily long before I ever registered on this site and have finally found the post that I feel deserves my 1st response. IMHO oldtrader has finally been the one to offer perhaps the best advice to traders of all ages. I, although a little later than he, started trading in 1972 at age 23 with an account at Bache @ Co and still remember vividly all the old timers drawing their charts by hand as we sat at the brokerage reading the tape as it scrolled by and standing guard over the news ticker. All I ever wanted was to pick the brains of the oldtimers to find what the magic solution to trading was. To this day I have never found it and doubt that anyone ever will. I have been successfully trading full time for a living for 20 years now, and no greater wisdom will be found for any price than what is found in Oldtraders post. Cudos Oldtrader.