Sorry, I misstated... I should have said "involuntary motor response"... as in a reaction to something (like seeing a quote and clicking off on it.... or stomping on the brakes when a ball rolls out in front of your moving car). The fastest involuntary response I can recall off-hand was some guy who won a quick-draw hand gun competition.... 0.29 seconds.... measured from the time a light signal came on and the bullet passed through an electronic target. That guy was so fast, he could put a bullet into a fella that "had the drop on him" before the other guy could react and squeeze off a round.
Nonsense. Human psychology has stayed the same over thousands of years and it will stay the same until the end. Trading is the oldest profession. It is interesting to know that since the advent of the personal computer there have not been any more succesful traders than there were before the introduction of the computer.
Exactly, statistics have proven traders that started trading electronically after being successful by simply calling their brokers by phone, following a small period of success they would perform worse overall. If the link come back to my mind I'll post it.
Why I am jumping in I have no idea. But the 700 ms "involuntary motor response" can be lowered significantly via intensive training. I am in NY, and the World Cyber Games (the video game Olympics) was here this week. Some of top world ranked players (not one of them over age 22, I think) have shown to have "Action per second" (a manual initiated action) of > 10. Now, I haven't been playing any video games for 5+ years. But just watching the games have shown to me that the decision making in these games are not simple by any means, there are significant strategies / tactics to be followed, similiar to trading. Just seeing a weird parallel. Rufus
Let it be said once more. In practically all cases the impact of internet ping/latency on trading is complete nonsense. This crap comes up regularly on ET threads. Most of the posters are daydreamers who have never smelled a trading profit in their lives.
I beg to disagree. The fastest, biggest meanest PC, router etc etc is key to trading. No expense is too great for technology. Those who skimp on their equipment or connection are at a clear disadvantage. If the extra one or thousand means alot to you, you're not that serious about trading. IMHO, the advent of tech to trading has created a layer of traders who remain silent, somewhat successful and are competing well with their big buck colleagues. As for talking about profits, IMHO, thats simply bad luck and poor manners.
LRD did an article on some of the london arcades and prop shops. many of them now recruit via adds in video games mags. your explanation is one reason, the other is that they want kids who can sit and focus at a screen all day. lets face it though - this whole thing comes down to 1 issue and 1 issue alone...... whats your strategy? a scalper is going to need every speed edge he can. average intraday trader (off 3m+ chart) probably doesnt and can make do with cabl or adsl swing trader probably get away with 56k dial up (do they still exist?) eod traders can phone in orders. warren buffet sends his orders in by getting a lawyer to draw up a contract which could last for months!!! the orders may then be sent via fedex or ups on the overnight!!! hows that for speed? you get the picture.
I only use the best hardware. It's cheap, so why be stingy about it? I gave my honest considered opinion about ping/latency nonsense. Has nothing to do with manners. Tom cole, you don't seem to get the point: trading profitably is all tied up with computers. Silicon hardware matters a bit, but far more important is the performance of the computer between your ears!
Fred, I just happened to stumble accross the following not unrelated to the idea of hiring fast kids to take care of the the trading: It may help a few in getting the picture.