And lets not forget,the harder you work,the "luckier" you get... So when you say trading is easy,in my mind you put the time in, committed to your craft and were a tenacious MF with talent and the ability to mitigate our weaknesses. You think Michael Jordan walks around saying dropping 30 per game,7 NBA titles was easy??
I wouldn't get too cocky. Anyone who was long the overall markets...futures,SPY,whatever between nov 1 and jan 1 did very well.
SML, you are quite the mystery man, I have read your posts for a long time and until recently you even posted that no one should listen to what you have to say because you are a losing trader. If you really believe that trading is now so easy that you take money from the market every day then you are setting yourself up for a gargantuan fall. Successful day-trading is probably the most difficult thing on this planet to achieve. Many on ET are good profitable traders but most admit it is not from "Day-Trading". Every day is different, the fake breakouts, sudden reversals only to be reversed again, the false counter-trend, going against the best, most experienced, well funded traders in the world in a zero sum game is anything but easy. I like you SML, you have a record of posting honestly so I just advise you now to be careful.
Good Evening Illini Trader, Trading the ES futures market is the most EASIEST task I ever done in my natural life. I am not sure why other traders struggle in their trading, maybe they need help. It is VERY , actually beyond easy to me to day trade the ES futures market. There is nothing to be careful of. Why should I be careful in a task that is very easy for me to do? How can I fall from something that is very easy? Trading to me is like walking a dog, very easy and relaxing to me. I can only speak for myself when I say, but day trading the ES futures market is extremely easy and I make money everyday. I do not know why other traders struggle. It is VERY easy money I make, every single day.
I can't see how its humanly possible to easily stream a horde of a million people through a keyhole. If a million people are fighting each other to make money, at the end there will only be a few survivors.
I just re-read Market Wizards volume one and two. The methodologies are wide and varied, but I observed some common traits and skills: 1) Risk management Don't bet the farm. Trade small enough that you'll be able to realize your edge over a large number of trades. 2) Scaling down during a losing streak and increasing size during good periods Ed Seykota: I handle losing streaks by trimming down my activity. I just wait it out. Trying to trade during a losing streak is emotionally devastating. Trying to play “catch up” is lethal. 3) Patience James Rogers: It sounds like you have a great deal of conviction when you put on a trade. Yes, I usually do; otherwise, I don’t bother doing it. One of the best rules anybody can learn about investing is to do nothing, absolutely nothing, unless there is something to do. Most people always have to be playing. They can’t just sit there and wait for something new to develop. Do you always wait for a situation to line up in your favor? Don’t you ever say, “I think this market is probably going to go up, so I’ll give it a shot”? What you just described is a very fast way to the poorhouse. I just wait until there is money lying in the corner, and all I have to do is go over there and pick it up. I do nothing in the meantime. Even people who lose money in the market say, “I just lost my money, now I have to do something to make it back.” No, you don’t. You should sit there until you find something. Tom Baldwin: From your perspective, what does the average trader – that is, public trader – do wrong? They trade too much. They don’t pick their spots selectively enough. When they see the market moving, they want to be in on the action. So, they end up forcing the trade rather than waiting patiently. Patience is an important trait many people don’t have. Waiting for the right spot? Right, I bet most people are probably ahead after their first five trades. They think, “This is great, like free money.” But then they forget that the reason they made money on their early trades was because they waited a long time. They said, “I bet this is a good spot to buy it because I’ve seen the market act this way a lot of times.” And they made money. But all of a sudden, they are doing a trade every day. The next thing that happens is they lose on a few trades, and invariably don’t know how to take a loss. They made money to start, and before they know it, they are even. Now they hesitate. “Where do I get out?” 4) Contrarian thinking/trading 5) Confidence in their approach 6) Discipline Of course, you need a methodology/approach that gives you an edge. The above doesn't matter if not. But, on the other hand, you can have a profitable methodology that's not profitable if you don't master the above.
All gold nuggets! I have learned to be patient. Never overtrade even when you have several winners in a roll. Otherwise you’ll lose it all back. For me if I win 3 times consecutively I stop even if I may win the 4th time. Knowing when to stop even if you can still make money is important.