I have been trading full-time for only 18 months, but have learned lots, and continue to do so. The more salient points that I have learned are (in no particular order): - Never get greedy. A profit is a profit, no matter how small. - Learn to take your losses early to prevent devastation. - Find a system to trade with that is commensurate with your risk level, and your personality. - Treat this as a business. Always strive to improve. Educate yourself further on a daily basis. - When you are having crappy days, stop early. Turn your machine off, and take a walk around the block. - ALWAYS back-test a strategy, before using it. Although history is no guarantee of future results, you can definitely eliminate a losing strategy before spending a dime on it. - Have fun, and enjoy it. I really get a kick out of trading, and look forward to it most days. If you don't enjoy what you do, maybe this business is not for you ! Good luck to all ! I really enjoyed this thread immensely.
Hi hayman, Thank you for your rules. In particular, your third rule is interesting: "- Find a system to trade with that is commensurate with your risk level, and your personality." You said that you traded 18 months full time now. Did you find your system before you started 18 months ago or must we understand from it that you started looking for something "commensurate" while you got going. One might deduce this from your: "... but have learned lots, and continue to do so." Are you profitable right now and since how long are you profitable? Be good, nononsense
nononsense, I lost money my first month, but have been profitable my last 17. I read a lot of books before embarking full-time, and settled on one method, which I have modified and tweaked continuously, so that it is truly my own method now. I have used Chris Farrell's "DayTrade Online" methods. His book is quite dated, but his book provided me with a basis for moving forward. My current trading strategy is a bit different from what Chris offered in his book, but it works for me, during this period in time. Additionally, I have also tried other methods, several of which I bailed on shortly after starting, since they (a) didn't work for me, and (b) risk was too high for me. Although I didn't lose much money on either, I made the mistake of trying these strategies without back-testing first. Since then, I've invested in Wealth Lab (I highly recommend it !), and continue to work on new models. Back-testing has allowed me to "try them out first", without any monetary risk. I also built trading systems (IT) for many years, before embarking on trading (specifically, in the Forex market). Although nothing but real trading can be used as experience, it did give the basis for understanding markets, which was also useful. Happy Trading !
excellent thread - many thanks to the founder of the thread - and to all who have contributed so far - these insights are very inspiring - i do not have anything to contribute at this time, but perhaps soon.. - i look forward to reading on - thanks again
My breakthrough was reading this thread..... I think were all nuts....... but it's nice to have company. acrary ... Thanks so much your intellect, kindness and thoroughness are truly inspirational. Don bright ... Your right to but you lack the emotion and come off as your selling something... too bad because I can tell you are a brilliant man. sjp ... Well your bluntness and lack of empathy is disgusting your honesty is at least appreciated but try and remember we have all not had the same benefits that you may have had. Great thread looking forward to this one....
I have had two major breakthroughs after decades of futures trading. 1.) The realization that the stock market is an enormous universe ( as opposed to a limited universe in futures) and this allows for all kinds af measurements and games to get an edge. 2.) The realization that I do not have to be super exact. I am a swing trader and lately I have been buying and selling larger number of stocks at a time because a good percentage always work out.
Havn't had a breakthough in a long time. To me, trading has become a mundane job, and that happen once I settled in that little niche that I was comfortable with. I think this whole discussion on breakthroughs comes back to the nature of trading. Is trading a discipline like accounting, where nothing have really happen in the last 100 yrs? or is it like bio-tech, where someone makes a breakthourgh in some area almost everyday, or particle physics, where they seems to discover ever smaller particles all the time. there are system traders like J.henry or turtles that stuck to the same system for DECADES, no major breakthrough there, it's just your good old trend-following that dates back to the 40's.. but there are also quants or arbitrageurs that use technology who seems to discover/ improve on their model all the time, there are people doing huge amount of research on the market and prosposing new market theories all the time. and of course, there are SOME discretionary traders who believe/think that they have a breakthrough, but is actually going around in circles, making the same mistakes ableit in in a different manner. The markets are always evolving but there seems to be some things that never change.. markets are a human construct that arose from division of labor in a society. Every human being is a trader because none of us produce everything we consume. Our ancestors have been trading millions of years ago when they trade meat for for a spear so trading is a essential skills for humans living in a group, or is it the other way round, we live in a society so that we can trade? all I am trying to say is that there really isn't any breakthrough in trading, I use the word "breakthrough" not as in personal breakthough, but in a paradigm shift in how we trade. we are doing what our anscestor are doing millions of years ago, we are trading very different things and trading using better technology. I think the fundatmentals of trading doesn't change, and once we master it, that really ain't new breakthrough in that area, or is there? it's possible to design a better mousetrap? Is it possible to come up with new breakthroughs all the time?
Well, maybe I should join the "club" of anonymous traders, a "pen name"...you would still get the right answers, but perhaps attribute them to someone unknown..... LOL... Don (hiding behind the alias of "blase' trader guy") blasetraderguy
Don I meant no offence ... your comments and advise are brilliant it is very obvious that you are a TRUE veteran and I always learn something from your posts. The problem is everytime I read them I feel like calling Bright Trading and joining up...LOL.
sjp ... Well your bluntness and lack of empathy is disgusting your honesty is at least appreciated but try and remember we have all not had the same benefits that you may have had. Samson, This is exactly the problem with this site (and others like it). For every one of me, there are 1000 clowns like you who are shocked that I do not 'empathise' with what I consider to be a load of old bullshit written daily on these boards. If you read my serious post, ( a few pages back), you might also try to understand that I AM trying to help people starting out - if only by letting them know that they should not listen to those who constanly empathise with everyone else and look for reasons and excuses for their own failures and babble on trying to read the 'tea-leaves' of every inconsequential market move. I'll say this again: Trading is not a 'black art'. It is a job. Be good at your job. Make a load of money. Buy some Houses. All there is to it.