bah............ Times ARE different in todays mkts. Thanks mainly in part to the internet. Resources are available today in mere seconds of a click.... trading not just for the elites as was the case in the old days. It took much longer to learn back then. All you need nowadays is money.... and a level head to keep your emotions in check. ... Brain power not even a real factor in trading. I dare say.... IF Jesse Livermore was alive today... he wouldn't last 6 months in todays markets. Things are fair now.... even playing field... one no longer needs "contacts". Back then... there was only 5% of people that ever "made it" in this game. Today.... there is also only 5%.... but that 5% is from every walk of life....from many different backgrounds...etc. I can understand why some old posters here would be upset to see brand new traders come and brag... or post advice.... kind of waters down the stew.... but... don't worry about! Mkt has a way of weeding out anyone who doesn't belong.... sooner or later. Mkt doesn't need your help. So i say.... let every one post... who cares what is said... its a free country.... and this board is for everyone. Only two kinds of people that don't bother to post.... the ones that make more money in a week than i make in a year..... or the ones that blew out their accounts. everyone else is still trying to find them selves. Oldtimers... im sorry that you have to share company with young wipper snappers... but times are a' changing.
I was trading index-futures 15 years ago in Amsterdam, it certainly wasn't the elite who was trading there at that time and it didn't have anything to do with connections. And as far as the news went, we had the feeling we were always the last to know why anything happened, it was all about trying to read the order flow, watching other markets and trying to do some basic TA. Oh, and I almost forgot, trying to keep your emotions in check ...
It's not worth it trying to talk sense to Mr. Ripley. He clearly stated on the Elite Trader chat log that he has lost a chunk in the past 2 years. He's probably had a decent few weeks and now thinks he has turned the corner.
I don't know if they were ever users of ET but i know of at least two pro's who used to post, and maybe still do, on msn and motley fool websites. Monish Pabrai who runs a fund with about 250m and whitney tilson who runs a fund with something similar. So there are some pro's who look in and occasionaly post on the web.
Lost -$ 50K trading. Net P/L loss. Then again, I allocated $100K to learn to trade and to turn profitable. So in three years of countless searching, reading, learning, and trading...I can call myself a "professional profitable trader". So, I am still up +$50K. Go Me !!!
There is also a difference between being profitable: Anyone can turn profitable trading, but to really truly learn to trade and be competent at all faucets of the game is a bit different. Those are the ones that reap the biggest rewards and are really the pros.