I see you answered your own question my friend ======================== H123..., and I don't profess to be mindless monkeys.., making widgets..., or a simple minded dumbass redneck - due to some self degrading need / internal flaw It out of shear necessity to survive..., and ultimately thrive People have brains..., and like to use them There simply is no place for that when trading Monkey see..., monkey do..., monkey protects nanas..., monkey increases nana pile - as allowed..., monkey moves on regardless Monkey mindlessly makes widgets Or in my case -> my stupid ass RN
I will compare trading to playing sports. I was always good at sports because of natural ability to run, jump, throw, and strength, but when I competed with people who were trained and put lots of hours in...my lack of skills was obvious. It became frustrating to be outplayed by people I knew I could physically dominate, yet they had a sense of instinct/intuition that I didn't have...therefore I had to put in the HOURS. I had to develop a trained eye, muscle memory, and spatial awareness...mostly in basketball. Many of us start trading because of our analytical and/or math ability...abilities that have allowed us to be smarter than those around us...we then find out trading is more difficult than we anticipated...frustration sets in and the "cycle" begins. Some of us just take longer than others to develop this trained eye...our life circumstances can dictate that. For me, when I gave up trading as an exact science, and "opened" myself up to the art of performance...I made a breakthrough! My approach had become more similar to a sports approach...artistic/intuitive while maintaining the logical/scientific reasoning my brain desires. That's why I believe in the thousands of hours of practice theory. So, I look at trading as more of a sport...as odd as this may sound...the art of picking up on women as well. Many traders are dominate logical/analytical thinkers and may struggle when it comes to sports or dealing with the opposite sex. Men who are smart may struggle with women because they make women THINK...the key is make women FEEL...they want to blush like a young school girl...they want to giggle! My point is, it would take a lot of practice to learn the art of females for a smart guy who is overly logical. Sure, some guys are natural with women and sports, but don't have the analytical brain...they might need to work on scientific reasoning to succeed in trading. I think a lot of us smart guys need to learn the art/female/competition in the moment part of the markets. I have my well analyzed setups from years of trading, but my real edge is ME. My intuition knows when market conditions CHANGE! I have a small book of setups, but they all work better depending on reading the current market conditions...what is the VIX...how has the action on the DOM changed...what is the volume in the morning...is volume on current bar typical of this time of day...is it summer volume...is it upcoming holiday/FED volume...are daily bars longer/shorter...are gaps wider/smaller...anything to help determine chop or trend. To me, this is the art part of the market...what logical setups to use under the current "females mood swing"!!!!!!!! Isn't this how we try to deal with women? I know there are probably exceptions out there...traders with a completely different experience...this has been my path. If you have a setup that has always worked under all market circumstances...I'm skeptical...you would be rare indeed...there is a rumor about some sort of option market tactic????
Trading at pro level is very hard. Most people dont realize it. It takes 15 years to become a pro in it sounds right. It is the same as taking surgeons 15 years of study and practice constantly to be good at their profession. Physicists the same.
I'm getting on for 15, I think method wise I had it cracked in 6months, since then it's just been learning to act or react more and think less. ( had the method, the plan, actually trade it? more like fail to take setups then take totally stupid trades ) Find something simple to make $$$'s, switch brain off, take the setups, take the profits and losses, repeat, repeat, repeat, retire!! it really is that simple.
If its been that simple for you...great for you! My brain is always "ON" for market condition changes...have never found that to be simple...then turn brain off for setup execution. This is the only way I can trade high win rate...personality will not allow a lot of lost battles to win a war (low win rate). My goal is many long winning streaks with strict risk management. Have never found anything that works in all markets...it sounds like you have? If you have a high win rate...good R:R...works in all market conditions = HOLY GRAIL! My methodology involves many setups that work in many different conditions...I have to match best setup to the right conditions.
My Good days, I don't remember how many trades I took, I don't remember if I bought or sold, I don't remember what time it is unless the alarm goes off and I don't remember if the market went up or down. I have internal clock in platform that lets me know if I hit the Goal in time and if not, the platform shuts down, doesn't just stops, it closes itself. Now that is a good way to say I am done for today in this market. I am not burned out, but this is only way I can do what I do and not hurt myself. It is like you have to thread a needle, you just concentrating on that, you wouldn't even notice the house around you fell down.
NEEDLE in the COMPASS always shows NORTH direction. If the captain aligns the needle to SOUTH then the ship has to revolve around the world for many weeks/months to reach its destiny. Maybe never reach the destiny. Trading is a psychological skill blended with technical competence in right proposition. A trader's success speedometer depends on how fast he aligns with this NEEDLE called psychology Btw it took 30 months for me to master trading as "Art of Business Psychology" ! To be precise stock trading is all about understanding the psychological war between the speculators and market and translating the understanding into professional decision making