Man, I'm hard pressed to think of any other profession where some newbies whine when nobody hands them the keys to success for nothing. Doctors, lawyers and other white collar professionals know they have to go to college and graduate school and pay for it themselves, and then they have to get licensed before they can start making money. Carpenters, plumbers and other blue collar professionals know they have to go to (and pay for) trade school and then go through an apprenticeship. Artists know they have to put in long, hungry hours perfecting their skills and generating ideas that appeal to art lovers and critics. Only in trading does some mook just walk in the door and expect the keys to success to just be lying on the floor right inside the door.
I find comparing trading to any other industry completely false. You take any other profession, be it doctor, lawyer, programmer, plumber, taxi driver, etc. there are no secrets. If you work in a company, your colleagues will help you with questions and obstacles, they will disclose best practices and how-to's without any problems. Another great difference is that every industry has standards and best practices accepted worldwide by professionals. In trading there is no standard methodology of "how to trade". It's more like "do what you want, you're on your own". And last but not least, there is no such thing as trading discipline. No official, scientific education. You can study computer science, mathematics, geology, etc. etc. in various universities and colleges. Where have you seen "bachelor degree in trading" or anything similar? All I have seen is countless of books, seminars and websites that are mostly bullshit and based on nothing. So my point is that you cannot compare trading to common typical professions. Trading is more like inventing, and request "tell me how to trade" is like "tell me what to invent so I can start business and earn billions", there are no preset rules in this case.
You're food, pal. Nothing more. Until you learn to survive, I gain my sustenance from people like you....mmm...mmm good!
My point was that success in any industry, structured or unstructured, requires at the least a lot of hard work, including a lot of work before the first money is earned. Why some newbies expect trading to be different from any other profession in that regard is a mystery.
There are trade secrets in everything. That is why there exist mentor-apprentice relationships in craft. I can give you examples of once closely guarded trade secrets, such as KFC's secret herbs and spices or the secret formula to Coca-Cola. The point is though, even if you knew the recipe could you duplicate their success? Could you duplicate their marketing, branding, distribution methods, etc? Most likely not, and therefore you cannot use it. Still, the recipe is one piece of the puzzle and just like a profitable trading style, is one worth guarding. If you were coca-cola, would you want to give pepsi your recipe? Think about it.
"Why does no one here give detailed trading advice?" What would they get in return? Let me tell you a story. I gave trading calls in this forum, and some people insulted me a long time (you can check the threads). I also gave/am giving advice and real-time calls on a blog, and only a tiny minority thought of the idea of sending me a note to thank/encourage me. The majority were just showing up every day, take the market calls (are be there for hours), and not even write a note on the blog to say a few words/any words (with the exception of the tiny minority). If you want to receive, do not forget to give!
Successful traders never completely give out there edge first because of pride and second because then there edge would dissapear once it catches on like fire within forums like these. A successful trader giving his exact specific profit making strategies is like tiger woods willingly but magically of course giving thousands of people his talent in golf. It's like studying for a year straight possibly even more and then letting some guy you met 5 minutes ago cheat off you. It's like teaching someone to find a gold mine even though you know where that gold mine is. You get it yet?
That is exactly what I was referring to as "invention". It's way different than learning a new profession and then making a living from it.
I agree, that is true. Although the problem lies elsewhere. For a typical profession there already exists prepared infrastructure for you to get started. You know where you have to go and what you need to do to get there. In trading there is no such thing. Add to that enormous amount of misleading information (trading books, videos, seminars) and there you have it - newbies coming to a forum asking for clues and hoping that someone will give them clues. I think the main obstacle is that a new guy does not know where to start, i.e. he has no framework to start his work/research from.
themarket: you got it! PS: what people do not understand is that in other profession the price you pay is time. In trading, time is not what you exchange. It is cash that you exchange. Spending time can actually cost you in the market rather than pay you as usual. Job of a trader: get $1 and pay only 50c for it. From where: the pocket of the next guy.