why this board isn't healthy if you trade for a living

Discussion in 'Professional Trading' started by akdrmeb, May 20, 2009.

  1. akdrmeb

    akdrmeb

    i read so many posts that say...

    dont trade! i would never recommend it to anyone. it will stress you out. your life will end. etcetera etcetera.

    well. i find this amusing especially in the "Career trading" section of all places. I think we should all shift our focus. What is the underlying reason to these statements?

    The statements come from not understanding one's own psychology. There should be no stress in trading. Trading should be boring. Especially if you are a career trader. This is why I feel this board isn't healthy for the necessary successful professional trader mindset. In understanding my own psychology, I can feel myself tingling with stress just reading these posts which is unhealthy.

    To everyone who feels stressed. Here is a tip for the next time you enter a trade. Before you take the trade, know your entry, exit and stop. And right before you send the order, say out loud, "I accept the risk associated with this entry and I don't care where it ends". Come to terms with, ie. 'Accept' the risk and there will be no stress. Then, turn your computer off so you can't change your order.

    If anyone follows these instructions for a month straight and makes a bunch of money feel free to donate it to charity. Then do it again and take a vacation. Because that is what being a career trader means. Enjoyment + Personal Satisfaction.
     
  2. +1
     
  3. +1

    the trading itself does become boring...especially when you figure out a method that works....after a while the methodical trading gets old....the "excitement" comes from continually learning and adapting and continually evolving with the new "wrinkles" in the one (or more...depending on you) market that you trade.
     
  4. akdrmeb

    akdrmeb

    all of the above points are 100% correct.
     
  5. volente_00

    volente_00


    The Disciplined trader ? or Trading in the zone ?
     
  6. Lets say you want to make 100K a year as a career trader.

    So you come up with boring money mangement system that gives low drawdowns and also modest return. Lets say you risk 5% of your account max drawdown to make 20% a year.

    Now most traders would need 500K to make 100K (20% a year).

    Who has 500K cash to start off with? Maybe 1% of wannabe traders.

    So we need to take bigger risks in the beginning atleast to grow our accounts, this leads to larger drawdowns (stress) and wilder volatility in account equity.

    A new trader needs to aim for 200% returns to start off with on his 50K starter account. Otherwise his account equity isnt going to grow much after he pays all his living expenses and taxes.
     
  7. A money management system will not make you money, it will just drain it slowly.

    Without an edge, you won't be be profitable.
     

  8. If you average 8 pts in ES daily that's $100k/yr. Most brokers will open an account for $5k, so it "only" takes $5k to make $100k/yr.
    A very nice return imo.
     
  9. volente_00

    volente_00


    Where is the variable for losing days in your example ?
     
  10. CET

    CET

    This board is only as significant, good or bad, as you allow it to be. You pick out the beneficial info and ignore the rest. Spending time analyzing the board is a poor use of time.
     
    #10     May 21, 2009