All it takes is a proven system and the discipline to apply it religiously - there is no room for emotion or "thinking" in the business of trading. If you don't trust your system 100% then don't trade it until you DO! As long you as you let emotion enter the equation, you are not a professional trader, but a wishful thinker who is just plaing gambling.
i believe there is an art to speculation, just as there is an art to programming and system writing. we all know that there are people who employ either or both with incredible success. i personally adhere to your view as well, but that's not to say that many traders don't profit from 'thinking' or listening to their physiological reactions to information. i'm probably misreading you. discretionary or mech, emotion has no useful place, i definitely agree on that. i think there must be a fine line however for professional discretionary traders between that 'feeling' and an emotional response.
Very clearly and accurately stated. Some have taken your statement to mean that there are never losses, but i expect that you are speaking of the predictable consistent profitability of a proven system with acceptable (to the individual) drawdowns being part of the profit scenario.
Not for anything, but you make it sound as if these infamous 'systems' are as easily obtained as a prize in a cracker jack box If its that easy, then why are all these big houses, with scores of quants and pockets deeper than Solomans, barely beating the S&P??? Im just sayin... PEACE and good-speculating
they are into macro stuff primarily. they do not stand a chance regardless of the attitude and whatever on emotions. The systemmic stuff is all there for the using, that is for sure. It turns out to be a combination of thinking and emotion.
Yo SpeckYouAteHer, Listen up Jersey. All mechanical systems have what you guys all call positive expactancy. I just bought me a system that made over 1400% trading Orange Juice from 1976-1979. These systems are there for the takin', all's youse need is a few Franklins and you in. In fact The Answer will be startin a thread soon on how a CCI/MACD divergance with a simple fib retracement on the stochastic generates a 70% win rate. The problem is the human element. The Answer tries to jack that puppy up to 85% by filtering. I don't care bout only shootin 39% from the field, but when I'm tradin I want 75% wins, no drawdowns, and to keep averigin 4.75 ES pts a day. My system do that.
Perhaps you or someone would care to comment why do people let their emotions get in the way of a 100% mechanical system?? I know for me the urge to override my systems is a combination of many factors, everything from my need to express creativity, the old tapes that play in my head of my dad telling me that I should earn a livelihood through hard work and putting in long hours at work. Following a mechanical system and making money just seems to easy...
It's only partly emotion. Nearly everyone believes himself to be more competent/intelligent than he really is. Given that, it stands to "reason" that he will be able to outperform a mechanical system.