Ok but bear in mind the obvious, simulators simulate. I've never used a VR gadget but I know for a fact lifting off of Cape Kennedy Space Center and lifting off your couch are not the same.
Yes sir. We have met the enemy and it is us. Not Goldman, not The Fed, and not the big bad wolf. Ourselves.
ES started this thread basically saying "you are a liar if you claim to make consistent profits trading futures" then disappeared from the discussion. ES, I know you had a tough time on the Gauntlet after good start but does this mean you are giving up on trading because you think it is impossible for you or any other retail trader to consistently profit from trading futures?
Exactly. As long as there's sufficient liquidity to enter and exit - there is no competition. Of course - one might need slightly more than retail platforms/tools right out of the box. The ones I know which are successful have spent considerable time and efforts constructing their system. But it's not beyond a retail trader to do so. Just very, very difficult.
They are back to calling it Cape Canaveral again instead of Cape Kennedy but I have ridden their "blast off into space simulater" and the astronauts that have done both say it is very very close to the actual event. I have traded futures and "pattern daytrading stocks" live for some part of each of the past 15 years since 2004 so I know what it feels like to trade live. I can tell you that last Thursday when I had a perfect short entry into the CL then only got 10% of the $2.00 move straight down --- then afraid of reentering for fear of chasing and picking the bottom --- was emotionally identical for me to live trading. I am sure it varies with the individual as some may get careless and reckless in sim trading but for me, just like the song New York, if I can make it in Sierra Sim I can make it anywhere.
There are, at least, two things that make profitable futures trading somewhat difficult and that may be easily overlooked by the new trader. One is the very large leverage being employed which magnifies both profits and losses. Because this leverage is "built in" it somehow isn't quite so psychologically evident to the trader as, for example, the leverage when trading equities on margin might be. And the other thing is the impact of occasional large volatility which elevates loses if one holds through what are believed to be temporary adverse moves that are actually a harbinger of trend change. Regardless if one is right or wrong on overall direction, large volatility can wreak havoc if one is trading with exceptionally large leverage. Soros mentioned that he had trouble trading the 2008-9 crash because although he had the direction right he underestimated the volatility. I, too, have been forced to accept loses due to large volatility even though I had the direction right all along -- something only evident after the fact of course. One of those instances, for me, occurred while shorting Washington Mutual during the Financial System crash. I learned a valuable and costly lesson.
Even though I like and agree with some of the comments posted in this thread, it has turned into a typical thread once again. 1. A poster makes an outrageous claim: Impossible success by retail traders and their lies. 2. Everyone argues that their way of trading is the best way to trade and find it hard to believe that other traders have succeeded at methods they previously failed at. 3. Struggling traders end up getting a psychological boost because they eventually find another poster that agrees with them...this make them feel cuddly, warm, and secure to continue their ways. 4. The OP is actually crying out for help and probably won't ever get it.
1. Not arguing that our way individually is the best way, but that our way has led to profits so it is bullshit to say impossible to make money for retail traders. In fact, that there are a handful of us with vastly different methods or approaches doing it PROVES there is no fast simple cookie cutter way and we each put in the hours, days, weeks, years of work to get there. 2. Kind of tired of lazy newbies just proclaiming retail traders cannot make money just because they fail. Laziness is so obvious in the questions at times, people expect to be told, just buy when X crosses Y and you make $$$$. Don't be surprised at the shitty results from the lack of effort. 3. Struggling posters usualyl are lazy looking for short cut answers and look for someone to say it is impossible so they feel better about their failures. 4. The market is not a place for people who need hugs, pats on the back, or constant vindication from peers. If you cannot do it, just admit it and move on rather than play this old game of claiming bullshit and find something else to do. 5. Calling bullshit is not a cry for help, it is a cry for someone to vindicate their failures by placing the blame elsewhere. If you cannot own up to your failures/mistakes then the market is telling you this is not for you.