Those folks do not follow blind signals, and the other names you have mentioned, let's just say you never know what they really do to make money unless you trade with them on a day in and day out basis. Just like you do not know how many traders on this board actually follow mechanical systems, so your arguments are as equally inaccurate. And unless you actually work for a hedge fund it is meaningless to talk "oh so and so does this to make <number of> millions a year", you don't know what those people do to make their millions and anything they say in public interviews/books must be taken with a grain of salt. In this case there is no point discussing anything that we don't have direct experience with. Let's get real here. I mention those names to show that there are large fund managers that follow a systems-based approach. Is it 100% mechanical vs. 98% or 95% or however you want to semantically quantify it? I don't know. But if a system generated 1000 signals over a year and someone took only 95% of those signals, for whatever reason, I would consider that systems-trading approach. That is not the same as regarding an oil report and then making a trading decision. The system generates a clear entry & exit signal and the trader may has the final "discretionary say" to pull the trigger. It's not 100% mechanical, but it is definitely "systems trading". If as a trader you can't pull the trigger on 100% of your own signals and want to go into managed trading, John Ehlers has documented trading success from many many clients who lease his trading systems and trade through managed brokers. If you want to see documented proof of brokerage statements vs. signals generated by the system, make a serious inquiry and you will see the proof. It is a completely different game when you play at that level, and we are talking about trying to make $1000 a day day trading here. There are many traders making $1000 per day daytrading a system, but you won't find them wasting their time here. I'm only averaging $250/day, but I'm also trading very conservatively. Those of us with ambition hope to one day run one of those large funds, which we cannot do with discretionary trading 100k shares per day. Richard Dennis ran a $400 account to $200M following a strict system. I'd be happy if I could do only 1% as good.
It's the same feeling like when you meet a girl for the first time and your "intuition" tells that she is the one. That same feeling I have when I see the right set-up appear...
I am always 'wasting' my time here Dottom... and I am one of those people you are referring to ... I trade a "discretionary system" i.e. I take the signals when I feel in the mood... call it instinct, gut or whatever... I suppose those gut feelings too are part of my system... I just haven't been able to model them.
Sabena, You have a girl's name... do you prefer girls to men... I am not quite sure what to infer from your statement?! Candle
If you want to understand that better , read "The intuitive Trader" by Koppel.... Again, I'm willing to make a bet with any mechanical trading system out there. Just let me known....
>Again, turok, dottom, I put my money where >I put my mouth. I take the bet.... From me, no bet was offered and none will be. I have never made the claim that my system is better than you. As Hitman says, one must be a Master Trader to develop a truly great system and I am no where near that level. I can only state that through experience, I can "teach" my computer to search for and recognize the patterns that I am using to make money -- and that the computer is easily capable of executing this task far better than any human staring at the screen. In substance, I argue nothing more. JB
You make me blush.... :~D I do believe we think alike in may ways, which flatters me, i've been a big fan of your posts for quite some time. One thing does give me pause....what was your point here? "For those of us who do not subscribe to the notion of agnosticism (or indeed one step further, atheism), there is indeed something more powerful than the human brain. It is the Omniscient, the Omnipotent, the Merciful... it is God, Jehovah, Vishnu, Allah... it is our Creator." ~candle FIREHAWK