right. discretionary trading is an art, not a science. can it be done succesfully over the long term without adding/developing "informational advantage"---perhaps, but its extremely rare--so much so, i have never seen it. surf
It is an absolute fact that x-number of traders file professional status with the IRS. It is a fact that y-number of CTAs manage money professionally, with audited statements for pool members. It is a fact that z-number of private, retail traders make money more years than not. Those are absolute facts, they are irrefutable and non-negotiable. Black & white as the law of gravity is. ** Now, that does not mean a majority do not fail in our profession. The majority does fail, lest markets would cease to exist. That is also an absolute fact, which will never change. Very few people are able to admit they simply don't have a deep enough desire to succeed in trading, so excuses are therefore made to deflect self-admittance. Heck, I couldn't succeed at most any other profession in life... trading is one of the lone pursuits I'm actually suited for. Whatever else you may do for a profession, figure that I'd personally fail at it myself. Is there anything wrong with that admittance? Not in my opinion. Successful trading requires an edge, which consists of two parts: 1 - Method / System Patterns of trade execution which offer favorable risk to reward 2 - Emotional control to execute said approach in successful fashion ** I have seen hundreds of retail traders try & fail while I have likewise seen dozens of traders try & succeed using the <i>exact-same</i> information, i.e. tools to trade with. Is that any different than small business owners of all shape & size? Any different from mid-level management to executive management status? Successful trading is not an art, absolutely not. Successful trading is a learned skill... which requires just a bit more time, effort and emotional self-control than most humans can hold themselves accountable to. Financial markets are counter-intuitive and reverse-emotional logic. That is how they exist... by thwarting common logic and the law of human behavior. Once we accept those facts for what they are, we then go to work on developing our individual edge and applying it with all the efficiency our emotional control will allow. Reach that point, and you are profitable more weeks than not, more months than not. Simple as that? Yes. Easy to accomplish? Absolutely not :>) Hope this helps Austin P
Twenty eight pages, and the word "discretionary" did not appear until "needed". Try as you will to muddy the waters, the facts are simple. Professional make money, amateurs lose it. Both groups do it very "consistently". Neither one seems to need an "informational advantage" to get that result. In other words, you hosebags have wasted my time yet again. Yep, I should know better....sucked in again. Steve
Twenty eight pages, and the word "discretionary" did not appear until "needed". Try as you will to muddy the waters, the facts are simple. Professional make money, amateurs lose it. Both groups do it very "consistently". Neither one seems to need an "informational advantage" to get that result. In other words, you hosebags have wasted my time yet again. Yep, I should know better....sucked in again. Okay, well before I go, I will offer a little bit of unappetizing truth for you to try to digest. "The truth is" the markets need amateurs, and when I say "amateurs" I mean most of you who post here, informing us of your significant successes, having congratulatory conversations with your aliases, telling us of your property acquisitions and your flights at 45,000 ft in private jets. Those of you with these massive delusional fantasy lives. Ironically you guys are necessary to keep the markets moving. Without your continued small but steady losses, without your hopeful but net losing excursions into futures trading, without your losing forays into the debt and currencies, we would not be able to continue. If you doubt me, mouse on over to the CBOE, hop over the bridge to the CBOT. Check out the NYSE, the MERC, and the NYMEX. Every one of these exchanges has a portion of the site dedicated to encouraging you, educating you, enticing you to believe that you can win big money IF you only give it a try. Every one of these exchanges has a business relationship with an author, trader, speculator, whose job it is to make you feel that you are only a eyelash away from MONEY, LOTS OF IT. None of them tell you how important it is to get PROFESSIONAL education. Instead they tell you that you can make big money if you will just master a few simple concepts.... I realize that I am hard on you folks but I have to say thanks. I appreciate your "participation" so that the rest of us can have a nice life....and I hope some do "get it" and beat the odds. Steve
The market has a language & many fail to interpret this language, in frustration some say: "the markets are random", "the markets are bigger than me & you", "the markets are impossible to beat". Some traders even resort to far flung theories, example: claiming that a powerful group of individuals are controlling the markets, as the reason why they are taking a pounding. It's very simple, either you get it or you don't get it. Trading is not suited for averyone, just as being an attorney is not for everyone. Some traders defy the typical learning curve & excel from day one, that is an excellent gift to have. Unfortunately, for many, a rocky road is the price for learning this profession. Experience cannot be wished for & served on a hot platter, it must be earned.
I realize that I am hard on you folks but I have to say thanks. I appreciate your "participation" so that the rest of us can have a nice life....and I hope some do "get it" and beat the odds. Steve You're welcome! As to beating the odds...well, winning the race is often determined by where ones own personal start line is. Certainly there are those that will blow it regarless of how big their lead was to begin with, and there are those that will zip past everyone no matter how far back they started. Everyone else is left to learn the truth the hard way. That truth is, there ain't no easy money out there. Takes lots of time and study. Some will learn that quicker than others. Me...slow learner. Worst thing that ever happened to me was making a shitload my first year without having any real clue as to how it all happened. Been a long road back to reality.
do you people want to know what I will do. I am going to read lots of Nitro's posts he seems interesting and just a bit smarter than me. not a lot, a bit.
First off I would like to say that you are all closet gays with small wieners. Secondly, I would like to say that you can make money and lots of it in this business. More than you ever could sitting in an office massaging your managers balls. Personally I don't like massaging anyones balls and prefer to have mine massaged in particular by hot european ladies. So I guess the point I'm trying to make is that some of you are real pussies. You get slapped around by some professional/institutional dick and you cry uncle. A little suffering is good you'll appreciate it in the future. Later suckas.