About to give it up after 3 years of trading

Originally posted by SethArb
"I'm still up money since I started. "

if you are still a little ahead of the game ...

then thats alot better than the buy and hold crowd in the last
3 years ...


:)
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That reminds me of all the constant complaining of how much money those buy-and-holders lost. Come on, guys, unless they started 2 years ago, they are STILL UP! Not as much up as they were a while back, but hey, there were never supposed to be that much up. People ride the bubble and then shift the reference point to the top of it and not to what they started with...
If some 50 year old got into long term investing in his mid 20s when he got his job etc, he's still up handsomely. Won't be able to retire with as much as he thought in 2000 he could though...
I'm not a fan of buy and hold, just wanted to opine on this a bit.
 
My advice...............



Take time off NOW!!!!

Get away from everything related to the markets and trading...for 2 weeks, or 2 months, 2 years...whatever you need, and stay away from the booze and any kind of drug.

If you are meant to be a trader, your inner spirit will let you know when it is time to get back into it.


I know.....been there, done that..(without the booze, though).
Do something else worthwhile with your life, volunteer somewhere, take a job somewhere, even if you don't need the money............You need to get your self-respect back first of all. Then you need to get in touch with your true intentions and intuitions and instincts regarding the markets.
THIS may take some time. Maybe. maybe not.

Perhaps you can turn this incredible despair into a true learning experience and become a better person and trader for it.
QUIT NOW! Come back to it later if trading is for you.
 
Originally posted by Dustin
It sounds like this guy just has too much money in the bank. No matter how big your account is, it is nearly impossible for the average trader to make more than $1k per day. If I had $2-3M in the bank, only making $1k would bore me. I would push for more, and probably lose money.

I think that's what is happening here. If this guy would aim for $500/day and quit once he hit that mark I bet he could make money.
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Above statement is probably one fo the biggest misunderstood concept in money management/trading. If you stopped when you reached $500, you'd be broke veryquickly because you have to somehow make up for the down days. If you are good enough to have 50/50 days, and you had the discipline to stop when you were DOWN $500, you would be even. Most likely, what will happen is you will have $1000 losing days and some $500 winning days and, soon, you will be broke. If you say "average $500", that's another story. Averaging $500 a day means you have to have those +$1000, +$1500, +$2000 days to offset those -$1000, -$500, -$2000 days. Not an easy task.
 
Originally posted by zentraderpro
Dear Swifttrader,

And BTW 3 years is nothing in trading. If you ended at breakeven then consider yourself lucky that your tuition has only cost you time.

ZT
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Demark says in average it take about 6 1/2 years.:cool:
 
Sorry to hear your story. My conclusion after a number of years in the financial markets is that some folks should not be in the game: you need the right personality and/or you need to find a method of trading that matches your personality.

Take a break for a while - go on vacation, take a sabatical, get your health back.

Decide if you want to continue once you are thinking clearly. If so, come back and re-anlyse your trades and spend research time finding a system and style that wont play havoc with your life. If you don't think you can do this then say good bye to what you are doing now and find something that is fun: If you are not having fun at work then you need to find something else that you enjoy ....
 
if you don't care about trading losses you have already given up. spend the 300 on something else. take time off, think more about why you "don't even care".
 
I don't think there is a single pro trader out there who hasn't been through what you have been through.

I grinded several accounts into parking meter change before I really got the hang of it.

Just take some time off, get yourself together. Get away from the markets and go work on your mental self for a while.

Eat right, get some exercise, and get off the sauce for a while.

Good luck to you!
 
Originally posted by DayTraderNYC


Above statement is probably one fo the biggest misunderstood concept in money management/trading. If you stopped when you reached $500, you'd be broke veryquickly because you have to somehow make up for the down days. If you are good enough to have 50/50 days, and you had the discipline to stop when you were DOWN $500, you would be even. Most likely, what will happen is you will have $1000 losing days and some $500 winning days and, soon, you will be broke. If you say "average $500", that's another story. Averaging $500 a day means you have to have those +$1000, +$1500, +$2000 days to offset those -$1000, -$500, -$2000 days. Not an easy task.
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I understand that concept for the "average" trader. This guy is not average. Like he said, every day he wants home runs, and loses money...every day. IMO he has to set a daily goal, and of course a daily stop. If nothing else this would help him start to break even and regain confidence. At that point he can loosen his upside goals and hopefully become profitable.
 
Originally posted by SwiftTrader
I just can't do anything right . My brain's melted like a slice of cheese - I see what I
gotta do and still do it wrong, I lose money every day and I don't even care. I've got 300 dollars left till I'll stop trading forever. It's not like I blew all the money I had - I've got enough to live without working for about 20 years and I'm still up money since I started. All what left from my discipline - is that mental stop which is 300 dollars away. It's very sad - I don't know what I'm going to do after those 3 years of trading -they were my best time of my life. I'm destroyed and devastated.

I'll give myself last chance to come back tomorrow. I'll be trading last hour only, I think. Ah, fuck it. I never tryied to make just 200-300 or whatever a day - I just want it all and I finally going to pay for my greed.

See what can happen. Don't be like me. Stick to your rules no matter what. Sorry, I'm drunk now. Hope you get what I'm saying.
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This sounds more like a gambler's attitude, not a trader's attitude.
What's with the making decisions while drunk, anyways? That's one of the traits of alcoholism... I know from past experience.

Sound like you need a break and a personal inventory to find out the truth.

Good Luck,

Paul
 
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