Always Amazed at How Thin this Game Is

jonny1lot · Nov 12, 2015

I'm always amazed at how thin the difference between winning and losing is. Trading is a game of ticks. How many times did I scratch that trade, only to see it go 10-12 ticks immediately thereafter? How many times did I hold on to that 8 tick winner, only to see it become a 6 tick loser?

I'm still in this game and my worst enemy is me. Continue to grind, continue to stay disciplined, continue to stay positive!

Maverick74 · Nov 12, 2015

jonny1lot said:
I'm always amazed at how thin the difference between winning and losing is. Trading is a game of ticks. How many times did I scratch that trade, only to see it go 10-12 ticks immediately thereafter? How many times did I hold on to that 8 tick winner, only to see it become a 6 tick loser?

I'm still in this game and my worst enemy is me. Continue to grind, continue to stay disciplined, continue to stay positive!

If you are "grinding" out profits then (in my personal opinion), you are doing something wrong. Grinders are the traders on the margin. Not where you want to be.

Q3D · Nov 12, 2015

Maverick74 said:
If you are "grinding" out profits then (in my personal opinion), you are doing something wrong. Grinders are the traders on the margin. Not where you want to be.

Show me an 8-tick futures scalper who isn't grinding and on the margin.

TheNotSoGreatGatsby · Nov 12, 2015

You sound like a gambler. Those examples are rookie mistakes, and hasn't happened to me in over a year. They aren't apart of trading. They are apart of gambling.

EPrado · Nov 12, 2015

Q3D said:
Show me an 8-tick futures scalper who isn't grinding and on the margin.

For a guy who admittedly failed as a day trader you sure do talk about it a lot. Want some cheese with that Whine ?

You do realize that there are guys who scalp ES and other very liquid markets with huge size. They certainly aren't on the margin.

Trading 800 lots of ES for 2 points might be considered grinding, but it's a frigging great way to make a living. And yes, I have traded around guys who trade that size.

jonny1lot · Nov 12, 2015

Sorry, I wasn't clear - for the first example, the 10-12 ticks was meant to be 10-12 ticks against me, not for me. I was describing the process of cutting your winners short, a good trade. I was describing a trade where I scratched a trade I should scratch.

And having a winner turn and go against you, is a part of this game and isn't a "rookie mistake." The rookie mistake is thinking that you can control the market. I let my winners run. I can't control the market. You can't control the market. And if the winners I let run turn into losers, then so be it. The winners that do run make me profitable in the long term.

And if you somehow think that you aren't gambling, then you have the wrong mindset my friend. This is a game of probabilities. Whether or not it is a positive expectancy game is your choice.

jonny1lot · Nov 12, 2015

Maverick74 said:
If you are "grinding" out profits then (in my personal opinion), you are doing something wrong. Grinders are the traders on the margin. Not where you want to be.

I'll take my grind any day - hitting singles, grinding it out is the plan.

lawrence-lugar · Nov 12, 2015

EPrado said:
For a guy who admittedly failed as a day trader you sure do talk about it a lot.

but it's a frigging great way to make a living. And yes, I have traded around guys who trade that size.

Whoo-ah!

Maverick74 · Nov 12, 2015

jonny1lot said:
I'll take my grind any day - hitting singles, grinding it out is the plan.

A "grinder" who is on the margin means you are the least profitable trader by definition. Any small incremental cost (loss) removes the marginal player, again by economic definition. I'm simply stating facts here. Maybe you misstated your current positioning, I don't know. But in the economics world, marginal players in ANY business be it trading or selling apples, are the first to go. It's not a statement about your ability or your strategy. It's merely a statement about math.

EPrado · Nov 12, 2015

jonny1lot said:
I'll take my grind any day - hitting singles, grinding it out is the plan.

It's funny how people think grinding it out/base hitting is not the way to go. Is boring......etc. I learned years ago that the guys who grind out base hits and are consistent last a long time. All of my buddies who were action junkies/home run hitters are all out of the business. The problem is during volatility sure they can clean up. But that lasts only so long....IF volatility dries up they have huge problems. This year is a great example. I know of guys who lost from Jan until July. Then in August got back to even with the insane volatility. Now are back deep in the red since Mid Sept when the volatility went down again. Guys who base hit it can withstand any kind of market. You just have to adjust your profit targets/stops when vol picks up or slows down.