Another one hangs it up

for those of you who know folks that made it for years, and then blew up, what was their trading style at the time?

I'm inclined to think they took on more risk.

Some of the best traders in history have had "catastrophic" losses. Then some of them came right back. I"m pretty sure they weren't scalping NYSE. Point being if they can blow up, i'm sure a "lesser" trader can as well.

Just wondering. I've known two people who blew up. 1 was a newb, 1 was a dot-com trader. Both tried to scalp, usually naz. i'd think scalpers wouldn't necessarily "blow up". They might be profitable, edge goes away, they have a drawdown, but they either call it quits or they just die a slow death. Either way, they cash in/tap out before its over. This is unlike someone putting on a position, having it go to hell, and wiping out everything and then some.

What do you think/what are your experiences? Its ironic I think this way considering the only 2 folks i know that blew up were scalpers.
 
newguy, let's not play politically correct semantics

if you bow out of trading, after LOSING money, you failed

period

doesn't make you a bad person. doesn't make you statistically unusual (MOST fail), but if u bail out after losing money, you failed, since the GOAL of trading is to make money, and you didn't do it
 
this is a great thread, and props to broken dreams for opening it

many new (and prospective traders) DO need a dose of reality, and furthermore, one can learn as much, if not more, from those who failed as from those who succeeded

very few rewarding and great things in life will come to you without risk, and without hard work and perseverance. there are exceptions, but that is a general rule

some people here say that broken dreams should keep plugging away. sometimes, the more courageous, (and smart) thing to do is to KNOW when to give up. he has other options. we all do

it's been said - the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results

and on the subject of dot.com's etc. this is NOT your daddy's bull market. people who can't adapt to different market environments are destined to fail. we have gold at multiyear highs, russell, transports, and amex composite all recently having set ALL TIME highs as well. yet, many daytraders still have the SAME 1999 paradigm - the Nasdaq tech stock one

if u can't adapt to a new environment, give it up now

and imo, investing (vs. trading) means a willingness to buy the unpopular asset/security that everybody hates. THAT was gold just a few years ago. i am amazed at how few investors had that foresight.
 
Broken,
Not to be nosy or anything, but just out of curiosity so some of us can put your situation in proper context... how large were your biggest winners and losers?? Did you ever rake in big 5-digit or even a 6-digit winner in all the years you traded?
 
sorry to hear about your situation. i was in almost a similar situation. i had worked a couple of years prior to trading full-time. was trading for about 4 years (2002-2005) before realizing that it was not meant to be for me. i didn't lose much, but i wasn't going anywhere fast. decided to get back into the work force. had started a web business on the side while trading, so i used that to fill-in the 4 years of MIA. eventually, i ended up working for my former company. and you're right about colleagues moving on to higher positions. i'm in entry-level while they're in officer/manager positions. i try not to think about it, even though i would've been in a similar position had i stayed and not gone to daytrading. anyway, just have to start low (entry-level). after 1.5-2 yrs jump up a notch to another firm, etc. and work yourself up.
 
Quote from copa8:

sorry to hear about your situation. i was in almost a similar situation. i had worked a couple of years prior to trading full-time. was trading for about 4 years (2002-2005) before realizing that it was not meant to be for me. i didn't lose much, but i wasn't going anywhere fast. decided to get back into the work force. had started a web business on the side while trading, so i used that to fill-in the 4 years of MIA. eventually, i ended up working for my former company. and you're right about colleagues moving on to higher positions. i'm in entry-level while they're in officer/manager positions. i try not to think about it, even though i would've been in a similar position had i stayed and not gone to daytrading. anyway, just have to start low (entry-level). after 1.5-2 yrs jump up a notch to another firm, etc. and work yourself up.
More...

btw, i'm not young either...33 now and still at entry-level. :mad:
 
Quote from rimshaker:

Broken,
Not to be nosy or anything, but just out of curiosity so some of us can put your situation in proper context... how large were your biggest winners and losers?? Did you ever rake in big 5-digit or even a 6-digit winner in all the years you traded?
More...

He avoids all my questions I ask him, for some reason, I just don't feel we are getting the whole story, he hasn't disclosed his method or answered any of my questions.

He doesn't have to, but I'd figure if you admit to failure, you'd be willing to share everything to prevent others from failure.

Doesn't add up, maybe he got greedy later on and blew it all? It would be hard for someone to admit they do something stupid and slowly blow it by getting greedy. To be going 5 years at this and blow it, you have to think they thought they had it going on, because how could you make a living for 5 years at this????

I don't know. Just don't feel like the whole story is here, I keep asking for more information, he has just avoided all my questions for the most part.
 
Quote from copa8:

sorry to hear about your situation. i was in almost a similar situation. i had worked a couple of years prior to trading full-time. was trading for about 4 years (2002-2005) before realizing that it was not meant to be for me. i didn't lose much, but i wasn't going anywhere fast. decided to get back into the work force. had started a web business on the side while trading, so i used that to fill-in the 4 years of MIA. eventually, i ended up working for my former company. and you're right about colleagues moving on to higher positions. i'm in entry-level while they're in officer/manager positions. i try not to think about it, even though i would've been in a similar position had i stayed and not gone to daytrading. anyway, just have to start low (entry-level). after 1.5-2 yrs jump up a notch to another firm, etc. and work yourself up.
More...

Thanks Copa. Yeah, it is kinda hard seeing friends becoming managers when I'm probably about to only start an entry-level. But it's better to be late than never, right? I just wish I had been more realistic and thought it through more earlier.
 
You took a chance trading. Its better than wondering, damn I wonder what would have happened if I had traded. You are young and seem smart. Trading didnt work out, so you are moving on. It wont take you long to climb up the ladder. In 2-3 years you will climb aong and this whole situation will be over. And on top of that you will only be 32-33!
 
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