Anyone gave up trading for a living?

VPhantom said:
Timeframes are worth shopping for, but I don't think it's that easy to generalize which is best for oneself.

For example, in a given instrument there may be clean, tradeable waves on the hourly which become completely invisible on the weekly, so much so that you might be able to extract for example 30 points on the hourly out of a 10-point 6-month move on the weekly.

That being said, time invested is also a factor to consider. If you spent 20 hours managing that 10-point move over 6 months, vs 200 hours day trading for the 30 points during the same period, that's tipping the scale back in favor of the weekly in this case, if one values time. (0.5pt/hr vs 0.15pt/hr return on time)

Then again, we haven't factored in leverage yet, which the shorter timeframe trader can typically afford more of due to smaller stops, which compensates the poorer return on time in absolute terms. That could tip the scale back in favor of the shorter timeframe despite the higher time cost.

Lastly, learning: I want a decent feedback cycle while I'm learning live execution, I don't want to wait weeks at a time to learn from my mistakes.

For me, congratulations to those who go all the way down to tick-by-tick don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it scalping, been there long ago, wouldn't do it again. :cool: But on the other extreme, I don't have the kind of account size and experience to allow me the luxury of trading weekly or even daily charts. I happen to be available near-full-time anyway, so intraday on multi-hour positions with still plenty of time to think and stay relaxed, but no overnight risk exposure, makes the most sense to me personally. I assume in 10 years it'll be quite different.
More...

I think you forgot 1 very important element: size.

If I trade 100 ctr emini intraday it can sometimes become difficult to have flashfills at a good price. If I would trade the weekly, I could build up much bigger positions. So if you are lucky, one day you will be forced to add dailys and weeklys to your intraday trades. But it is indeed very difficult to make the (partial) switch from intraday to overnight. I had full control of what I did intraday, but by going overnight I sometimes had not a very good feeling about it because I missed the full control of intraday. And profits come more slowly (losses too!!!!).
Another difficulty is that you can have "opposite" trades. I am short longterm but I went long on intraday. Gave a funny feeling the first time it happened.
 
Last edited:
I traded LL today buying the $30 Puts hitting New Lows, this stock looks like a mess and I wonder how far it's going to die. I agree Scalping is more ideal and less risky than holding options(wasting asset) and stocks long-term unless you really do your homework and follow a Stop-loss program. I make more cash by Scalping but need the help of professionals Trader-Accountants who can help us turn Short-Term away from the 35% Federal Tax Rate.

I know a joker who is holding HLF and LL because he won't sell and create a tax situation. Many people stay in stocks too long and get slammed because their afraid of the Tax consequences or fear doing a Schedule D or paying a Tax Planer to help. This method of holding long-term, it's great for Mutual Funds but not for us! I think the best Churners will make more cash than long-term gains. That's why you need a person like Robert Green C.P.A. helping you create a Corp to smooth St. term gains in to a hybrid tax shelter and even "carry-interest" if you making enough cash. He has saved me plenty of cash over the past decade because he is awesome!
 
dbphoenix said:
index.php


Depends on what you mean by the "right time", i.e., the right time to do what?

This is a copy of the chart I posted a month ago when the downtrend was broken (not reversed, broken). I said then that if price rose above this level, buy. If it dropped below 44, sell. Or short again.

Since then we've simply gone sideways. And so we wait.

As to your choices, I'm following two of those myself, along with 6 others.
More...


this and a time machine would be considered an edge without the time machine, its called a "description" nothing more,,,,,,, don't be fooled by clever ones who appeal to your lizard brain.
 
marketsurfer said:
this and a time machine would be considered an edge without the time machine, its called a "description" nothing more,,,,,,, don't be fooled by clever ones who appeal to your lizard brain.
More...

And we continue to drift sideways. No buy. No short. Yet.

Or is that too sophisticated for whatever sort of brain you have?
 
dbphoenix said:
And we continue to drift sideways. No buy. No short. Yet.

Or is that too sophisticated for whatever sort of brain you have?
More...


and if it dropped, you would say something else. i don't understand the purpose of description beyond finacial commentary it holds no relevance to what happens next,,,,, don't be fooled friends! this is some insidiously appealing nonsense be warned
 
marketsurfer said:
and if it dropped, you would say something else. i don't understand the purpose of description beyond finacial commentary it holds no relevance to what happens next,,,,, don't be fooled friends! this is some insidiously appealing nonsense be warned
More...

No, if it drops below that level, short. That's about as clear as it gets. Which remains, unfortunately, unclear to you.
 
dbphoenix said:
No, if it drops below that level, short. That's about as clear as it gets. Which remains, unfortunately, unclear to you.
More...

Ok, so if it drops to below that level, you are making a prediction it will drop lower? Right? What are the odds this will happen and how are they determined?

How far below before your short? Your sleight of hand verbal magic can create a winner no matter what happens --- i hope readers can see this because thats a great first step to understanding how markets really work. The market itself tries to trick us just like DB's words. By confusing the past with the future and description and prediction. Its how the untrained mind works. Feel good stuff withno basis in reality. Its an old game, get the joke.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top