community, teach me how to trade.

[ashantt]

I was hoping you could speed it up by telling us the mistakes that you made and how you managed to correct them.

Every one says to learn from your mistakes but no one gives examples of how they did it.

I made every mistake in the book: not having a system, not understanding probability and uncertainty of the market, revenge trading, trading too big and anything else you can think of. everytime i made a mistake i would tell myself i would not do it but i would do it again, and then one day i just stopped doing dumb s**t although the urge to do DS never goes away and i still do it from time to time but because my account is big enough i can handle my mind's weaknesses.

if you are doing DS just stop, don't do it, i guess that is how you will speed up your learning but other wise read my previous answer on how to trade - that is the holy grail.

 

[deaddog]

if you are doing DS just stop, don't do it, i guess that is how you will speed up your learning but other wise read my previous answer on how to trade - that is the holy grail.

Trade small, take your setup over and over when it presents itself and don't ever lose your head. That is the holy grail. You go and try to make that one life changing trade when your account is not able to handle it and you are in the dog house.

I'm sure that if you had this advice when you first started you would have become successful much sooner.

 

[ashantt]

I'm sure that if you had this advice when you first started you would have become successful much sooner.

Yes for sure. when I read this thread back there were guys who gave me solid advice the day after I asked the question but of course I did not follow it nor know it to be true. We all have to carve our own paths in trading and in life, this I know to be true. You can never try and replicate anybody.

 

[SunTrader]

The Artist: a Tale from Old China
June 15, 2016

There was once a king who loved the graceful curves of the rooster. He asked the court artist to paint a picture of a rooster for him. For one year he waited and still this order was not fulfilled. In a rage, he stomped into the studio and demanded to see the artist.

Quickly the artist brought out paper, paint, and brush. In five minutes a perfect picture of a rooster emerged from her skillful brush. The king turned purple with anger, saying, "If you can paint a perfect picture of a rooster in five minutes, why did you keep me waiting for over a year?"

"Come with me," begged the artist. She led the king to her storage room. Paper was piled from the floor to the ceiling. On every sheet was a painting of a rooster.

"Your Majesty," explained the artist,

"it took me more than one year to learn how to paint a perfect rooster in five minutes."

 

[ashantt]

The Artist: a Tale from Old China
June 15, 2016

There was once a king who loved the graceful curves of the rooster. He asked the court artist to paint a picture of a rooster for him. For one year he waited and still this order was not fulfilled. In a rage, he stomped into the studio and demanded to see the artist.

Quickly the artist brought out paper, paint, and brush. In five minutes a perfect picture of a rooster emerged from her skillful brush. The king turned purple with anger, saying, "If you can paint a perfect picture of a rooster in five minutes, why did you keep me waiting for over a year?"

"Come with me," begged the artist. She led the king to her storage room. Paper was piled from the floor to the ceiling. On every sheet was a painting of a rooster.

"Your Majesty," explained the artist,

"it took me more than one year to learn how to paint a perfect rooster in five minutes."

This is true. Takes years to master it, but once you get there you realize it was really simple. The irony is that realization does not come without the years of losses and pain.

 

[SunTrader]

This is true. Takes years to master it, but once you get there you realize it was really simple. The irony is that realization does not come without the years of losses and pain.

Simple (true) <> easy.

 

[KCalhoun]

Great questions.

For some reason I thought my personality suited day trading. I did not want to hold positions overnight, although in the beginning I bought stocks and randomly held them for a couple days before I puked for a loss - had no clue what I was doing. But once I discovered futures, I knew I would day trade them and also because I read a lot of successful traders who day traded futures and I followed down that path.

The learning process was f***ing murder. If I told you how much I lost overall you'd fall from your chair. Not to mention the psychological damage and the emotional pain. My goodness I would not wish this journey on my worst enemy.

Over the 13 years I have learned what it takes to be a profitable trader. These traits are - as I mentioned above in my previous answers - having a system that you built yourself which consists of a setup and rules, being able to execute over and over when the setup appears, understanding probability and the uncertain nature of the markets and never losing your head because your system is losing money - which is different from YOU the trader losing money. When the TRADER loses money outside of his system then you are not trading but revenge trading or gambling.

I don't think there is a way to speed up the learning curve at least not that I know of. Your mind has to graduate from one level to another but once you learn how to trade you will realize you simple it always was.

And this is what I mean. Have a system that you built yourself that you trust. Take that setup over and over when it appears, nothing else and don't do dumb s**t like revenge trading or trying to make your money back. Also read Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas that book changed my life.

Very well written, that's experience talking.

 

[ashantt]

Very well written, that's experience talking.

Thank you. I'm glad I stayed with it and came out from the other end much stronger and wiser than when I first posted on this forum on June 18th 2009. What a 13 year journey it has been. I can't help but laugh at the experience and things I've seen in the markets.

I hope the young ones get the picture reference. If not watch the movie today.

 

[Nobert]

@ashantt After all these years, your net worth, would it have been better off with trading or leaving everything at SnP & forgetting ?

Every one says to learn from your mistakes but no one gives examples of how they did it.

@deaddog I know that you're not asking for yourself, but to check credability (same goes with my question), yet, there are members here asking non stop of ,
how-to.
Wondering, how much did they actually learned.

 

[ashantt]

@ashantt After all these years, your net worth, would it have been better off with trading or leaving everything at SnP & forgetting ?


View attachment 287166

@deaddog I know that you're not asking for yourself, but to check credability (same goes with my question), yet, there are members here asking non stop of ,
how-to.
Wondering, how much did they actually learned.

If I had put it in the s&p in 2009 and forgot about it, I would have done much better especially if I bought every dip. But, no one is prescient and no one could've known how the market would go vertical after 2009.