Why, RN, for white trash you are quite le philosophe! My only cavil with your excellent riposte is that I spent many dimes on many dozens of trading approaches consciously and rationally seeking success over the years, only to dream one that worked.
Day Traders: Losing Days
- Thread starter NoDoji
- Start date
RN, did someone else write this for you? I don't recall you being that smart before. My conflatulations to your brilliant ghostwriter. Very thought-provoking. And I think exactly the opposite of the behaviors you must exhibit to find and perfect a system:
Tries to outsmart the market, knowing that most traders are losers
Throws all so-called "rules" to wind and invents new ones
Questions everything with the jaundiced eye of an oldster
The less you "do" (trade) the faster you'll get to a system
So it is small wonder successful traders have spilt personalities.
Now I have to go. The neighbor's trash tree Bois D'Arc fell over on my single-wide and finished the job the last torenader started. So I am busy cleaning out the lean-to shed so's me an' the dawgs'll have a dry place sleep while the wife stays in the trailer and guards my vintage beer bottle cap collection. Cain't trust trailer trash.
Well, huffy, I'll have you know that I am no fool either. I spent three years in the ninth grade to get to where I am today. Reform school was a tough intellectual environment.
Tohbo, you remember me? "Broken record, scratch needle?"
Of that: "I still have confidence that in far less time than it would take to fully automate what I do now, I can master my own trading method."
I want to say this: Don't underestimate the power of selective memory and memory invention to make you think your system is viable and robust. Only backtesting to tell you that. Backtesting may look like a steep hill to climb, but once you are on top of it you can invent and discard several new systems a day, greatly cutting the development cycle. Lightning tends to strike when you are standing on a hill.
Of that: "I still have confidence that in far less time than it would take to fully automate what I do now, I can master my own trading method."
I want to say this: Don't underestimate the power of selective memory and memory invention to make you think your system is viable and robust. Only backtesting to tell you that. Backtesting may look like a steep hill to climb, but once you are on top of it you can invent and discard several new systems a day, greatly cutting the development cycle. Lightning tends to strike when you are standing on a hill.
I'm sorry. I haven't read your entire oeuvre, too many adoring fans hanging around, gag me with a spoon, but I would have sworn that you haven't coded and tested your current strategies, 20 sma and higher highs/lower lows, as I recall. What have you backtested to death? My apologies if I have been preaching to the choir.
I've been backtesting CL manually bar-by-bar almost every day for the past 6 months, then confirming the results in my sim account. Of course since April I've been confirming the results in my live account. I found it odd how easily I was able to trade almost every setup in my sim account without over thinking and micromanaging. I mean, damn, my sim Ferrari was on the line!