Quote from SimpleTrades:
Atticus, I wish those people would step up. So far we have only heard from dreamers who have destroyed their own credibility.
And I should have said through only forex. Im sure many grab some income from forex
Why does anyone here need to prove anything to anybody?
I'm reluctant to even say I'm net profitable trading in spot FX in this thread since I really don't wish to deal with the barrage of questions that are likely to follow.
Or, put another way, ever wonder why so many good traders stop giving a shit about trading forums? Why "the greats" of ET have slowly left but are reported to still trade?
It might have something to do with threads like this, and people making inferences trying to extract responses from others when their statements are designed to just incite some big online pissing match.
Yes, it's unfortunate that one or two of the defenders of FX trading for a living ended up being bad examples... even more unfortunate that some of the anti-fx people here have been thick headed and ego driven, making a straightforward conversation about the topic into a train wreck...
...but I can assure you that, along with atticus, I personally know a few people who trade spot fx for a living. I don't know anyone in the 7 figure a year range, but still making a living off it non-the-less.
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Here's the problem:
There's like zero barrier to entry to get into fx trading. If only 1/10 of stock traders at a prop firm will make it in the long run (and that's not saying they are making millions, just scratching by,) and they are focusing on trading in a structured setting with risk controls and ample screen time, what do you think the success rate is going to be in FX where anyone can open an account with $50 at some cruddy broker overseas and have the ability to blow it in a single trade?
So if everyone here is just counting the instances of failed traders they see for every potential decent trader, of course they'll think people who can trade it for a living are rare or non-existent.
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Lastly, there's one other thing that really bugs me in this thread, and it's the projection I see a lot of people doing: "If I can't trade fx, then it must be rigged and no one can trade it, so anyone else saying they can is a liar!"
In person, all the ultra successful (ie, made millions) traders I've ever met have one thing in common: They don't have an ego. I suppose the market beat it out of them over the years.
I honestly don't understand how some people here, who are "proven" traders in other markets according to their forum reputation, can fall for this ego trap. Seeing their posts with this 'tell' about their personality actually makes me second guess their status as traders in their respective target markets.
EDIT: Looks like atticus touched upon some of the same thoughts in an earlier post. Still, I had to write this out, it was bothering me.
