Do most traders even have an edge?

[elite34s]

Quote from henry76:

Dear Elite ,
My thoughts that someone is essentially on their own when trading aren't a spontaneous idea so we'll have to agree to disagree , of course no trader is an island but with any system /idea it's usually from an idea that someone has , not a committee, maybe there's something to be said for bouncing ideas of each other but i believe most breakthroughs are individual brilliance , and by their very nature mkts tend to punish the many and reward the few, the big winners are individuals trading large sums against the many trading with far less ( not everytime , but mostly).

Well Henry,

I do respect your thoughts, but when you are at this game for a long time, you degin to see what is really going on, and my opinion is that, individual brilliance may work in the short term, but without grasping the fundamental fact about how our societies operate and function in relation to finance, then it will always be a guessing game.

Tribal communities, with no need for a financial aid, as in printed money, develop and organize their societies in a much different way to those of us that depend on same. Do they deliberately set out to deceive and mislead the members of their societies, no, they don't, in fact, they do the exact opposite, they ensure that all members have enough of what they need to fulfill their daily needs.

We can learn a lot by looking at how, what we call, uneducated people go about their daily lives, as they do not have to deal with a lot of the misconceptions that plague our modern day societies !

 

[open]

I believe that as a person with multiple edges available to me I am uniquely qualified to comment on do traders even have an edge

let us not play some kind of smart monkeys game here, EDGE is an informational advantage over other traders

edge can be utilized quite successfully and you won't be able to find it among normal data most people subscribe to

most people do not have an edge, few do



but my dear ETers would it surprise you to learn that one does not need an edge to succeed

PS: to find a good edge, you need to be very smart or very lucky or just the most persistent monkey in the country

 

[fearless9]

Quote from henry76:

Dear Elite ,
My thoughts that someone is essentially on their own when trading aren't a spontaneous idea so we'll have to agree to disagree , of course no trader is an island but with any system /idea it's usually from an idea that someone has , not a committee,

I wholeheartedly agree with you h76 this is an individual pursuit..

I watch people huddle together here on the ET trading threads in the hope that the crumbs of knowledge that fall will somehow turn them into profitable traders.

It never occurs to them that this very act of pooling knowledge is maintaining a secure lid on what is already an unaware and closed mind.

"Edge" is simply a current buzz word doing the rounds. It has nothing to do with successful trading ... nothing at all.

I believe one needs to open and expand ones mind in order to succeed bigtime in this game and this is essentially an individual pursuit. A good trader is alone but never lonely and this is an attribute not found in people who "huddle"

The only person I ever wanted to meet and talk trading with in my journey, was that Trader making large amounts of money each and every day.
I have never discussed trading with such a person, not because they do not exist but simply because they refuse to reveal themselves and their methods.

This desire has long since pasted.

The people that do present themselves are the Posters here on the trading threads and the authors of trading books, videos, seminars etc.
Their offers of knowledge sharing comes from an altruistic sense towards their fellow man now they have become "profitable" for themselves.
In perpetrating this act they are immediately capping the minds of their disciples which is precisely the path to failure.

All that is required is an open and relentlessly expanding mind.
The less you know of other peoples trading opinions, the better you are for it.

regards
f9

 

[elite34s]

Very well written f9, and although there are many truths in what you say, you are shortchanging yourself, the same mistake that the majority of traders make.

An EDGE does exist for those that will allow it to do so !

I will now give you a very simple example of what an EDGE is, but, again, it is up to each and every individual, to find out how to develop and maintain that EDGE.

"When you place a trade in your market of choice, the odds of the trade moving in your favor, are greater than the odds of the trade moving against you"

What information one digests prior to placing a trade, is irrelevant, and what really matters most, is what the trader does when the trade is filled, for, as we all know, many traders let a winning position turn into a losing position, and thus, any EDGE that they had, has just vanished into thin air !

And, being the habitual creatures that us humans are, the majority will repeat this EDGE reversion trading technique, again, and again, and then they look for every reason to justify why the did so !

The reason they did so is plain and simple, they do not understand the basic fundamentals of trading, and that is,

"Having to be right, will make you wrong"

 

[fearless9]

Quote from elite34s:

Very well written f9, and although there are many truths in what you say, .............

e34,

You are too complicated for my flavour, I am but a simple man.
What you describe as "an edge" and the accompanying example is common sense to me.
"edge" is just a word which has been given an extended meaning of late. In a few years it will have passed on and hopefully I will still be here.

In that case my edge will be that I outlasted the edge.

regards
f9

 

[henry76]

Dear Fearless ,
I agree with everything you say( which surprises me), from the sentiment about no longer desiring trading ideas from others , to being simple , paring things down to the essential truth, all the best henry

 

[fearless9]

Quote from henry76:

Dear Fearless ,
I agree with everything you say( which surprises me), from the sentiment about no longer desiring trading ideas from others , to being simple , paring things down to the essential truth, all the best henry

henry76,

It is a bit of a circle really. The more I remove from my trading the less inclined I become to discuss it.
Occasionally I burst into print as the mood takes, mainly I think because I have created so much time. No record keeping, no research, no trading for more than 100 minutes each day, no more thinking really.

regards
f9

 

[Tracy McGreedy]

Many traders do have an edge in the various systems they follow. Many systems actually work! Strictly following a system is an edge. Self-sabotage and lack of discipline undermines this edge. Most traders break rules, cos they just "feel like it". This is why they lose.

 

[fearless9]

Quote from Tracy McGreedy:

Many traders do have an edge in the various systems they follow. Many systems actually work! Strictly following a system is an edge. Self-sabotage and lack of discipline undermines this edge. Most traders break rules, cos they just "feel like it". This is why they lose.

TM,

That is common sense. Where is the edge in that.
Why on earth would you go to all the trouble of developing a profitable system and then not apply it correctly.

And then, just to compound woolly thinking, a trader says "I have an edge" when he applies his system correctly.
Who cares!

Trading is all about clarity of thought and it`s accompanying simplicity.

Either a trader is growing a consistently profitable account, or he/she is not.

regards
f9

 

[elite34s]

Quote from henry76:

Dear Fearless ,
I agree with everything you say( which surprises me), from the sentiment about no longer desiring trading ideas from others , to being simple , paring things down to the essential truth, all the best henry

Henry,

Do not mistake "hype" with reality. What I have described , if you are to honest, is the reality of trading.

Unless one has paid their dues, meaning years and years of hard work, and all the emotional baggage that goes with it, then the possibility of one to perfect the "edge" is going to be, well, next to impossible.

However, I must not speak with a forked tongue, and, it should be apparent, at this stage of our adult lives, that should we be fortunate enough to encounter such an individual, who has well and truly paid their dues, then there is no reason in the world why we can't shorten our own journey to making the "edge" a reality, for ourself !

I have read some posts from Mark, in relation to reading the ticker tape on the TV, and how an experienced trader showed him how it is done, and how he has learned how to do it.

I say, well done Mark, and I wish you the best and hope you increase the 1.5Ml to 5Ml in the shortest time possible. The majority here will laugh at Mark, and say he is an idiot, and I think even one member has called him a jackass, but, those of us that know, know who the real jackasses are, and it is not Mark, or his like, it is those on the other side of the fence, and as long as they continue to behave the way they do, they will always remain on the other side of the fence, all due to their own ignorance.

And we call those that still live in tribal communities ignorant !