Funniest thing ever seen at a prop firm

[Steve Tvardek]

The reason so many washed out and failed after the bubble burst was because most of those assholes didnt know how to trade in the first place but you could get away with sloppy habits during those hectic times. Now, you have to be more shrewd and skilled to make it. Alot of trading in those days consisted of averaging down (or up) until the stock finally moved in your favor and that worked quite well for a decent amount of time. As we all know, this isnt the case these days.

Quote from sammybea:

Daytraders for the most part lose their shirt. This is the perfect example. Many of the guys who came in to our firm during the bubble are now broke. Hundreds of thousands down the drain.. and most were in their 20's without an education. Look at them now.. I'm not unique in this case. I lost 80% of my net worth but at least had a degree. But I have known the game fairly well, and the players in them. These guys weren't stupid by any means.. but they saw people who were making sick money by a few clicks of a button and got suckered in.

After many of these traders left, owners of these firms became more desperate for commisions, and they reached out to ANYONE they could get their hands on. At this one firm- Block Trading which is now defunct- they would roll in senior citizens who literally looked like they came straight from Atlantic City and thought this was the newest form of slots. Trust me, I looked around at different firms, and for the most part, these were the new breed of customers.

Then came the marketing ploy. Many of the owners went after college kids. The common gimmick was "Why not spend your tuition money on a real education?" In some sense it should be illegal for firms to recruit like this.. but then again, daytraders are merely customers. Of course college kids fell for it, and then became slaves to the industry because they couldn't get a legit job without a degree.

There are guys here like Hydroblunt and others who trash people who try to get real jobs.. due to the fear of being "replaced by a black box" or "quality of life issues." All i know is that the few traders who are successful, NEVER talked like that. They knew there was no glamour in this shit. They were the first ones to admit they are in a dead-end job, but they had to make the best of the situation. And they are still making money after so many years.

For me, I had some great days over the last 8 years.. and still excited about being profitable after 03-04 being a total disaster. But whether you want to believe it or not, the guys who actually believe this is some kinda dream job are kidding themselves.

I would welcome some replies..

 

[Steelhead]

10 big mac's in 30 mins with nothing to drink for $500

 

[bdon]

How about 3 strippers doing themselves with half full water bottles and then making some of the guys on the desk drink the water.

This was supposed to be a fun post. Taking bashing each other somewhere else. You guys all fail to realize that everybody has different opinions on this job and how they handle their career and this can vary from yours. Its really ok, its America.

 

[FGBS]

Quote from bdon:

How about 3 strippers doing themselves with half full water bottles and then making some of the guys on the desk drink the water.

Kind of gives a new definition to Minute Maid's drink named Splash

 

[wilburbear]

Not a prop firm, but the floor of the CBOE.

I was in the IBM pit on an idle day when a trader bet a gullible clerk, that the clerk couldn't drink a gallon of milk. I've heard there's some ingredient in milk that makes large quantities hard to drink it and keep down (nitrosamenes?).

About a third of the pit goes up to the lunchroom, which overlooks the IBM pit, to watch this gestational gladiator go at it. I then see another clerk in the window make hand signs, like the "safe" call in baseball. The clerk got down the gallon of milk, but puked it all over the lunchroom. He comes back down to the floor looking not too bad, really. I asked him about his experience. Said he heard, "a train whistle" go off in his head before he puked it.

 

[brokerboy]

Quote from bdon:

How about 3 strippers doing themselves with half full water bottles and then making some of the guys on the desk drink the water.

Same thing strippers making out, spanking traders, and everything else that happened in that trading stays in the trading room. I think we worked at the same firm.

 

[onelot]

Quote from FGBS:

Kind of gives a new definition to Minute Maid's drink named Splash

Actually, I think the soft drink "Squirt" would be a better fit.

 

[I Missed Boat]

Quote from Steelhead:

10 big mac's in 30 mins with nothing to drink for $500

are you kidding? For $500 I'd do that too!

 

[FredBloggs]

Quote from I Missed Boat:

are you kidding? For $500 I'd do that too!

so would half of africa

 

[jim c]

Quote from wilburbear:

Not a prop firm, but the floor of the CBOE.

I was in the IBM pit on an idle day when a trader bet a gullible clerk, that the clerk couldn't drink a gallon of milk. I've heard there's some ingredient in milk that makes large quantities hard to drink it and keep down (nitrosamenes?).

About a third of the pit goes up to the lunchroom, which overlooks the IBM pit, to watch this gestational gladiator go at it. I then see another clerk in the window make hand signs, like the "safe" call in baseball. The clerk got down the gallon of milk, but puked it all over the lunchroom. He comes back down to the floor looking not too bad, really. I asked him about his experience. Said he heard, "a train whistle" go off in his head before he puked it.

I remember that. I didnt see it but I was getting a play by play over the headset...funny stuff. there was a similar incident with krispy kreams that actually got mentioned on reuters.