Grinding it out, day after day

Quote from artfartdart:

i bet lescor is trading at a level now where the marginal cost in terms of pain of the next unit of risk, equates to the marginal benefit he receives from the next dollar earned.

at a certain point, what IS the point?
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Perhaps the guy has other investments. Surely he has collected enough money over the years to have bought a portfolio of houses.

put another chunk of change into some Dividend stocks, so while he might make only 300k trading, its not unlikely that he has another 100-200k coming in from sources other then his "trading" account.
 
It's interesting reading Wulfrede's speculation, this also correlates with EricP's recent posts, these guys seem to have reached a point were money isn't a problem, so they're content to grind or do nothing until better conditions come along.

In terms of capacity, I'm guessing that some of what these guys do is in low volume stocks, and as such only so much size can be pushed and perhaps Lescor doesn't feel he can manage many more simultaneous positions comfortably (I got the impression from this thread that he manually manages his exits).

The fact that these people exist should serve as an inspiration, but as for how they do it, that remains as abstract and opaque as ever...
 
Has lescor explained how he prevents getting raped in strong trends? My strat has RTM aspects, but I almost always give back the money I make in strong trends ... I have no problem getting out fast.
 
Quote from alientrader:

He said he did 200-300k the previous year before, so it's okay not great.

To be honest and I am not having a dig at Corey here, it's not worth it. If you are a graduate from a good college/university and work your way up, in your late 30's, you should be at about 200k.

I know many of my classmates, who are in their mid to late 30's and have now hit VP level at various firms across multiple industries. Note: I said the word good, not some crapola degree from a shitty college. You can get all that without all the psychological trauma that comes from trading and worrying about whether your strat will continue to work to pay your bills,etc.

Not to mention that having a stable income has many benefits when it comes to taking loans or mortgages.

IMO in such a case, 200-300k is simply not worth it. Now if you didn't go to college, have a manual job and no real prospect of making more than 50-60k in your lifetime, then go for it but otherwise, anyone with a strong educational degree, i would strongly dissuade them from going into daytrading, at least not in this environment.

To those who have just graduated, if you have a decent degree, learn to leverage on your educational achievements. If you really want to trade, go and get an institutional trading job, not staying at home knocking out pennies.
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Many of them are living in a fantasy of being Lescor. Remember, there is only one Lescor. Put him onto any IB trading desk, he would surely rake in millions year in and out.

But with a decent education in STEM and industry experience, everyone in my class in college is making a decent living. Corporate world does not sound that bad at all, plus you could always leave and start your own company, trying to strike out big.
 
You guys make some decent assumptions.

Could I make more if I worked more? Yes, I'm pretty confident I could. But as was mentioned, at a certain point more money doesn't mean as much. My time and lifestyle are worth much more. I am fortunate to have a freedom that anyone would envy. I work a few hours a day at home and don't answer to anyone. My trading has become comfortable and I freely admit that I am pretty complacent. I live a happy, modest life and don't need or want more stuff.

The older guys who have commented seem to get it. The young guys... well, we probably thought the same way at your age. You'll figure it out at some point, if you're lucky.
 
Quote from lescor:

You guys make some decent assumptions.

Could I make more if I worked more? Yes, I'm pretty confident I could. But as was mentioned, at a certain point more money doesn't mean as much. My time and lifestyle are worth much more. I am fortunate to have a freedom that anyone would envy. I work a few hours a day at home and don't answer to anyone. My trading has become comfortable and I freely admit that I am pretty complacent. I live a happy, modest life and don't need or want more stuff.

The older guys who have commented seem to get it. The young guys... well, we probably thought the same way at your age. You'll figure it out at some point, if you're lucky.
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Awesome wisdom, and you are absolutely right...
 
Corey is in the self actualization phase.I Wonder why Livermore,Richard Dennis etc kept on pushing the envelope and taking unnecessary risk leading to blowups.It was inevitable.

I read the assertion by Livermore that no one can beat the market in the long run and it somehow messed with my psychology because I think of my winnings as temporary.

I know lescors main strategy is a variation of OPG trading as he has hinted severally and also basket mean reversion.This system has largely been unprofitable since 2011.How has he been able to survive?
 
Quote from lescor:

You guys make some decent assumptions.

Could I make more if I worked more? Yes, I'm pretty confident I could. But as was mentioned, at a certain point more money doesn't mean as much. My time and lifestyle are worth much more. I am fortunate to have a freedom that anyone would envy. I work a few hours a day at home and don't answer to anyone. My trading has become comfortable and I freely admit that I am pretty complacent. I live a happy, modest life and don't need or want more stuff.

The older guys who have commented seem to get it. The young guys... well, we probably thought the same way at your age. You'll figure it out at some point, if you're lucky.
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I have several friends here in my very rural area who left their fathers' struggling dairy farms, attended a "crappy little college" Cornell University instead of some prestigious ivy-league school. They majored in modern agriculture, came back and took over the family farms deep in debt, and turned them into grain & crops operations where $300k annual barely covers the fuel, seed and fertilizer bills alone. With annual gross profits in seven-figures all from a crappy little college degree.

I have another friend who attended Syracuse U and then Plattsburg NY to major in forestry. Started his own forestry consulting business from scratch, used the profits to purchase timber property all across the region here, used timber sales from those to buy more land. Now his company owns 10,000s acres managed timber worth millions in raw land value alone, never mind future log sales for the rest of his life and beyond. Leases the land for hunting, covers the land taxes so properties now carry their own costs. Free money... the sound of hardwood timber growing => land values appreciating in tandem.

So the post about $300k annual not being "worth it" and any schools other than supposed prestigious ones being "worth it" was the usual elitist dismissal of life in the real world.
 
Quote from masterm1ne:

Has lescor explained how he prevents getting raped in strong trends? My strat has RTM aspects, but I almost always give back the money I make in strong trends ... I have no problem getting out fast.
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I can't imagine a trader as successful as Lescor would trade an RTM strategy in a strong trend.

With only a few years of trading experience under my belt, I know when conditions are conducive to an RTM trade and when they're not.
 
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