Have you ever blown up your trading account?

[trader#21]

Quote from saliva:

Huh? I don't understand your question. Isn't that identical to the last selection?

a lot of difference b/w just making enough to support ur lifestyle and making consistent money. For the latter leverage can be used and makes a established professional.

 

[saliva]

Quote from trader#21:

a lot of difference b/w just making enough to support ur lifestyle and making consistent money. For the latter leverage can be used and makes a established professional.

First, what I meant by "consistently" is being able to make money month after month. This pretty much excludes those with haphazard trading results.

Second, leverage is an arbitrary term. If you had the edge that allowed you to consistently, if not persistently, book profits every month, would you not increase your bet as your trading portfolio grows larger? It's just a matter of time before leverage rears its ugly head. As such, if you are able to make money even if that means you are only able to support your lifestyle, you belong to this privileged class of traders.

 

[MohdSalleh]

Quote from saliva:

Wow. We have the two outliers running practically neck and neck. Statistically, we already know that the rate of failure is high in this field, especially among the newcomers. However, who would have thought there would be so many successful traders. Of course, this is a very small sample and I would be naive to construe the outcome as representative of the whole picture.

Personally, I'm more interested in the middle selections. These present more clear picture of the traders who have been in this game for awhile. These traders have either blown up their account at one time or are struggling to keep their heads above water.

On that note, I have a couple questions. For those who have since recovered your losses, are you now consistently eking out a profit month after month? And for those who are currently struggling, are you experiencing a wild fluctuations in your monthly statement (ie. up one month, down next) or are you marching ever closer to what you believe as a slow but painful death?

the poll is useless as most people here have 3-5 yrs of trading experience and think they are real pros. to get out of newbie status, you should have at least 10 years experience, and experienced 2 major bull and bear cycles

 

[trader#21]

Quote from saliva:

First, what I meant by "consistently" is being able to make money month after month. This pretty much excludes those with haphazard trading results.

Second, leverage is an arbitrary term. If you had the edge that allowed you to consistently, if not persistently, book profits every month, would you not increase your bet as your trading portfolio grows larger? It's just a matter of time before leverage rears its ugly head. As such, if you are able to make money even if that means you are only able to support your lifestyle, you belong to this privileged class of traders.

you didnt get it. I have seen a lot of guys at my firm with 4+ yrs of exp. who have their down months but at the end of each year they've made considerable money. They are survivors who can make big anytime.

edge is a more misused word on this forum than leverage edges change over time but if someone has consistent nos. for 3+ yrs its good to assume his trading is sufficiently robust (professional).

 

[saliva]

Quote from MohdSalleh:

the poll is useless as most people here have 3-5 yrs of trading experience and think they are real pros. to get out of newbie status, you should have at least 10 years experience, and experienced 2 major bull and bear cycles

As you might already know, most of the traders go broke within their first year--more like six months in most cases. From that point of view, I believe it warrants to know how many are able to stand on their own two feet as it were.

By all means, experience counts. Quite a lot actually. But that alone isn't enough. Just as one does not necessarily grow any wiser over the years (for evidence you should look no further than those on this forum ), you shouldn't assume you will become a better trader over time either.

 

[saliva]

Quote from trader#21:

you didnt get it. I have seen a lot of guys at my firm with 4+ yrs of exp. who have their down months but at the end of each year they've made considerable money. They are survivors who can make big anytime.

Sure, I understand that all traders will at least have one or two down months. I have no problem with that. But I have problem with those with, say, 10 negative months who end the year on a positive note. Is that really a skill or a mere dumb luck?

[E]dge is a more misused word on this forum than leverage edges change over time but if someone has consistent nos. for 3+ yrs its good to assume his trading is sufficiently robust (professional).

Knowing how to properly use leverage is an edge in itself. The reason why most traders blow up is because they misuse leverage (eg. margin).

PS. Perhaps i could run another poll in the future with more nuanced questions geared specifically for successful traders.

 

[andrewbee]

Quote from yepso:

... It's a process of extracting poor thought patterns rather than the acquisition of discreet higher knowledge or secrets. The notion that losses or blowing up an account as a symbol of failure shouldn’t make sense to us, it’s what traders go thru to become traders.

Very well put.

 

[FattBurger]

Fill your mind with the garbage spit out in this place and your doomed.

 

[wolfxxx]

while still working for a salary i traded equities with a month+ holding period in the bull markets basically long only. I made enough to stop working but my money were in crap shares at that point, so i resigned but love trading so i started focusing on system trading index futures while leaving most money 'invested' in the small companies (yes i know bad idea) Crash came + not losing money but not making bit amounts on futures (the more i learn the worse i do). All n all i would say shorter term focus has hurt me and being overconfident after a good patch. But even if i had all the money in the world i would trade every single day.

 

[Kassz007]

Quote from saliva:

Sure, I understand that all traders will at least have one or two down months. I have no problem with that. But I have problem with those with, say, 10 negative months who end the year on a positive note. Is that really a skill or a mere dumb luck?

I suppose it's skill if the trader does this each and every year.