here is proof that it can be done

Quote from Ripley:

I really don't think its what I tried, but more along the lines of what happens to a person as they progresses along the trading curve.

First and formost, everyone underestimates how long it would take them. Then they over trade and end up running out of money to trade to make trading worthwhile. etc... by then you lose all your enthusiasm and throw in the towel.
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Ok so those are the bad things you can do as a learning trader. Now what are the positive things YOU have done? What have you learned that can actually help you get positive? Did you ever try a journal?

I think from some of your posts that you trade futures. Did you ever notice that hardly any futures traders post on the P&L thread?
 
Quote from Ripley:


I believe for pretty much everyone, to learn to trade without without a mentor would be IMPOSSIBLE (considering no sane profitable mentor would waste their time, the only way to do it is by yourself).
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It's impossible to learn without a mentor, but the only way to do it is by yourself?
:confused:
 
Quote from Pekelo:

Yeah, but how did the mentors learn it at the beginning? Was there a First mentor or something???
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Who knows.. most mentors are scammers who couldn't make a dime off of their trading. Maybe a dime, but not anything significant.

Quote from andread:

It's impossible to learn without a mentor, but the only way to do it is by yourself?
:confused:
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Yeah, it is nearly impossible to do it yourself as well, which makes trading to make money an extremely impossible and ever elusive dream for many.
 
Quote from Dustin:

Ok so those are the bad things you can do as a learning trader. Now what are the positive things YOU have done? What have you learned that can actually help you get positive? Did you ever try a journal?

I think from some of your posts that you trade futures. Did you ever notice that hardly any futures traders post on the P&L thread?
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The good things I did were, I started trading VERY YOUNG. As possible as young you can be since I finished college etc. Thus, I was able to limit my losses. Had I tried trading at any other time in my life, I would've lost a lot more.

I kept a journal and it took a lot of effort writing stuff down, I think writing it down may've affected my trading... but, thats no biggie.

No Futures traders post on the P/L thread because those who make money makes HUGE amounts of money. I know I would like to remain anonymous if I ever make any money.
 
Quote from Ripley:

It took me 3 years of HARD WORK, and every day of trading to still be in the dark. I mean, I really cannot see anyone else making it considering I am bright, intelligent, smart, extremely hardworking etc etc and graduated from one of the finest universities etc, and have read a lot of books in that time span.


It's your ego in the way. I bet you need to always be right. You don't respect the market.

Sound familiar? Maybe. I don't know you.

Etc etc.

The reason I say this, what you said above reminds me of a buddy I partnered up with in early 2003. Ivy undergrad, grad, worked harder than anyone I knew. Ego the size of Canada. He figured he put in so much work, that it would work.

We put together 100K, (not ours) and decided to trade together. I had been trading on my own since 1998, and to an outsider (like him) my routine looked lazy, it worked for me, and I had a good market feel from the prior years etc.

He'd be up all night doing analysis, (good stuff too), presenting great slides about XYZ; and justifying why a-b-c should happen. etc.

We were holding 40-50 positions for months.

We made about 75K over the next 6-7 months, from our longs. But endlessly argued, heated stuff about the shorts..ebay, amzn, rimm, just about anything that was flying. Costing us another 75K.

We parted ways after 2003 ended, as I couldn't handle it anymore. He lost 77k over the next 5 months, and was broken.

His ego did him in. He had to be right.

He knows a shitload about the markets/stocks, talks a great game. Trading was not the proper venue for his temperament and knowledge store.

It didn't fit. He's in sales now a major house and is killing it. He found the right outlet.

Give that some thought? Maybe this vantage point isn't right for you.

Good luck.
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Quote from TheCaracal:

The reason I say this, what you said above reminds me of a buddy I partnered up with in early 2003. Ivy undergrad, grad, worked harder than anyone I knew. Ego the size of Canada. He figured he put in so much work, that it would work.

We parted ways after 2003 ended, as I couldn't handle it anymore. He lost 77k over the next 5 months, and was broken.

His ego did him in. He had to be right.

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I am afraid it wasn't his ego that did him in. It was his INEXPERIENCE.

1-1.5 years is hardly enough time to learn anything about the markets and what it can do to you.

The #1 skill required to master the markets is EXPERIENCE.. but, what happens to most people are they underestimate the markets, and lose out before being able to acquire the adequate experience. (An EXPERIENCED/market tested market operator is EGOLESS because he knows the market, because he knows that the market will win out.)
 
I agree, to a an extent, but his need to be right, exceeded that of making money. Which is the goal at the end of the day.

He said everything you said almost daily.

Find out what's blocking your progress, or learn to use what you know in a diff. way.

I was just trying to suggest an alternative way to look at things.

Best,

David
 
Ego and stubbornness seem to be a problem here. For example instead of realizing the reality that futures trading is considerably harder than stock trading you say that futures traders just make such big $ that they wouldn't post on the P&L thread.

There's another clue here that you are probably trading for big $ like these mystery traders you speak of...and possibly skipped the consistent $100-500 daily goals.
 
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