Quote from saxon22:
After trying countless indicators and more methods than I care to remember, I was thinking, how do the big guys trade? I doubt, they use all those fancy tools we have at our disposal. However, if they do use them, then which ones and how? Any ideas?
Hey Saxon,
I know you from the ES journal, and I am going to answer the question it appears you are trying to ask.
I know you're new to this business, and it is easy to think when starting out that those who succeed--the "big boys"--have some kind of hidden, secret advantage, like the Duke brothers tried to get when they hired Clarence Beaks in the movie "Trading Places."
The "big boys", I suspect, in general have no secret, fancy indicators to tell them when to buy and sell the ES, or for that matter, anything else.
They didn't buy the holy grail, and it is not out there to be found, so don't start searching for it!
If it were, someone would have already have it by now and would have won all the chips.
Someone here said hard work and money management. I cannot think of two better suggestions. Focus on the ES, and know it inside and out. Become a specialist, not a generalist.
It takes time and hard work to succeed in any venture. This is no different. It takes YEARS to become proficient. Everyone loses money at times; everybody plays the fool. Even the most successful traders have losing streaks. Don't let the bravado on this board fool you.
Some say that 95% of traders fail. The evidence for this is always anecdotal, but it is probably close to the truth. My guess is that most fail before they have put enough time in the business to be able to figure out how to succeed. They try it a few months, and since one cannot support oneself full-time while learning unless one has a good-sized bankroll to begin with (for living expenses), most probably quit when the riches don't roll in.
If you can make it past breakeven, consistently, over time (don't expect it right away), you'll probably make it.
Most probably don't blow out; they probably just fizzle out.
It takes time, but one can decrease the learning curve by simply refusing to go on the search for what doesn't exist.