Quote from mynd66:
I'm not buying any of these apples to orange analogies supporting the fact that unprofitable traders can make good teachers. The fact that someone can not make money trading would probably mean that they sure as hell cant teach trading.
Okay, I understand what you mean. But let's go a little further then what most people think what you need for being a 'good' trader. Most people think in "tell me what to do, show me how it is done, and I know I will do it in the same way and have succes" but reality is that 'learning' to be a trader (or any other profesion for that matter) is more then "show me what you do, and teach me so I can do it too". There are other aspects like how you think, what you believe, your experiences in the market untill now, and so on. All this makes that you will find succes when all parts are in line. Let me give you an example: Let's say that you are 'hurt' in the market, and that you do not want to lose again. You are searching for a 'guru' that makes money. You find somebody with a 'track' record. You use the method that you learned from the guru. You do your first trade, it hits the stoploss. You lose money. You think o well, this can happen. Next trade, it hits again the stoploss. Now you are thinking, because of your prior experiences in the market, sh*t, I followed everything the guru is telling me, and I still lose money. This is not good, I must find something else to 'learn'. But in reality you have a psychological problem about losses through your experiences with being hurt in the market. Instead of a trader you need somebody with a background in human thoughts and how to change them... And if the guru is not an expert in this field, you are lost...
That is why 'good teachers' are different then profitable traders and vice versa. In my opinion, you are better of with somebody that can show you insights in yourself and help you understand how you think and how you act, then a guru that is teaching his 'method' to you with a trackrecord.
What I'm going to say now can come to a shock for many future traders: 95% of every 'method' that is profitable, is known by the public. But most people can just not do it and think there is a 'secret' to it that they do not know. Well, the secret is you...