How long did it take you to find your edge?

[MaritimeCanuck]

First time poster at ET

I've been trading now for just over a year, I spend all of my time outside of the time I'm in classes learning about the market, methods of trading etc. Currently studying the Wyckoff method, thanks to the postings of dbphoenix learning TONS, Richard Wyckoff is a genius, nothing I have studied yet has given me near as much knowledge as his resources.

What I would like to know, is how long it took other traders (especially the pros) to find their edge in trading.

Also, I'd like to know what resources you have learned the most from whether it be certain books, courses, or other ET posters, etc.

 

[R. Raskolnikov]

2 years. Used no resources other than watching the market intensely and through trial and error of testing my ideas.

 

[gmst]

2 years. Used no resources other than watching the market intensely and through trial and error of testing my ideas.

approximately 1.5yrs to find an edge then 1 years more to find more edges so that it results into a stable system, then 1.5-2 yrs before I could actually start to trade these edges without missing trades and other discipline problems.....its a long path

 

[Wide Tailz]

2 months for the algo, 3 yearz for manual

 

[toolazy]

15 yrs :eek:

 

[Grandluxe]

Three decades.

 

[ammo]

got lucky ,guy next to me in pit was hand charting spx,showed me how to draw the boxes, learned and hand drew, within 2 or 3 months my hand was waiting to fill in the empty boxes, didn;t know why it would go there, but my hand did from repetition,osmossis,...learn to hand chart market profile...apply what you learn to longer term charts, there are 2 volume points, the ledge and the nip and one no volume or exhaustion point, the cleave, learn to hand chart and watch how it moves once in a direction ,to one of those three points,takes out 90% of the chop,practice it then learn how to sit on hands, enter with setup, exit when wrong, and ride to target when right

 

[dbphoenix]

First time poster at ET

What I would like to know, is how long it took other traders (especially the pros) to find their edge in trading.

How long it takes other traders may not be of much help unless you're talking about a ballpark the size of Montana. How long it takes depends on how much one has to unlearn, how and with what one begins, how much time one has to devote to it, how much time one wants to devote to it, how much one enjoys it, how one deals with whatever personal shortcomings may interfere with his learning (trading addictions, ego, self-worth). If one is starting from scratch and doesn't get distracted by nonsense, it shouldn't take much time at all.

Also, I'd like to know what resources you have learned the most from whether it be certain books, courses, or other ET posters, etc.

I began with O'Neil, but at the time I was trading stocks. If you're interested, I suggest his first book ('88), unrevised, before the whole IBD thing became a big marketing machine. In '98, however, when I began trading futures, I was introduced to Wyckoff, so I'd focus on that next, but his original course, not any of the knockoffs. Then John Magee (General Semantics of Wall Street) and Justin Mamis (The Nature of Risk).

If you later get into trouble, The Disciplined Trader by Mark Douglas. Start with the last two chapters (not counting the "Final Note").

 

[R. Raskolnikov]

Seriously??

Three decades.

 

[BobbiDigital]

4 years. My unsolicited advice would be to avoid price action, trend lines, patterns, etc until you understand how markets work. Then you can follow price, directional and good r:r trades become more obvious. Definitely use PA, but not as a starting point. For that matter kill the word edge as it may make you focus on finding the right entry bars each time which is a waste of time.

On a side note,.e.t. gurus seemingly trying to help have, all but one, evaded the true key which is basically an objective framework. What is the point of PA if you don't give yourself a relative reference? Shit there I go now acting like I know something. All in all trading a system changed my perspective from I hope this trade doesn't fail to staring at the computer waiting for it to fail so I can exit. The former were always somehow losers while the latter, well...

BD