Really? I'm a short-term intraday forex scalper and tried longer-term trading but didn't find it nearly as profitable, or as enjoyable come to that. Position sizes needed to be smaller to allow for bigger adverse moves, longer-term market analysis was more difficult as market sentiment can change so quickly, and the number of trades I made were a fraction of my daytrading activity as I had to wait forever to see if a trade worked out or not. Different strokes I guess.......
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I still have to know a daytrader who makes money in the long run...
- Thread starter crgarcia
- Start date
Really? I'm a short-term intraday forex scalper and tried longer-term trading but didn't find it nearly as profitable, or as enjoyable come to that. Position sizes needed to be smaller to allow for bigger adverse moves, longer-term market analysis was more difficult as market sentiment can change so quickly, and the number of trades I made were a fraction of my daytrading activity as I had to wait forever to see if a trade worked out or not. Different strokes I guess.......
Quote from kxvid:
Day trading is useless. You are just trading noise, nobody makes money doing that in the long run. You have to look for longer term trends that actually give you an edge. I believe you can be long term profitable entering and exiting positions every couple of weeks. The only time day trading was profitable was during the tech bubble.
this has to take the cake for most incorrect statements in one paragraph. 5 sentences, 5 incorrect statements.
although 2 incorrects are in 1 sentence...
Quote from DHOHHI:
No, you can gain a lot more than that. You gain freedom. Time ...... and for me that time is spent volunteering at an inner city school a couple days a week. That was something that was not an option when I worked a corporate job. Having an opportunity to give back is more rewarding than $$$$$.
Very true. And nowadays you can work from anywhere in the world with a good net connection, you can even travel the world and work at the same time. How many occupations let you travel the world on your own itinerary whilst also paying you well? Only a tiny number of professions e.g. novelist, trader, freelance journalist.
Quote from kxvid:
Day trading is useless. You are just trading noise, nobody makes money doing that in the long run. You have to look for longer term trends that actually give you an edge.
You have it completely upside down. Any fool can ride a runaway trend (ie tech bubble) once in his lifetime, the vast majority of traders/investors during that time were plain lucky.
The longer the trader's time frame per trade/investment (not to be confused with longevity), the greater a factor luck becomes. Start with 2 people who'd put their entire fortunes into MSFT from its ipo: one was an aspiring full-time trader/investor, the other was the secretary or janitor. Which do you think will have a more realistic appreciation for luck as opposed to deluding himself of his own genius?
Never confuse profitability with an edge.
Quote from Alexis:
freedom in trading is a myth.
To make sure you won't miss a "good one", you have to take them all. Absolutely all of them.
And you're a slave.
(it's somewhat different for very high probablility scalp, but necessary executions speed +low fees are unattainable for individuals)
The idea that you have to take all setups is false. That's just another example of the fear of missing, which is what makes people buy highs and short at the lows. Trading has pretty good freedom - scalping has some obligations (e.g. having to be glued to a screen all day) but you can still choose *which* days you want to work, and can name your location as long as an internet cafe is within walking distance. Position trading has the most freedom of almost any occupation - all you have to do is research and follow quotes. It can all be done online, at the time of your choosing. You don't even have to work during market hours.
As for being a slave - a slave to what?
Scalping is the most slave-like trading approach IMO. And the execution delay and fees can easily be made low enough for good net profitability.
Quote from gaj:
this has to take the cake for most incorrect statements in one paragraph. 5 sentences, 5 incorrect statements.
although 2 incorrects are in 1 sentence...
Perhaps credit should be given for "just trading noise"... THAT'S true.
But not all noise is random. The non-random parts are profitably tradable.
Quote from Cutten:
Very true. And nowadays you can work from anywhere in the world with a good net connection, you can even travel the world and work at the same time. How many occupations let you travel the world on your own itinerary whilst also paying you well? Only a tiny number of professions e.g. novelist, trader, freelance journalist.
I'll one up you: how many occupations are there in the world where you need absolutely no one else to earn a paycheck? Of course traders need other traders in aggregate ie, the market itself, but name another profession where you can say "fuck off" (and mean it) to each and every person you meet for an entire year -- and still get paid?
Quote from illiquid:
name another profession where you can say "fuck off" (and mean it) to each and every person you meet for an entire year -- and still get paid?
My ISP's Customer Services call-center staff would qualify, mind you they probably don't tell their bosses to fuck off, just the customers.