Quote from sekyst1974:
I am going to "own" all you guys on advice.
Obviously, the original poster is lacking confidence in his present strategy. Something doesnt seem to be working.
Why dont you, the original poster, just simulate trading for a while either on a simulator or on paper until you are more confident?
If I gave you a trumpet and told you to improvise to some music, would it be reasonable for me to expect you have it down within a week? The truth is that it may take a year or more of paper trading and simulating for you to get it right or to find a strategy. You cant expect to have any of this down overnight or even within a few months. You have to keep practicing and experimenting...keep reading and observing how other traders do it...find a mentor...many of the greatest traders agree that it takes years to get it right. Only a very select few out there get it right within a few months.
If you are experimenting with real money, then you are wrong. You dont experiment with money. Experiment on paper. When you are ready to work, then do it with the real thing.
I know some here will blast me and say that trading without money is different then trading with money. Hey, I agree, but its simply dumb advice to let someone trade with money who isnt confident in doing so.
I think its true that most retail traders are in the market without benefit of sufficient education, experience, capital, or comparative advantage (edge). Of the few who do get past those hurdles, they run square into the problems associated with disciplined execution, money and risk management. Its a "gauntlet" of obstacles, and not many make it through. I would say that a motivated person could make money without having all their ducks in a row, however I am sure they would be inconsistent, making money, then giving it right back the next day, week, or month.
There's nothing wrong with paper trading. While it doesn't challenge the emotions like live trading, it can teach a motivated student a number of things about risk management, order usage, how to stage entries and exits and the importance of time of day (especially for the ES contract).
The real problem for retail traders is that its hard to find reliable quality information about the business. After that the next challenge is having the discipline and patience to learn the critical lessons. Since no one is there to insist that a newbie "take the pre-requisites" most try to skip the important basics and go straight into the market. The result is they get their ass kicked, they lose their accounts, and their confidence and become embittered. The literature is filled with examples of traders who blew out their accounts at least once. What we don't hear about is the fact that an even bigger number of people get blown out of the markets and never find a way back.....
I've given this some thought and frankly my opinion has changed about mentors and education in general. I think a student should spend most of his/her time trying to find a person with good skills, and experience, willing to teach for a fee (I'm talking hourly fee like any decent professional). What they need is a good professional willing to act as a consultant. Not to teach them a system per se, but to TRY to steer them in the right direction, to fill in the gaps in their education and keep them from blowing out their accounts before they can get it together. I think the issue of "proving" themselves by providing records is a smoke screen for embittered people who want guarantees. I got news for you...there aint none. Get all the proof you want newbies but none of it will guarantee that you will make money. Nothing except your own hard work, talent and persistence will do that.