Losses just aren't that bad. Even long strings of them.

Buy1Sell2 said:
Cut losses short and let winners run to maturity----pretty simple stuff. Most don't, or can't, get it
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Yeah, but most don't want to psychologically accept a low win rate. I fell into that trap when I first started. Well, actually for quite a few years.
 
notagain said:
More important than high win%, is a strategy that inherently has a stable win% and does not vary too much.
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Yes. And one that fits your personality. That's why I'm able to take multiple losses in a row. It sucks, and I need to suck in my gut sometimes because of some discomfort, but I guess I've learned how to be comfortable being uncomfortable. I know I'm stealing that from someone. Didn't a Navy Seal say that in a book or something?
 
jnbadger said:
Yeah, I think I saw a youtube video from some ex Goldman trader who is selling seminars where he said that if you are above 60%, you're in the professional range. I could easily get to 80%. But if I did that, I wouldn't make any money. The profits would just be too small. I'd love to be at 80% and make 5R on all of my winners. But that just ain't gonna happen.
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Don't want to beat a dead horse (many previous threads here have done so) but general statements ... generally are meaningless.

What someone else does is what someone else does - whether that someone is a professional or not.
 
jnbadger said:
I often wondered why he is still so young and not working at Goldman anymore. (Probably 40ish). And if he made so much money, why is he doing seminars? I remember googling his name, but couldn't find anything on him.
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he probably washed out and didn't make retirement money. Most people don't make retirement money by their early 40's at a firm like Goldman. They will have a few million in net worth but its not enough to be done forever. And a sellside trader is a very different skill than a prop trader or an investor.
 
deaddog said:
Isn't there some sort of 80/20 rule?
It seem like 80 percent of my profits come from 20% of my trades.
One good trade can make your year, one bad loss takes you out of the game.
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I'm not sure, but it may have been Richard Dennis who said all of my profits have come from 5% of my trades. I think that was in the first Market Wizards book. Not sure it was him though.
 
SunTrader said:
Don't want to beat a dead horse (many previous threads here have done so) but general statements ... generally are meaningless.

What someone else does is what someone else does - whether that someone is a professional or not.
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I know. And thank you. I'm a pro by definition. (licensed, working prop), but it doesn't matter. When someone asks me what I do, I just say "stock market". It saves a lot of hassle. I told a couple of people I was a professional stock trader about a year ago. What a pain in the ass.
 
jnbadger said:
... I told a couple of people I was a professional stock trader about a year ago. What a pain in the ass.
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Next time, tell them yer a "stock operator" like Livermore.

Many moons ago as a cab driver in Florida, I picked up this totally drunk guy and drove him home. I told him the fare, was like $12. He said "Well, I'm a stock *insert weird word here, I cannot remember what word he used but it was not broker or operator*, and I had a really good week."

He gave me a $100 tip. I was like, dayum!

Moral of the story? Screw trading. Just drive a cab and pick up drunk stock *insert weird word here*. :-)
 
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