Mentors and education

btw I completely agree with your point re don't trade live til consistent on sim first
I disagree. There is no better training than sink or swim.

I never traded sim, I just made sure I traded very small size (compared to my capital) to start. It is effectively similar to paying tuitions.
 
I never traded sim, I just made sure I traded very small size (compared to my capital) to start.

ironchef,

I hear that phrase "trade small"alot. Can you explain a bit with some examples what you mean? Meaning risking 1% of account per trade, or something else?
 
2. Whoever you hire, ask to see 5 years of tax trading broker records. Have them screen share into their broker account via skype so you really see they make money. Have them screenshare skype for a week to watch them trade live . Get a 3rd party audit of their trading records.

That is all I can say if you trying to hire a mentor.
Think about it @SimpleMeLike, if I am that good, why bother to get into the business of mentorship for money? You think @PoopyDeek will mentor me for $15 an hour. :p

I quoted Edward Deming a few times here: There is no substitute for profound knowledge. To me, understand the fundamentals of finance, economics and pricing is the first step to be a good trader, just like studying/understanding Newton's Laws is key to be a good mechanical engineer.
 
Think about it @SimpleMeLike, if I am that good, why bother to get into the business of mentorship for money? You think @PoopyDeek will mentor me for $15 an hour. :p

My point Exactly!! Finally someones says what I been wanting to say for awhile. I been trading 4 years unprofitable, and lets say now I am profitable, trading 10 ES contracts making $10k a week. What is the point in me mentoring someone now to show them how to make money? My fee would be like $200K just to teach you. And even that is too much stress because the trader may make mistakes.

Maybe I am just too simple, but the shit makes no sense to me. If I decide to be a mentor, the least I can do is show you my tax returns AT MY HOUSE in person or show you an audit of my trading records from a 3rd party private company. I haven't seen noone do this yet.
 
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ironchef,

I hear that phrase "trade small"alot. Can you explain a bit with some examples what you mean? Meaning risking 1% of account per trade, or something else?
I don't like to talk about sizes, but for you I will make an exception.

I normally hold ~ 50-100 contracts in each position, sometimes more. When I tried new things, e.g., I tried lots of butterflies last year, each was just one contract, most all were losers, but so what.
 
Maybe I am just too simple, but the shit makes no sense to me. If I decide to be a mentor, the least I can do is show you my tax returns AT MY HOUSE in person or show you an audit of my trading records from a 3rd party private company. I haven't seen noone do this yet.
It makes sense to me if the mentor teaches fundamentals, not winning recipes. The dilemma for us traders is that understanding fundamentals alone do not make us good traders.
 
It makes sense to me if the mentor teaches fundamentals, not winning recipes. The dilemma for us traders is that understanding fundamentals alone do not make us good traders.
Yes, I can agree with that. Teaching me the fundamentals, mindset, and skills on what to do and what not to do, I can accept that. But if you selling me a strategy/system, i need proof.
 
I don't like to talk about sizes, but for you I will make an exception.

I normally hold ~ 50-100 contracts in each position, sometimes more. When I tried new things, e.g., I tried lots of butterflies last year, each was just one contract, most all were losers, but so what.
Thanks for the explanation. I get it.
 
I do not make money trading,., yet.
It takes courage to admit. My hat off to you.

One humble suggestion. We amateur retails should avoid joining the school of minnows who are fish meals for big fish/sharks. You don't want to provide liquidity to the professionals and market makers.

In other words, find a place where there are few professionals. @Same Lazy Element said, he needed scale, couldn't trade without scale and you don't want to be on the other side of his trade.

Best to you.
 
I have been a full time intraday trader for over five years. I tried numerous strategies only to eventually have them break down or not have enough consistency. I even taught myself computer programming and began coding my own algos, but due to the inherent risk of constantly over optimizing I watch them make money until they eventually break down as well.

Just my opinion:
I would suggest to trade less, way less. Focus on what works for you, even if it is 1 trade a week. Get rid of all losing strategies and get rid of 1 min charts.
Even if I day trade futures, my best strategy produces an average of 2 to 3 trades per month and it is just directional option call and put of SPX or SPY (positions for 1 to 5 days).
Regarding algos and automatic trading, I really think that inside our home offices, we just can't compete. Also, I think one of the best quality for a discretionary trader is patience.
Last but not least, being contrarian as a discretionary trader will not help. Follow the crowd, follow the trend.
Best
 
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