My understanding of trading improved the most when I took years off

I

IronFist

There is a story I should tell. I have played guitar since I was young. I took lessons and got pretty good but I could never play the stuff I wanted to -- progressive metal. I would listen to it but I never understood how to play all the awesome solos. I didn't know how you knew which modes went with which progressions. I could play all the normal stuff, Metallica, Nirvana, etc., but that wasn't what I wanted to play. And so I stopped playing for like 8 years because I wasn't enjoying it anymore.

Not too long ago I started up again. Even though it took me a bit to get my technique down again, I started to learn the stuff that I never knew before, and my brain seemed to understand it. I am so much more skilled now than I was before. It's like taking the time off allowed my brain to reboot or something and approach things fresh. I may have dropped mental blocks I once had.

When it comes to trading, I used to spend so much time trying to understand everything. To learn the indicators, lol, price action, to develop a profitable system. Not only was I unsuccessful, I never met anyone else who did, either. I approached it from many angles.

Sure, I met a lot of people on this forum who claim to be profitable, however most of them just post such ambiguous nonsense that should they actually have a profitable system, which they assuredly don't, but if they did, no one could possibly learn from them. Platitudes abound. Look at someone's thread here that is called 10 rules for traders, and everyone is like "follow your system." Almost definitely no one has a profitable system, but they all get pissed when they break their rules, and act like that's the reason they aren't making money. It's like if you're taking a sham muscle product and forget to take it one day and then use that as your reason for why you haven't bulked up.

I have a met a lot of smart people here.

PocketChange is fucking smart and with a single post literally changed the way I thought about trading more than anyone else here.
1a2c3cppp is fucking smart and has probably the least tolerance for bullshit of anyone here, including me.
Handle123 is fucking smart.
Some other dude whose name I forget but I think was ProfitTakingFool, the guy who trades counter trend, is fucking smart.
lindq is fucking smart I think even though he won't answer my PM.

I tried to learn price action but when I made a thread about it rather soon it turned into a gigantic pile of shit with advice being posted by people who were admittedly unprofitable. I'm not saying unprofitable people cannot post, but they shouldn't act as if what they are saying is correct. I know everyone likes to get into the teacher mindset, though. I am unprofitable and I am posting, but I am trying to learn.

That thread paved the way to me meeting someone who traded with Anek and was as close to calling tops and bottoms as anyone I've ever seen. I have no idea if Anek was actually a trader because there was a lot of suspicion about him, but what I learned from this other guy modified how I see the market. I wouldn't say it was a system except maybe more of a framework with which to see the market, although I was only taught bits and pieces of it. Humorously, 1a2b3cppp had a thread where he was trading in a very similar way that almost everyone was talking nonsense about (specifically, using a 5 second chart). However, I took years off from trading or trying to learn anyway. I'm back on this forum now and ready to check things out from a different viewpoint. What is awesome is that I get now that all price based indicators are useless. I would like to study the DOM again. A guy here had a system that seemed to show imbalances in indicator form. I am not sure if he posts here anymore though.
 
IronFist said:
I'm not saying unprofitable people cannot post, but they shouldn't act as if what they are saying is correct
More...

a lot of people are looking for teacher here... consciously or unconsciously..., and the first thing thing they think when they read the post is: who is this guy, what are his credentials, is he full of money or full of shit, should i trust him or ignore him?... :)

when one is not looking for the teacher, he does not care who is saying , why he is saying, when is he saying, one only reads what is he saying, is the value in what is said or not..

the problem with newbies usually they can not figure-out what is value, but they think they can figure out the man (he just have to show them his statements) :)
 
I'm sure you've thought about this, but here it goes anyways: Do you really think making your own money printer is going to be easy? Something anybody can just copy and then we all make lots of new money, resources, lifestock, land, wildlife and pristine nature? Really? Because, in the end, that's what it bogs down to, and will be evident in next 50 years that's what we have to choose between. So even if many here makes it, the system may crack down on it at any time anyways.

So no. It's not going to be easy, and anybody selling you their higher highs and lower lows, are banking on your hard-earned money, time and efforts, your risk.

That said, I suspect our brains, and others', may be working on what we most desire even as we don't know about it - especially when we let it go, by ie. pursuing other interests, but basically when we let it go. Intellect is especially bad at this, and often stands in the way of innovation and progress.

'nuff said. Probably many better ways to say things, but had to be said now.
 
From the thread title I was expecting that you had turned profitable or had some kind of results, but it seems the only thing you're telling us is that you're better at playing the guitar and that indicators are useless (are they?).

Anyway, I have similar experiences taking breaks. It can be helpful, I think. The unconscious tends to work and process what you've learned.

Also, if you've been a way for a long time, you may be generally more mature in your thinking.
 
IronFist...I remember you from years ago. Back then I didn't write much, but would read as much as I could late at night...life was too BUSY then. Anyways, I remember you being very frustrated. Frustrated at your own personal experience with trading and also at the responses to your questions about trading. You showed a lot of determination at the time because I think you asked more questions and wanted more clarification/elaboration than anyone else on this site. I remember thinking...this guy needs to quit looking for the "answers" from every body else and start a more personal approach...but he definitely isn't ever going to give up! I also realize people get impatient and can't help but seek answers outside of themselves until the frustration/pain forces this personal journey. Maybe this path is beginning? This "path" should have minimal INFLUENCE from others. I never give specific trading advice...it confuses people without full disclosure. My path was certainly like the above. Good Luck!!!!!!!!! P.S. If you can join a prop firm and sit next to a super trader for a long period of time...this would be a good alternative...very unlikely opportunity, though.
 
After reading this thread post and the replies...three letters pop into my head: WTF
wtf.jpg

o_O:confused: (...i equate more words...with more bs. -- no offense to anyone)
 
lawrence-lugar said:
After reading this thread post and the replies...three letters pop into my head: WTF
wtf.jpg

o_O:confused: (...i equate more words...with more bs. -- no offense to anyone)
More...
L-L...I think your're correct. I've tried too hard to be a therapist for struggling traders and it's just too difficult to tell a "story" or get psychological without writing a messy essay. Whats the alternative? There's too many one sentence assholes on this site as well...sometimes saying the truth but without any context. Why do they repeat the same things, the same way, if they hardly ever STICK? The truth is the truth, but if the message doesn't get through...it's time for diplomacy? Sometimes I want to tell the other experienced traders to shut the f**k up, because they said the same thing the same way a thousand times! I can be as much of a hard ass as anybody...direct...condescending...impatient...short to the point...would that be better? For all the "teachers" on this site, give a unique perspective or don't say anything at all. That's the problem, it's difficult to give a unique perspective in one sentence, and many of us aren't that good at story telling.:D PEACE OUT
 
We all start from different backgrounds and upbringing. That colors not only yours but all the people their perspective on things. Some people realize this and begin to work on 'how' they see the world. Other people are just getting older, before they realize things change in how they see the world...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top