Mystery of Disappearing Proprietary Traders.

[Scataphagos]

Quote from CQNC:

Gambling in other games, be it poker or pool, is a great metaphor for trading the financial markets.

BS! Poker and pool are NOT gambling games.... I've done LOTS of both.

That's 2 STUPID things you've said today.... one more and I'm putting you on IGNORE...

BTW... "trading the markets" has NOTHING to do with "gambling".

You post with bravado and don't know that?

 

[CQNC]

Quote from Scataphagos:

BS! Poker and pool are NOT gambling games.... I've done LOTS of both.

That's 2 STUPID things you've said today.... one more and I'm putting you on IGNORE...

BTW... "trading the markets" has NOTHING to do with "gambling".

You post with bravado and don't know that?

Beat you to it.

 

[Don Bright]

Quote from CQNC:

Very cool you do this. I used to fly to Vegas every other weekend from SFO to blow (it was free money to lose those few years) my options and bonuses. But we were short-sighted, arrogant 20 something pricks thinking we ruled the world. Looking at how the Internet rules our lives now, I guess we were. I miss those days. I would love to be in a weekly game with my mates again, but they've all fled to other pastures.

Let me know if you would care to join us some Saturday 3PM at the Palms.

I too take a little exception about pool, poker and gambling - and I don't think you meant to say that pool and poker don't require skill, obviously they do. And a "game of chance" like roulette is gambling, where blackjack can be either gambling or skill, depending on the player.

I was on the SF trading floor from 79-90 - are you downtown as well?

Don

 

[Scataphagos]

Quote from CQNC:

Beat you to it.

Your loss. I've taken >$100 Million from the markets for myself and clients... I'm a Summa Cum Laude college graduate, and you put ME on ignore? Brilliant!

 

[Don Bright]

Quote from Scataphagos:

Hey Don,

Ever hear of Virgil Grumpke? He was a contemporary of Fats... used to hang out in a pool hall in St. Charles, Mo. He always wore a smile, coat and tie. I remember telling a guy, "watch this old guy play"... my friend said, "what's so great about him.. all he does is shoot short, straight-in shots"... Hahahaha!

Yeah, I wish all I had to do was play "shape" well enough to never have to make long shots (eyes, glasses, etc. getting old, LOL).

The pros make it look easy. I was watching the ladies play over the weekend, Karen Coor was making some unbelievable 9 ball runs.

Don

 

[LEAPup]

Quote from Don Bright:

Interesting read, thanks guys.....my Bloomberg page kept exploding, but I finally got the link to work.

According to my friends at GS, yes they are "re-inventing" themselves to address many of the issues facing the industry today. I don't for a minute think that they either "found Jesus" or had any sort of epiphany, merely another direction to follow.

I am always optimistic about the future, and figure for any doors that close, others will open. As I mentioned previously, I would prefer not to do battle against any big bank prop desk....however, I do have to agree that much of the "dumb money" has stepped back from the game, at least for the time being.

At first review, I liken the last year to my weekly Saturday poker game that my brother and a few others play at the Palms. We have a nice game ( $2 $5 blind with a mandatory "Hard Rock Straddle" of $10 to $50, bringing the blinds up)....sometimes we have visitors from California who may not be quite as proficient as some of the locals - tend to bet more, more risky types. But, sometimes it is the same 9 guys who know each other's play pretty well. Both can be good games, but the "harder" is the one where you know everyone....so, more than ever, we must be aware of who we're competing with in this trading game of ours.

I prefer Mutual fund managers, and many hedge fund managers leaving money on the table for our traders vs. having to compete with the big banks....

FWIW,

Don

Speaking of big banks, I would love to see glass stegall act repealed...

I met a retail banker recently. She was telling me that she had to get her Series 7 along with all of the other "Wealth Management Bankers." Lol! Wealth management bankers...

Anyhow, they are responsible for being chummy enough to find wealthy people, handle their loans, their checking, all banking needs, AND since the greedy bastards at the banks are who they are, these same bankers are responsible for selling investments.

I told her, "I am absolutely stunned. I spend ALL of my working time on investments, and investments ONLY. How well would my Clients do in their investments if I'm also doing all of the above which is totally non related to investments?"

She said, "exactly. Most of the guys I work with know very little about the markets, but one just sold 25M worth of mutual funds to a Client."

Oh yes, they were BB&T proprietary mutual funds...

In the words of the new Gordon Gekko, "greed used to be good. Now it seems it's legal."

Just another reason I hate banks.

I say repeal Glass Stegall, and let banks go back to lending, deposits, eating lunch, etc.,

 

[Scataphagos]

Quote from Don Bright:

Yeah, I wish all I had to do was play "shape" well enough to never have to make long shots (eyes, glasses, etc. getting old, LOL).

The pros make it look easy. I was watching the ladies play over the weekend, Karen Coor was making some unbelievable 9 ball runs.

Don

Corr is a fab player. Grumpke wasn't all that well known beyond locally. He lost in semis of the 1965 (or perhaps it was 1966) World Championships of 15-1, held in Johnson City, Illinois, but he used to hang out where I did. It was a pleasure to watch him maneuver the cue ball short distances around the table for the next easy shot. Personally, I liked to play 1-pocket and $100, 6-ball.

 

[CQNC]

Quote from Don Bright:

Let me know if you would care to join us some Saturday 3PM at the Palms.

I too take a little exception about pool, poker and gambling - and I don't think you meant to say that pool and poker don't require skill, obviously they do. And a "game of chance" like roulette is gambling, where blackjack can be either gambling or skill, depending on the player.

I was on the SF trading floor from 79-90 - are you downtown as well?

Don

Thanks for the invite, but I don't fly to Vegas any more. I'd rather spend my weekends with my kids or not thinking about money. That's my day "job".

No, I meant that poker and pool and other games like them DO require immense dedication to developing skill and experience.

Not my era, and not in SF any more, though my heart's still there.

 

[Don Bright]

Quote from Scataphagos:

Corr is a fab player. Grumpke wasn't all that well known beyond locally. He lost in semis of the 1965 (or perhaps it was 1966) World Championships of 15-1, held in Johnson City, Illinois, but he used to hang out where I did. It was a pleasure to watch him maneuver the cue ball short distances around the table for the next easy shot. Personally, I liked to play 1-pocket and $100, 6-ball.

I love one pocket, can't seem to find any players any more. 6 ball is a great bar game as well....ah, the good ol days, LOL. My biggest "hustle" (if you could call it that) was in college...I would play soooo bad, that I would get spotted the 8 in 9 ball, so either ball would count as a win...that seemed to work pretty well....

One pocket and 6 or 9 ball are obviously so different, but the skill leval of one pocket, when applied to the other games, makes them seem so easy. ...much like how snooker players see pool table pockets as gigantic, and distances so short.

Don

 

[Scataphagos]

Quote from Don Bright:

... I My biggest "hustle" (if you could call it that) was in college...I would play soooo bad, that I would get spotted the 8 in 9 ball, so either ball would count as a win...that seemed to work pretty well....

I used to play in a 24-hour facility in Denver, CO... Celebrity Sports Center. (Named so because of the original celeb investors, like Walt Disney). I hustled with a $4 cue I bought from the local pool supply... put a good tip on it and sanded down the shaft... looked like a "stick off of the rack"... as it was "one piece" could barely fit it into the passenger compartment of my VW Beetle (there were blue chalk marks on the head liner)... LOL! I always shot with an open bridge... made me look like a wannabe... LOL!