On the Path to Profitability

S

Sure Chap

I've been trading on and off for a few years, but recently have gotten much more involved with trading ever since I got a new job and finally a manageable seed amount.

I know I'm close, I've cut my losses short and now actually in the green. I no longer trade high risk stocks our options and have slowly narrowed to equities that track the S&P 500.

How did you as a trader finally reach profitability? Did something kinda click? I'd love to hear stories of how you evolved as a trader. How was it when you finally made it?
 
Sure Chap said:
I know I'm close
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If only I had a dollar for every time I thought this..... LMFAO



Sure Chap said:
How did you as a trader finally reach profitability?
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By accepting; Past results are not indicative of future returns



We are paid for our performance - not yesterday's..., not last week's..., month's or year's

Right here..., right now - with each and every single trade we take / are in

I'm only as good as how I manage the trade I'm in

No two trades are ever alike

No trade's outcome has bearing on the last trade's outcome..., or the next trade's

Mkt goes through many cycles.., some lasting decades - need to survive.., and thrive - in them all


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I wholeheartedly congratulate you for this

Sure Chap said:
I've cut my losses short and now actually in the green.
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That is after all - our job - risk managers fist..., profit takers second

Each and every day..., each and every trade..., throughout the mkt's cycles..., no matter what the mkt throws at us..., or when..., or to what extent..., and throughout our own human-ness

Till we retire..., go bust..., or die

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Not trying to dissuade you btw..., simply not blowing sunshine up yer skirt

Trading is the best gig I know of - if one can

Yet it's the absolute worst hell imaginable - if one can't..., or even worse - thinks they almost can



Every trade I take holds the potential to blow my self the hell up - will this be the one I allow to do that?

Just a little ole food for thought Sir - from a rather simpleminded dumbass redneck

RN
 
Redneck said:
If only I had a dollar for every time I thought this..... LMFAO
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Excellent remark! :thumbsup:

Only after trading a few years you know this.

I started my trading "career" in forex. The first month I made net +50% and had not a single losing trade. The second time this happened I was about 10 years older I think..... :wtf:

I found many times the perfect system... for a short time. And then I found it again, and again and again...
Now I don't search for the perfect system anymore.
 
I was there 2 years back for 9 months, been close ever since.

KISS keep it simple stupid is my secret, never has been KISS been such hard work, pretty much always room for simpler.


Don't do a Bush and claim you've won then fight on for 10 more years :)
 
Redneck said:
Right here..., right now - with each and every single trade we take / are in

I'm only as good as how I manage the trade I'm in
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Besides my ability to manage trades I am currently in, I also believe I am only as good as my ability to manage myself to not to enter trades, particularly after a streak of winning or losing trades.
 
Sure Chap said:
I no longer trade high risk stocks or options and have slowly narrowed to equities that track the S&P 500.

How did you as a trader finally reach profitability? Did something kinda click? I'd love to hear stories of how you evolved as a trader. How was it when you finally made it?
More...

High risk is not necessarily that bad, if the reward more than warrants it. -- But it definitely requires more skill.
Many people will most likely be wiped out trying to surf monster waves for that rush or reward.

Something in trading success Always needs to "kinda click" -- if not, you're just being a blind foolish gambler. :confused::)

The best trades/traders are discretionary, in my opinion.
Have an open free mind, but still analytical.
and KISS: keep it simple stupid.
I'd like to tell you more specifics -- but I'd have to kill you
 
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lawrence-lugar said:
High risk is not necessarily that bad, if the reward more than warrants it. -- But it definitely requires more skill.
Many people will most likely be wiped out trying to surf monster waves for that rush or reward.

Something in trading success Always needs to "kinda click" -- if not, you're just being a blind foolish gambler. :confused::)

The best trades/traders are discretionary, in my opinion.
Have an open free mind, but still analytical.
and KISS: keep it simple stupid.
I'd like to tell you more specifics -- but I'd have to kill you
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Good luck with that. It's a lot easier to sell discretionary day trading to noobs than it is to make it profitable, even profitable for just a few weeks, for any individual. Did you see AAPL's 1 minute HFT pump last week? I've never seen HFT have such a fractal-like effect on higher time frame price action. Good bye to days of carbon-based price action / profitability..wake up and smell the silicon folks.
 
profitlocker said:
Not any more for intraday. The best daytraders today are semi-automated
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I am a discretionary intraday trader and I am 75% automated. Discretionary does not mean "manually" trading. It means that the trader can use own input besides of computerized input.
Everything that is not 100% automated is a form of discretionary trading. That's my opinion.
I sometimes see things while trading that I cannot see in purely automated trading. A well trained trader can see in seconds things that are, for most of us, impossible to be programmed.
 
IAN

I agree 100%. I see semi-automation as a form of discretionary trading. Your approach is similar to mine. I use my own inputs to handicap the instruments I trade, and then micro-manage the trade. Automation is to ensure execution (speed/fill) and provide fail-safe and target orders.
 
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