Quote from bigpapi:
I see you making many rookie mistakes that are driven by emotion. I'm pretty sure this was your downfall in trading. Sorry for the tough love but I think you need some so you can begin to see the light. See below:
I am a new trader in the game. I have been actively trading for a year. I blew up half of my account due to listen to others, self-learning from books and wrote naked puts.
Although it's great that it took you whole entire year to blow up only half of your account (most blow up entirely in 3 to 6 months) you still seek the advice of others at this message board and at ota, which you list as one of the reasons for your downfall.
You can't say I am lazy and didn't spend time to learn. I did spend lots of time learn and observe my investing.
Yet you are not going to change your approach, and continue spending time and money to "learn". What makes you think OTA holds the holly grail that is finally going to make you profitable after all you've learned?
I am just in the phase of not sure what to do next with half of my account.
So while you make up your mind, you hand your money over to a "school" to make up your mind for you.
I enrolled OTA. I am attending the 7 day Pro-Trader class in Feb.
I am looking at most of your posts. Most of you think the courses are wasting money and time.
Yes, just like all of that time you spent "learning" and still did not learn what you were really supposed to be learning.
I will have to say I am skeptical about it too even though I have already sent money to them.
You're skeptical yet you write a check for 6k.
But I really don't know what else I should do with my account. I need education and be more confident!
"Education" is not the answer. You have already educated yourself. I'm sure you can make a trade just like anyone of us can, but why do you think some of us are profitable and you are not? It's not that you lack education, at the expense of sounding cocky, it's that your approach to trading is wrong and ours is right. We probably take the same trades you do but you don't make money, yet there's people making a living out of this.
I want to post here and let everyone know whether the course benefits me or not. I would like to share my experience with all the new traders who are serious about trading and willing to learn.
We can probably predict what is going to happen, you will learn a few systems here and there (which you can learn for free on your own by browsing around) make a few good trades in class, maybe make a couple of good trades after class, but, those classes are just a rewording of the top trading books. You can save money by buying the top trading books, but some prefer a live seminar type setting, if that's you, go for it, it's your money.
But unless you learn about your the proper approach to trading and proper money management you will eventually lose. May take another year, but the odds are against you. It's like a casino, you get lucky in the beginning but the pit bosses know those chips are coming in sooner or later.
My point is that these "schools" and "gurus" thrive on people in your situation. In an industry with a 95% failure rate, believe me, they have their sales pitches down pat and they're probably raking in millions.
I attended both the All Star event and the Pro trader event. To be fair, I have to say I was very disguised by those "hard-sell". They are selling education not clothing, fish and groceries. Being that desperate just degrade their brand and products.
They are desperate, because they know if they give you time to think and look around, you will realize what you are getting yourself into. I have nothing against OTA or other "education" sources, I am just saying you have to find the real problem with your approach, and it is not that you don't know how to trade, trading is the easiest thing in the world. It is your approach to trading. Ask around for some good books or videos, I personally always recommend (any books by these authors, I just consider these the best)
Jack Schwager - Stock Market Wizards
Mark Douglas - Trading In The Zone
van K. Tharp - Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom
If these authors can't help you improve, I don't think anyone will.
Best of luck. Let us know how it turns out.
