Quitting Trading
- Thread starter jasper6
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Slapshot, I do realize it will take time to learn how to properly trade but what if you select some really fine companies and not trade so much and just hold on? When do you decide its time to get out rather than hold on to a roller coaster all the way to the bottom. I think one problem is trading so much, which is fun but no guarentee to success.
What method do you use and have you had success with? Why was it successful and what did you do at the start that took a long time to learn how to trade.
I went to an Investools seminar, I realize that to some that is a joke but it does get you to the point you desire to learn more. I do want to learn. I spend hours and hours everyday to pick up as much as I can as quickly as I can.
What method do you use and have you had success with? Why was it successful and what did you do at the start that took a long time to learn how to trade.
I went to an Investools seminar, I realize that to some that is a joke but it does get you to the point you desire to learn more. I do want to learn. I spend hours and hours everyday to pick up as much as I can as quickly as I can.
Trading is fun because it is gambling.
As someone who played online poker professionally for two years, I am not trying to cast trading in a negative light with that statement. I'm just trying to make you aware of what you are getting in to.
If you want to invest, that is fine. Learn all you can about it. Your question on how to know when to get out of a long term investment is a good starting place, and maybe some others can suggest some resources here.
If you want to trade as well, I suggest you place an iron wall between your trading and investing activities. If you want to trade for fun, don't do it with more money than you would feel comfortable losing in Vegas.
If you want to trade for a living, it will require a tremendous amount of study and preparation. I don't see why someone in your situation would want to do this, because, to be honest, gambling for a living is not anywhere near as much fun as it sounds to people who gamble for entertainment. Your time would be better spent managing your investments and enjoying the fruits of what you have built over the course of your life until now.
Just because you have a 95K account doesn't mean you need to trade 10 lots on the ES. Trading real money is VERY different from papertrading. Papertrading only proves your method is profitable. Trading real money introduces FEAR into the equation. Not everyone can trade with money on the line, it can cloud your judgement.
The other thing that introduces fear is trading too big of a position (10 ES could certainly be, even with an account larger than 95K) - then consequently, having stops too tight, which causes you to get hacked up in the long run.
In my experience, making money day trading (especially, leaning towards the scalping side) IN THE LONG RUN, is much much harder than 'swing trading' (which could end up being a day trade) with reasonable scaling in/out and more realistic stops (and lots of PATIENCE and selectivity).
There have been a number of posts recently along the line of "I'm in my 50s and my life is washed up."
What a crock of shit. At 51, the OP has 15 years until normal retirement, some money in the bank, and he's lucky enough to live in a country where anything is possible.
You're feeling sorry for yourself? Think about the 10s of thousands of folks your (our) age who have lost their businesses in the past 2 years. Savings wiped out, in debt. Many then lost their homes.
Any you might also want to think about the millions on the planet who can't even eat, and who sleep in fiflth every night.
Get a hold of yourself. And get off your ass. The problem is your attitude, and you need to change it.
So you can't make a living trading. Welcome to the 99% club. That still leaves about 3,000 other professions to get into.
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