Quote from LongShot:
yes, that's exactly what I mean.
look again, everything considered don't you think that generally the *real* threads tend to remain on topic? It's the BS threads with their BS topics that get just what they ask for and deserve ...slaughtered!
I agree. Most of the trading threads tend to stay more focused. Most but not all. But when a thread gets any real attention....meaning it goes on for a while, no matter what the content, it will usually get off track. (See "superstition, luck and Voodo" for an example that comes to mind...had a zillion responses and posts; and was eventually closed). My point was that a limited number of people seem to thrive in taking any discussion off topic. And usually with an agenda. Usually having to do with the topics that are so dear to their hearts and so very difficult to discuss without raising emotions and tempers....ie: religion and politics. But those topics are important. And if discussion leads to at least understanding and empathizing with another point of view, then much is accomplished. Or can be.
There is indeed more to life than just trading. And discussions that go on in "chit-chat" serve as a good distraction. I don't believe it is healthy to only think about and discuss trading alone. Makes for a very limited and boring life. The world is a mess now, and topics other than trading are a real part of life. Where better to discuss them than on a forum visited by people from the world over and from every imaginable background. I can sit in my office in South Florida and discuss international politics with people pretty much like myself....mostly representative of where I live. Mostly liberal. Mostly Jewish. Mostly affluent. Or, I can come here and discuss things with a guy like Traderfut, who is an Islamic Arab living in France. An intelligent guy with a completely different perspective than my own. And a guy that it is unlikely that I would find myself sitting next to at my office. With whom is the discussion going to be more interesting? On the one hand, I could essentially be talking to the mirror. On the other, I get to hear a point of view in real time, from a real person who will respond directly to me (as opposed to just reading Arabic opinions in the press, etc.). So, again, I think the "BS" threads, and the chit-chat forum serve a worthwhile purpose. Maybe not an important purpose in the context of trading, but again, there is more to life.
As far as your question about my posting about trading, I thought I answered it pretty comprehensively in the thread that turned into a "feud" between me and Max401. Since that thread is now closed, I can't quote from it....I will try and cut and paste it...let's see if this works:
Ahh...it seems to have worked, so here, again, is my answer:
Very true...I have confined myself to the "chit chat" threads pretty exclusively.
Reason......here anything and everything can be discussed. And is. You can agree, disagree, etc. and no one really cares.
Trading has been my profession for 14+ years. I did several threads (started them and wrote a lot of posts) and pretty much said what I had to say. I got an amazing amount of private messages. Most of them were written to thank me for my efforts. However, I also got quite a few slams (mostly on the public forums).
It is my belief that everyone has to develop a style of their own. In my "keeping it simple" and "successful trading" threads (and others that elude me at the moment), I gave the "advice" that I felt could be used pretty universally. I never believed that anyone could teach a specific way to trade. And I did not try. I only tried to give general advice that would work for any style.
I don't know what else to say about trading. I would never presume to know how to teach or even recommend a style that would be exactly suitable to anyone but me. I think trading is pretty much self-learned. That is not to say that basic principals can't be taught. That was what I attempted to do.
I think anyone that takes the time to read those threads will know whatever I know that I can actually spell out. All basic stuff about discipline, accountability, etc. I never once even attempted to give advice on what to trade, how to trade, how to time exits and entries, what kinds of TA to use, none of that.
I will always be happy to share whatever I think would be universally useful. But I don't know that I haven't already said it all. Any questions, I will try to answer. But first, I would suggest reading those threads. I did a lot of work and spent a lot of time on them. I would hate to just repeat myself.
Also, I have been trading much less for the past several months. This is just a matter of waiting for the market to "come to me", which I talked about extensively already. I KNOW I cannot force trades. I said very clearly that sometimes the hardest part of trading is knowing when NOT to trade. So in this environment, I have spent much less time trading. And much more time trying to improve my golf game. Hopefully we will start to see more of a trend in the market. For the past few months, it seems like it's one day up and one day down. Days like today....I went out of the office for an hour...the Dow was up 90 when I left and down 90 when I returned. volatility is good for trading, for me. But recognizing the difference between volatility and "choppiness" is important, and I just see a lot of "chop" lately. I am a "simple" guy. I like a "simple" market. I like to buy dips in an up market and sell run- ups in a down market. I don't trade into fed announcements or big numbers (or earnings these days). I am waiting for it to get easier.
Aphie asked recently something about the market not "doing what it should". Well the market does whatever the participants make it do. Sometimes traders (and ALL the public) think the "market" does things. The "market" doesn't do anything. We ARE the market. When stocks went up every day, bad news was ignored. When stocks went down every day, good news was ignored. It's all about psychology. When the market (meaning traders, and investors when there used to be such a thing) are confused, the reactions are confusing. So until things "clear up" for me, I am better off trading less, chit-chatting more, and working on my short game.
One other thing has halted my amount of contribution to the trading forums. That is the pervasive attitude that successful traders "don't share". I have addressed this too many times. I think it's such a completely false assumption. I think virtually all successful traders are secure enough to KNOW that no matter what they "divulge" will never come back and adversely affect their trading. But I am tired of defending this position. So rather than come off as a "blowhard" as I have been called by some, because I have been so adamant about my feelings on this subject, and since I feel there is no upside to defending it, what is the sense of posting my thoughts about trading? Those who agree with me agree, and already know what I know, and those who are looking for "secrets" will never get them from me. Because I don't know any.
Peace,
Rs7
If you or anyone would like me to post my thoughts about any specific aspect of trading I have not already addressed, I will be glad to when I have the time (fortunately my wife returns from Israel today, so my time will be more limited). But I will not, as I never have, get specific in any way that I do not think will be generally helpful to all. In other words, I will not address technical approaches to trading (using oscillators, stuff like that). I would not ever want to feel responsible for someone taking my own specific techniques and having them not work out for them. I have always tried to limit my passing of knowledge to the few but important aspects of trading that will help virtually everyone regardless of style, temperament, size of account, etc.
Again, there are no "secrets". I wish there were, and I wish I knew them. I don't if there are, and I don't believe I am missing anything even if they exist. Because common sense tells me that any "secret technique" cannot remain secret for long, and this seems well documented by the fact that the very best money managers, the very best mutual fund managers, the very best hedge fund managers don't seem to be able to hold a candle to the outstanding performance we hear about here on ET. The guys that get returns of thousands of percent per year. I clearly claimed to be more than happy to get a 1/10th of 1 percent return per day. Which adds up to a nice return per year. But certainly not the 5% per day (and the like) I hear about here. If I believed these numbers, I would gladly give all my money to these guys. Of course they would have no need for my money. They would end up with the entire wealth of the planet in a very short time with whatever funds they start with. They wouldn't need much!!
Peace,
rs7
