Traders Block

Very well said.

Quote from mschey:

Someone who just started trading this summer might think that the market recently has been chopping around quite nicely. For those of us who had the good fortune of trading a 50 vol market, we think this is a dead market. What it comes down to: Perception is reality. The reality is......there is opportunity in every market, we just have to open our eyes to see it.
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Quote from antony_ny:

the market has been extremelyt volatile. I would not buy and hold long term, i would play the swings, day trades following news, do not assume on companies reporting on the same day you are buying, stay away from that day, and follow the trend, the trend is your best friend
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I don't understand why anyone would want to complain about volatility.

Back in may I thought the volumes were gonna drop to zero.

Thank god the range has increased a bit, but cm'on, it still sucks!
 
I wonder if anyone is expecting a big shift in volatility and volumes in the near or far futures,
it can't keep on going forever like that, can it?

:confused:
 
Quote from Bitstream:

I wonder if anyone is expecting a big shift in volatility and volumes in the near or far futures,
it can't keep on going forever like that, can it?

:confused:
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for large caps - expect the squeeze to continue.

for med/small caps the vol is still there.

i firmly believe liquidity plays a big part in vol. more liquidity, les vol(atility).
 
I think trading is a lot like chess. In chess you have two kinds of players, one who is booksmart and another who is intuitive.
The booksmart player has many advantages over the average intuitive player, as he would learn from studying thousands of games throughout the years.
The intuitive player has one edge over the booksmart player, that is, he becomes much better at evaluating current conditions and learning from mistakes on the run. So that if faced with a completly new variation of the game he can improvise; the booksmart player will have to count on the game staying within known variations. [a good example of this is the game between casparov and karpov].
Given enough experience both players are equally competitive.
I believe that the intuitive trader has that same advange, he develops the capability to read the market and learn as he goes, when faced upon a totally new situation he'll be able to profit from it; or at least gain back his ground. While the methodic trader will have to fold back.

I believe that both trading methods are equally profitable, as intuition becomes sharper with time, and the methodic trader learns to adapt to new conditions.
 
actually, physical speed is an edge in alot of trading, much like videogaming. i've seen traders who perform better because they can simply click faster and maneuver their positions like a bolt of lightning. i run a desk, and i see this happening everyday. two guys have the same ideas, but one guy always seems to make twice as much cos he gets the better fills just on his hand dexterity.

Quote from KevinL:

From a very wise trader:

It's been said a million times by a lot of pretty bright people that 90% of this game is mental. I think that's wrong. 100% of this game is mental. Think about it, what's the physical aspect??Pushing a button? Picking up the phone? Please, don't stress yourself!

Each and every day of our investing lives we have to make decisions. Those decisions will spell the difference between winning or losing.But what forms our decisions? Emotions and Information. So, it's quite obvious that the mental game "is" the game, and how we think is paramount to how we do.

The old adage, and one that I put a large degree of faith in is the idea that in investing fear and greed run the roost. When investors are afraid, they do indeed tend to sell. But then greed factors in, and let’s face it, we only buy stocks for one purpose, to see if they can increase our net worth. Depending on our view of the present fear, or the lack of fear, and our concept of making money (the greed part) we base a lot of our decisions.

If you are doing any type of personal investing, in any of the common markets, whether it's stocks, bonds, options, or commodities, you have picked a very solitary game. Unlike playing on a football team or baseball team, where a poor performance can be made up for by team mates, in this game, if you screw up, you are alone. Think about it like this: Let’s say you are a running back on the college team. But, you are in a funk, your girlfriend left you, and you are miserable. So, your first run sees you lose two yards. Your second run produces a fumble.

In a matter of moments, the coach is in your face. What's your problem?? Are you sick? Should I bench you in favor of Jasper over there? Where's your head at? Even if he puts you back in, the Quarterback already knows the deal. Soon, instead of running hand off plays, he's passing to the tight ends and wide outs. Even if your performance is dismal at best, the other guys can pick up your slack and you can still win the game.
In investing, you are playing a game more like tennis. You have your opponent (the market) and you. If you screw up, there is no one to save you. No team mate will pick up the slack. Just like in tennis, it's one on one. In each set, the "better man" will win. Since we aren't talking about using the muscles in our arms and legs, since we aren’t talking about brute force of smashing a ball past your opponent like a guided missile, what are we talking about? A one on one session of mental chess.

Our game is all mental. Do we buy, do we sell? If China does this, what happens to that? If rates go higher, will my stock be affected? If this company earns well, will I be rewarded? On and on it goes, with ever widening layers of questions to be answered. If you think that you can drift into this type of one on one, against a very formidable opponent (the market) without the right mental attitude, let me remind you of how fast you will become broke. Can you say, instantly??

Hope this helps.

Kevin Lam
klam@gfetc.com
Full Service Futures & Forex Broker
Global Futures Exchange & Trading Company
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I think all you need is a little R&R (rest and relaxation) for about two weeks. Take a vacation and forget about the markets for a while. Try something new for a change. When you do get back into the market and start making profits again, don't get caulky and sh*t, cause that's when the markets will HUMBLE you back into your sorry ass, which will then trigger your trader's block again.
 
The extent to which you get fu*ked up is the extent to which you don't know your market.
There is no cure.
Except to know your market.
:)
 
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