Transition: loser to winner

[QdzResurrection]

There is only one way the market will go and only one way that people can earn market. That is going up! 100% up room to go. It's not too late. Enjoy and have fun.

 

[oddiduro]

Quote from 1contract:

I wonder if anyone who has made this transition would be prepared to say how it was for them. I'm not looking for strategies or trading advice, but information on the process of turning the corner.

Was it the result of a single insight?
Was it the result of help or mentoring?
How long did it take - were you bk even for a long time?
Did you oscillate between winning/losing for a while?
When you become profitable - do you ever feel you might lose it again - or is it like riding a bike, where you can't imagine not being able to do it?

One day I'd like to be able to respond to this thread )

Thx

Easier said than done, but write yourself a system that works and automate it. This removes the whole emotion discipline thing, and gives you time to do other things.

Things will come over small, multiple insights. For me it was very much like the apple falling on the head thing, so much so that I keep a pencil and pad next to my bed, as I have awaken many nights and written code.

I blew out about 8 accounts over five years. Once profitable, you will have the components to stay that way.

You will also find that the more money you have to trade a system with, the easier it is write a system that will give you a living income, as the system need not be that efficient.

Regards
Oddi

 

[oddiduro]

Quote from ChartingMarkets:

Most of my success in trading comes from having a great defense.
I consider my game of trading sometimes to be akin to football. I try to play year to year as the number one defense with a great running game. I go for conservative yards.. and once I see them not covering the receivers (aka the easy money) I pass the ball and take the long yardage.

Defensive means...watching your stops. Make sure your losses are small and as for your winners, those stocks going in the right direction, you keep trailing stops on either physical or mental. Learn how to take partial profits on the way up and you will feel the pressure of trading begin to ease over time as you start cashing in green. Its a long marathon not a sprint in this game. The easy money in trading probably occurs 2 trading days per month and either you miss it or you don't. Its your job to stay alert at all times and know your game plan. Remember we are playing against experts and novices alike and you have to stay sharp out there in order to win those playoff spots year over year.

A friend of mine and a long time trader once told me over a decade ago when I was starting out, that it's the traders job to be ready for those couple of days where the money is just being given away. The other 90% of the time play defensive, defensive, defensive and move the ball methodically.

This is very good, listen to this.

My personal analogy is like baseball, and if you can bat over .300 in this game, you are going to do very well.

 

[oddiduro]

Quote from rcmcdougall:

I read this over the weekend and thought it was relevant to this thread. I certainly need to re-evaluate my expectations about how long it usually takes to become profitable...

Quote from Linda Bradford Raschke earlier this year:

I think that the initial learning curve tends to be a bit longer than people estimate. On average, it tends to be around three years. Many people are attracted to this business because they perceive there to be unlimited upside in earnings potential. However, the first few years, many are lucky to just scrape by. The people that I see do best as traders are people who like to play games (such as cards, bridge, backgammon, etc) and understand game theory. You trade because you like to win….the dollars are a way of keeping score. The passion for trying to figure out the game must be there, because during your initial apprenticeship with the market, more likely you will be paying the market to teach you. It is OK to read books, go to seminars, learn from other traders in the beginning…but ultimately if you are to be successful, you must learn how to play your own game. This means that you must believe in your own analysis, and not listen to other people or second guess yourself. And this type of confidence can only come from repeated observations and study over time.

More good advice.

 

[oddiduro]

Quote from Pabst:



LOL!! Of course going broke "requires" a lack of discipline. Who knows whether in one year, ten years, or thirty years when their own season will change? There is a prevalent yet dangerous fallacy among younger traders that getting over an arbitrary experience threshold guarantees long term monetary success. Nothing can be further from the truth. Many of you twenty something gentlemen are in your trading/personal prime. You're living in nice apartments, dating pretty girls, and making enough money to give you the illusion of both prosperity and security. Now let's look ahead as you perfect your craft with age.

All of sudden you're now 45. You've been trading for twenty years. If skilled you may have a nice home virtually paid for, a million in your account/bank, a wife and kids. But inside you something has changed. Maybe you have an affair with that hot chick you met cross town. Then your wife finds out and voila', you're dream house...gone. Half your liquid assets...gone. The lolita that caused your life to turn into such turmoil...gone. Now you're back in that one-bedroom apartment that you started in, twenty years earlier. At 45 you clearly have more experience and savvy than you did starting out. Even post divorce, you have more money then you did back in those days of prop shop trading during the boom. But now your expectations, your longing for what you had and what you lost, places you in a position where the notion of regrouping and remembering what made you a success is as remote as the blind mans memory of squinting in the morning sun. Now you're pressing, overtrading, chasing the mythical dragon. Next thing you know, you're being sued for child support, and unable to afford an attorney, you spend a night in county jail, your jaw fractured by a fellow inmate who thinks you're some rich asshole. This story happens every day to some formally happy to be trading more than one year, now I've made it trader.

Solution: Do not get married. Have girlfriends, partners, mistresses, no wives.

Worst business deal on the planet if you are a male.

 

[oddiduro]

Quote from Rc51Rob:

I guess I'm just the exception to the rule, I paper-traded for 3 months, thought about using a stock picking service, decided against that and sold my beloved motorcyle to open a trading account with $6000, that was the first of August and I as of today my account is $8954, almost a 50% increase in 3 months, not bad for a newbie, anyone else get this lucky?

Not luck: Bull market.

 

[oddiduro]

Quote from mrmarket:

I'm not sure if my system really applies here, but I have 42 consecutive closed profitable trades of 15% or better.

Mr Market has unlimited drawdown, avoid this.

 

[oddiduro]

Quote from bundlemaker:



LOL!!!!!!! Trading is a profession, period. These kind of comments crack me up, when I'm pretty sure this same person would never consider making them to a med student 5 years into their education, residency still to come, tens of thousands in loans already accrued. Go figure.

Listen to this, good advice. Learn as much as you can. If you find something that is wrong 90% of the time, that is a good thing.

 

[axeman]

Damn straight

Marriage is the biggest financial risk to a man.

All risk and no reward as I see it.

I get everything a married man gets without the risk.
So whats the point?

If your really successful at trading, and have the $$$, then
you REALLY dont need a wife. Just get the ferrari
and let the babes fight over ya

peace

axeman

Quote from oddiduro:




Solution: Do not get married. Have girlfriends, partners, mistresses, no wives.

Worst business deal on the planet if you are a male.

 

[jwlabno]

Quote from Cheese:
M.Mauboussin, CSFB .. from jwlabno.
No; we are better suited to cerebral activity .. way above all others animals.

If this was true no one would have any problems with fear or greed in the market.