What do you wish you knew...

indahook · Oct 13, 2003

Wish I knew from day one that money management is the most important element to any trading strategy.

AskSlim · Oct 13, 2003

Thanks Surfer,
I enjoy writing the column and passing on my 30-years experience through coaching. It's like "paying it forward".

Keep the letters coming!
Slim

chinook · Oct 13, 2003

I wish I didn't watch the Tradestation intro videotape hosted by Bill Cruz 5-6 years ago. Developing a profitable system was shown to be incredibly simple. The system was a simple MA crossover and the market applied was nicely trending!

Chinook

funky · Oct 13, 2003

floor pivot points

chinook · Oct 13, 2003

Quote from AskSlim:

I wish I knew how important it was to define a healthy role for trading in my life.

The purpose of trading should not be identification of self or to heal something you feel inadequate about. It should be a business, meant to accomplish reasnable goals.

AskSlim,

Welcome to ET. I also enjoy reading your column.

You'll find ET to be very much like the market itself. Some threads will make sense with useful information exchange. Some will chop around with lots of noise and with posts impossible to decipher.

Chinook

paulsta · Oct 13, 2003

Its nice to get some texts recommended, for which i am very grateful, there seems to be more books available on trading than seconds in the day, and its helpful to be able to identify some of the more sucessful candidates.

It seems that the more i look at the markets the less i actually know!

Also, at the risk of starting prehaps what seems to be an old argument, technicals. I sadly have only had a brief introduction to them by a MTA I work with, and i find them interesting when used in conjuction with old fashioned eye-balling the market. However, i have only had a brief flirtation with murphy's...any other recommended reading?

Atlantic · Oct 13, 2003

Quote from paulsta:

Hi folks,

as a newbie to trading, i have just started working in a futures trading company in london (trading german 5-year at the moment). I'm sure this has been asked many many times before, but what does anyone wish they knew when they started trading?

All advice and recommendations will be heartily recieved, and prehaps when i get a little wiser maybe i can add more than never chase my losses!

i wish i knew that i didn't know anything - and i wish i knew how long it would take to find out that i didn't know anything.

on the other hand - it's good that i didn't know how much pain was in front of me.

the funny thing is - now i think i know a lot (at least compared to those days) - but it still might be close to nothing ...

good luck!

paulsta · Oct 13, 2003

Thanks Gerry, and everyone else, its nice to hear from so many people

Quote from gerry875:

on the other hand - it's good that i didn't know how much pain was in front of me.

We are fortunate in that is one of the things our company stresses is the actuall pain that can be inflicted, however, it is true that the future will hold many more painful trades than i can imagine.

On the flipside, there are bound to be some trades that require at least a victory dance and a lap round the room to celebrate

marketsurfer · Oct 13, 2003

Quote from paulsta:

Its nice to get some texts recommended, for which i am very grateful, there seems to be more books available on trading than seconds in the day, and its helpful to be able to identify some of the more sucessful candidates.

It seems that the more i look at the markets the less i actually know!

Also, at the risk of starting prehaps what seems to be an old argument, technicals. I sadly have only had a brief introduction to them by a MTA I work with, and i find them interesting when used in conjuction with old fashioned eye-balling the market. However, i have only had a brief flirtation with murphy's...any other recommended reading?

texts must read :

1. winner take all---william gallacher

2. education of a speculator--- victor niederhoffer

3. market wizards 1 &2 ---- jack schwager

these are seminal works on the market. they are really all you need to grasp what is happening.

enjoy !

surfer

olintner · Oct 13, 2003

The most important factor about business costs in trading:
slippage and commissions

They have the biggest impact on the bottom line (for higher frequency trading) and are most of the times the least looked after factor.

There are thousands of tremendously good track records for systems, but unfortunately without slippage and commissions ...

Fair expectations, Olli