What Should Retail Traders Do

E

enkidu

I posted a similar thread on wallstreetoasis but I doubt I'll get any real help... so I'm trying it here.

Ok, I'm still in college, but I want to be a trader. I want to start trading now. I have been trading stocks, and now I want to trade in the commodities market.

I have read several books (12+), but the problem is that many things from the books I can't apply to real trading. Also, I've heard highly successful traders rip technical analysis as voodoo or say that there's no way a little guy like me can know enough fundamentals to trade meaningful on that information.

So what to do???? Btw, I can't build quant models, so that's not an option.

Are any of you successful retail commodity traders? Or do you know what position traders use in that market?? Any books you find helpful?

Basically, I'm just trying to ask if anyone can tell me what method they use when they trade their own money, or if they know a commodities trader (not market maker, broker, scalpers, etc., but preferably position traders)...

PLZ, PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY TRADE REAL MONEY (or know someone who does)

any help is appreciated. thanks!
 
Why should you be entitled to make any money? People spend their careers, decades of learning, an unholy amount of time to either code sophisticated quant models or pour over every detail of a company to make money. Why are you special?

Let me ask it another way: suppose you said instead, "I like cutting open people. But how do I get patients and make money? I don't have time to go through medical school and people tell me I don't have the skills to perform a success operations? Can a real doctor tell me what to do?"
 
Quote from sjfan:

Why should you be entitled to make any money?
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And who's job should it be to decide who is entitled, and who isn't?. Doesn't everyone deserve to improve their standard of living...I think so.
 
Quote from cashmoney69:

And who's job should it be to decide who is entitled, and who isn't?. Doesn't everyone deserve to improve their standard of living...I think so.
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Go for it. I've met enough people in this business who came from very humble backgrounds. Just don't expect there to be an easy way. My only point is that there's no short cut; no magical indicator bullet.
 
lol I think I gave the wrong impression. I wasn't asking you to give me your secret formula, I'm simply looking for something like... "Well kid, I use valuation mostly, in addition, I subscribe to Marty Zweig's newsletter" or "I like technical analysis, I mostly rely on moving averages and I use trend lines from time to time."

I PMed youngtrader, and he told me he used USDA reports , commentaries, and daily charts for ag futures, which pointed me to the right direction.

One more thing... I read market wizards, other trader interviews/bios, talked to one or two traders, and it seems like most of them get fucked in the beginning. Some even get wiped out more than once.

For veteran traders, anything you wish you could've done differently to avoid getting wiped out? Or is it just inevitable for futures trading? Is getting owned by the market at least once part of the process?
 
You don't have to blow up your account before being successful. A lot of these "traders" pride themselves on going "all in" on every trade. I've never done that, and is why I'm still trading after 2 yrs.
 
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