When to throw in the towel as a trader?

Ripley · May 26, 2005

Quote from ElectricSavant:

The Beaver traded one of his logs to the Bear who needed it to close the entrance to his den to hibernate for the winter.

After winter passed, The Woodpecker offered the bear a handsome price for the log to drill holes into it for his expected family to be born in.

The Woodpeckers children gave the log to the maggots to nest in.

When the maggots took to flight the termites finished the log off..

Which Animal would YOU be?

Michael B.

Is this a riddle or something. Assuming that it is one, I would say I would rather be the maggot because I got the log for free and I was able to take flight upward, which represents a bull market. My cost basis was nil, and I am headed up... way way up...

ElectricSavant · May 26, 2005

(hopefully, you can see that there are so many ways to trade and take money out of the market, that to say you tried and couldn't do it, is not so black and white)

But in the end you die and nothing is left anyways..

Quote from Ripley:

Is this a riddle or something. Assuming that it is one, I would say I would rather be the maggot because I got the log for free and I was able to take flight upward, which represents a bull market. My cost basis was nil, and I am headed up... way way up...

plumlazy · May 26, 2005

Quote from ElectricSavant:

The Beaver traded one of his logs to the Bear who needed it to close the entrance to his den to hibernate for the winter.

After winter passed, The Woodpecker offered the bear a handsome price for the log to drill holes into it for his expected family to be born in.

The Woodpeckers children gave the log to the maggots to nest in.

When the maggots took to flight the termites finished the log off..

Which Animal would YOU be?

Michael B.

That depends upon what the beaver got out of it.

Cherry Ganz · May 26, 2005

Quit? Me? HA! I am a trading God! Gotten so good at it just placed a HUGE down payment on a 1.4 MIL beach front home in sunny FLORIDA! My trading has never been better!! QUIT? HAHAHA!! I GOT A MILLION REASONS NOT TOO!! HAHA!!

jackedup · May 26, 2005

When you can't pay for rent or food anymore.

Nutzo · May 26, 2005

I will quit trading when I don't feel like doing it anymore or I cannot afford to. Seems Simple enough to me.

dividend · May 26, 2005

when ur about to pull the plug and stop out, dont do it and double up

ElectricSavant · May 26, 2005

Is that what they call contrarian?

Quote from dividend:

when ur about to pull the plug and stop out, dont do it and double up

FuturesTrader71 · May 26, 2005

Quote from Cherry Ganz:

Quit? Me? HA! I am a trading God! Gotten so good at it just placed a HUGE down payment on a 1.4 MIL beach front home in sunny FLORIDA! My trading has never been better!! QUIT? HAHAHA!! I GOT A MILLION REASONS NOT TOO!! HAHA!!

Congratulations on your success. I felt I had to respond to tell you an important thing: The markets have an incredible ability to humble every trader. Just keep your feet on the ground when reaching for the stars and be grateful for the gifts you receive. I believe we create our abundance, but we must not take it for granted or flaunt it. In the end, it is not what will make you happy.

Mr Kamikaze · May 26, 2005

Quote from jackedup:

When you can't pay for rent or food anymore.

I have actually seen 4 guys run up huge credit card bills as a means of funding their living (rent/food/mortgage) while trading at a prop shop without a salary. Even when they were getting destroyed by the market they never considered quitting, only when they could no longer increase their borrowing did they relent to the markets, had the banks and credit card agencies increased their borrowing facility I think they would still be digging deeper holes for themselves. That is one major reason why I posted this thread, to see how many guys would follow suit if need be, because to me that is not business like, but compulsive gambling instead. And to make come-backs like a has-been athlete is nuts, as what would make a person think that they could re-invent themselves at a later date when they will have no doubt lost touch with the markets and lost their rhythm, if you can't do it now then you likely never will.

I am just amazed that people will hold onto a fading dream and block out reality until they have lost everything. I understand the love for trading but it seems as though some people see it as being more than just a career, they actually see it as being a part of their identity, and that is why I ask how these people cope after trading in adapting to the real world. I personally would never even allow my savings to diminish to zero before bailing on the business if I felt the urgency, but some guys just seem hell-bent on trading until they have given every last cent that they have ever made back to the market, its almost as though losing everything becomes THE target as that is the only way that they will ever leave the game and be liberated.