(Why) do most traders lose?

[kiwi_trader]

Interesting answers.

Clarifications:
- By lose I mean lose it all. Taking losses in a series of trades is as pointed out just part of the business and should lead to profit.
- I meant to put bad strategy/lack of strategy up but split it into failure to have a good entry strategy and failure to have a good exit strategy which in retrospect was probably a poor choice.

 

[Cheese]

Quote from martys:
Despite the fact that I know this is not the generally accepted answer and perceived as immature, personally I still think entry is important to let the rest of the other stuff fall into place... you can fix the rest of the stuff with good entry but you cannot fix bad entry with the rest of the stuff. You can stone me now...

Ah but ..
"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
John 8.7

 

[HoundDogOne]

Something nobody mentioned:

** Working harder than everyone else **

I have all the talents and background...
To be a successful trader...

But it would be wasted...
If I had not been willing to work a 70 hour week for 5-10 years minimum.

This goes for any small business... no exceptions... none.

When I read about some "trader"...
Just doing the opening or some kind of cherry picking thang...
I know it's some rich kid playing with Daddy's trust fund...
That's gonna get skinned by the sharks... eventually.

 

[AKUMATOTENSHI]

I agree the day should start at 5:00am and end at 11:30pm for the first five years for a new trader. Long term persistence pays off. Total immersion in the market for 6 months of just paper trading will pick up alot of simple mistakes before actual money is involved.

 

[Corso482]

Sure, why not, I'll throw my 2 cents in...

Most traders lose because they have no edge and so they're paying commission to trade randomness. This would normally lead to a slow bleed, but some hasten their losses because of poor money management.

 

[Thunderdog]

Quote from HoundDogOne:

...But it would be wasted...
If I had not been willing to work a 70 hour week for 5-10 years minimum.

That's a fairly wide range for someone who's speaking specifically about his own actual experience rather than hypotheticals in the abstract. So which was it, 5 or 10? And if it was somewhere in between for you, then surely you could narrow it down somewhat.

 

[Thunderdog]

Quote from AKUMATOTENSHI:

I agree the day should start at 5:00am and end at 11:30pm for the first five years for a new trader. Long term persistence pays off.

I think there is a distinction between persistence and obsessive compulsive disorder.

 

[Mike805]

Quote from AKUMATOTENSHI:

I agree the day should start at 5:00am and end at 11:30pm for the first five years for a new trader. Long term persistence pays off. Total immersion in the market for 6 months of just paper trading will pick up alot of simple mistakes before actual money is involved.

I think you are on crack my friend. Some people just "get it", some don't. If you are still putting in that much time after 1 years worth of hard work - this may not be the buisness for you. Time to move on.

 

[pv150]

Trying to keep regular job hours and 'earn' your pay thru 60-70+ hours a week, you'll just end up filling the day with 'research' and reading distractions that lead to forming strong opinions. Trading isn't 'effort responsive' like training for a sport. You don't necessarily get out what you put into it, and the overtrading tends to bleed away the winnings imo.

http://tequity.blogspot.com

 

[fttrader]

Quote from Don Bright:

.......This business provides for an unlimited upside potential, with a small downside (no franchise fees, no student loans, no need for partners, etc.).

Anyway, my 2.567 cents.

Don [/B]

Everyone has their limitations. Every strategy has its limitations. Every series of bets has its limitations. It is knowing the limitations that will help you. Thinking that there is unlimited upside potential, with a small downside is a dangerous mindset.
How many go ino trading, only to go bust, holding on to that mindset.
I like what you said however about surrounding yourself with successful people. Now there's an edge.