you can all laught at me- I BLEW UP

Your not alone bro -- I lost > 1M when I was 28 my life got completely turned upside down. A comeback is very difficult -- the market will find and punish whatever weakness you have, which could be one of many issues -- ie capitalization, emotional stability, anger, pressure, etc, etc.

Its best to walk away and get everything in order first, before returning -- the problem is most can't walk away and end up fighting the market in a weakened mental state, until inevitably you get financially KO'd. It's a vicious circle.

If your trading a small account -- I recommend trading momentum/scalping, which will keep your exposure limited.

Good Luck and best wishes.
 
I have only been in this game for a little over a year (im still in high school) and have yet to blow up so I can't give you any advice from actual experience. What I can give you though is what a trader blowing up does to his/her family.

My dad lost over 500,000 dollers in one day making big bets on nat gas during huricanne katrina. While he didn't actually blow up he lost a substantial amount of his account. I was about 15 years old at the time with 2 younger siblings and my mom. I remember what had happened and knew the seriousness of what had happened to my dad. He always tried to keep it to himself which I think put a lot less stress on the family.

After that I remember us having to sell cars (mercedes, bmw, escalades). No more family vacations. Christmas and birthdays were a lot less eventful. But I remember one night him sitting down with all of us and saying that no matter what ever happened as long as he had his faith and his family nothing could get him.

He is a very big believer in prayer and I don't know what your view is on prayer but it deffinantly never hurts to let the big guy upstairs know whats on your mind.

I am not saying any of this to scare you but to let you know that keep your priorities in line and that as long as you have your family nothing else matters.

By the way my dad came back after that through lots of hard work and is now more successful than he has ever been so you can come back and come back even stronger if you really want it!

Good Luck to you and never give up!
 
Quote from youngtrader:

I have only been in this game for a little over a year (im still in high school) and have yet to blow up so I can't give you any advice from actual experience. What I can give you though is what a trader blowing up does to his/her family.

My dad lost over 500,000 dollers in one day making big bets on nat gas during huricanne katrina. While he didn't actually blow up he lost a substantial amount of his account. I was about 15 years old at the time with 2 younger siblings and my mom. I remember what had happened and knew the seriousness of what had happened to my dad. He always tried to keep it to himself which I think put a lot less stress on the family.

After that I remember us having to sell cars (mercedes, bmw, escalades). No more family vacations. Christmas and birthdays were a lot less eventful. But I remember one night him sitting down with all of us and saying that no matter what ever happened as long as he had his faith and his family nothing could get him.

He is a very big believer in prayer and I don't know what your view is on prayer but it deffinantly never hurts to let the big guy upstairs know whats on your mind.

I am not saying any of this to scare you but to let you know that keep your priorities in line and that as long as you have your family nothing else matters.

By the way my dad came back after that through lots of hard work and is now more successful than he has ever been so you can come back and come back even stronger if you really want it!

Good Luck to you and never give up!
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A true idiot. He put $500k burden on your family because he's a gambler.
 
Quote from mde2004:

A true American idiot. He put $500k burden on your family because he's a gambler.
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Actually he is not a gambler at all. He hates going to casinos and won't bet on a football game for anything. Calling my father an idiot is actually a really idiotic thing to do in itself. Im not saying that he doesn't have the go big or go home attitude on everything. He has always taken big positions but nothing he could never handle. When that happened we still had food in our bellies and a warm house to come home to at night. He is one of the most successful people I have ever known and a natural leader.

So think twice before you say anything again ok:D
 
There is no reason to keep putting yourself through this. The variable feeback/anxiety loop in trading can be highly addictive, For your own sanity and mental health I hope you are able to break out of this.

Trading your own funds to pay the bills is just flat out bad business sense. The worst part of it is that by trying to do this you massively reduce the odds of making any money at all.

The irony is that trading for long term capital appreciation/to get rich is much easier than trading to "pay the bills". it takes less time and has a greater chance of working.

Another irony is that at this point, the winning, smart choice appears to be "quiting". Walking away from something that is not working and is making you miserable is sound decision making.

As someone who has had to "start over" at "ground zero" and has rebuild with success, I tell you it can be done and it will get better. Right decisions, one step at a time will lead to better outcomes. Things work out much better when you approach from a position of strength.
 
Quote from LT701:
"There isn't a man in Wall Street who has not lost money trying
to make the market pay for an automobile or a bracelet or a motor boat or a painting. I
could build a huge hospital with the birthday presents that the tight-fisted stock market
has refused to pay for. In fact, of all hoodoos in Wall Street I think the resolve to induce
the stock market to act as a fairy godmother is the busiest and most persistent."
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Thats what I was going to post. Words to trade by.
 
Quote from NY_HOOD:

today i finally blew up or came pretty damn close. some will laugh and some will not care but i am posting for the heck of it anyway. i was up and then gave everything back and then some. why" necause i was up 400 and needed another 600 to pay some bills.its a never ending sage with me and i just don't know if i have the proper discipline to do this. obviously i am extremely upset about my current situation and don't know what the heck to do. i have no other skills(not that i have any trading skills) and i have a family to take care of. i am actually nervous but i have to do something.
i know someone is going to tell me to stop complaining and i fully understand.i'm just venting because some of you may have been in a similar situation and underdtand. anyway,i hope none of you guys get to where i am,its a horrible feeling and none of you deserve it.
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Go get you a job, and work hard for your money. Create or contribute something to the society, rather than trying to take advantage of the buying and selling of others' follies.
 
his father does not sound like a gambler at all. thats just one of the things that can go wrong while trading. unfortunate but true.
your father must be proud to have a son like you,you seem like a nice kid and quite sharp.
 
Dear NY Hood,

There is blowing up and then there is BLOWING UP. You said you were up $400 and looking for $600 more before you blew up. It seems to me that you might be talking about losses in the hundreds of dollars or low thousands.

This kind of set back can be very temporary. Aggravating, frustrating and demoralizing, sure - but temporary, if that is what you want it to be. Even Neiderhoffer, when blowing up several years ago, had %50 of his fund's cash when he closed his doors. Huge wad for sure though.

Being homeless, losing your car, credit and in debt for 10s or 100s of thousand dollars (or more) is entirely another animal which would require a much longer time to recover emotionally and financially till you can return.

My hope for you is that you did not BLOW UP. Even if you did BLOW UP the time to regenerate another stake can be used to improve on your ability to better find what works and what doesn't and hone your trade.

If you only lost a small stake, it is possible to regroup and trade very small to get back into the game without a lot of time going by. Hell's bells... 5PerSide only has a $1K minimum to open an account with them. You'd have to trade teeny tiny for a while but you would be able to continue actively working on your trading self and your trading system.

Anyway, my point is this. You may likely still have desirable choices.

Decide what you want to do. Then do it. Control and manage it.

I wish you prosperity and peace whatever choice you make,

Lar
 
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