Welcome to NexusFi: the best trading community on the planet, with over 150,000 members Sign Up Now for Free
Genuine reviews from real traders, not fake reviews from stealth vendors
Quality education from leading professional traders
We are a friendly, helpful, and positive community
We do not tolerate rude behavior, trolling, or vendors advertising in posts
We are here to help, just let us know what you need
You'll need to register in order to view the content of the threads and start contributing to our community. It's free for basic access, or support us by becoming an Elite Member -- see if you qualify for a discount below.
-- Big Mike, Site Administrator
(If you already have an account, login at the top of the page)
New member here, although according to the omnipresent banner above, I am 82 days into my membership without having posted anything. It's the same old story about a non-profitable trader in stage 2 who feels that they cannot add anything to what has already been rehashed 1000 times in countless other forums. But I will try to post in the spirit of Mike's automated notes, that anyone can contribute something of value no matter how inexperienced.
I have traded part-time, unsuccessfully, since around 2009 when I was laid off on Inauguration day by a multinational company in the DJIA who shall remain nameless, but whose moniker succeeds HAL by a single letter as cleverly hinted at in Clarke's "2001". After watching the CEO of this company shortly thereafter parade around on the dais with the President during his early job-creation and economy kick-starting roadshows, I turned away in disgust from the corporate rigmarole. I put away the fantasy that Team Red and Team Blue were different entities. One day I happened to notice DNDN sykrocket after some drug trials passed a certain phase milestone and my curiosity was piqued.
I can only describe my trading during this period as haphazard. There was no demonstrated edge. I traded stocks and index funds on the dailies based on funny-mentals: "The Fed can't possibly continue buying the entire curve", "The Euro has to start sinking at some point", "Gold will continue to rise because the only politically palatable way out of the debt spiral is to debase the currency" etc etc. Inevitably I bought the top and sold the bottom. I rode SLV to the May 2010 highs, and I hit bottom after riding TVIX down 50%. Fortunately by then I had learned not to commit too much equity to any one trade, but apparently before learning the iron rule of setting a stop loss and abiding by it. I can only thank fate that my losses during this entire period did not consume my entire account.
Only later were my eyes opened, or at the very least I no longer held them tightly shut. The more I learned, the less I traded. I read "Market Wizards" among countless other books. I studied traders and felt most closely aligned to those who traded price action or who were trend followers: Paul Tudor Jones, Linda Raschke, Ed Seykota. I've also followed the work of Lance Beggs who I believe to be an excellent educator. The equity curve didn't flatten, but it did stop. My time between trades can be measured in months.
I began to become fascinated with the markets. Here was a chaotic and yet often rhyming universe of price movement - cue the tired metaphor of high tide at the beach and Ed's hand matching the motion of the incoming and withdrawing waves. I became interested in price action for price action's sake, which I take to be a good sign. I love the unpredictability of the market, all of the failed breakouts, head fakes, and face-melting spikes. I love the idea of riding the markets and letting go of the need to be right, and yet maintaining discipline over what I can control, namely my trade management. I feel like I'm 180 degrees from where I started and it is refreshing. However I have not entered back into the market.
I have learned so much in the last year that to document it all here would be as tedious to read as it would be to write. Much of which I have learned from after stumbling across it in a Google search for something or another. I am particularly indebted to @FuturesTrader71, @PandaWarrior, @VinceVirgil, @josh, @indextrader7, @Maelstrom, @AttitudeTrader, and others too numerous to list here. I plan to put together a trading plan, work on sim trading, refine and channel my trading psychology, and take it from there.
But in the meantime, cheers to @BigMike for hosting this and may fortune smile on those who put in the time and effort to realize their dream of trading for a living.
What an articulate first post--welcome to futures.io (formerly BMT), and thanks for coming out of the shadows! Looking forward to your contributions and seeing your plan and progress I have no doubt you will do great!
I'd tell you that you've come to the right place, but you probably already know that.
@Big Mike has created a fantastic forum and there are a lot of really good people here.
From my experience, it seems that the more I've tried to share my own journey, the more I've learned for myself. So don't wait too long to start a journal of some sort here.
Good luck, and enjoy the ride.
-AT
"Is it hard? Not if you have the right attitude. It's having the right attitude that's hard." - Robert Pirsig
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the post. I love Rand's works and re-read them every few years or so. I liked The Fountainhead more than Atlas Shrugged because it was more about the individual's reaction to society rather than the reverse (Or obverse? Or contrapositive?) One of the reasons I like trading is because it is the total expression of one's self. You succeed only through building a consistent philosophy, implementing that into an approach, and grappling with your own demons.
I also always liked Nick Gaetano's covers and this one on The Fountainhead was my favorite.
Though I'm not a 'Randian' myself, I read the Fountainhead at a crucial point in my life and it gave me a huge boost in terms of courage to affirm my own path in life regardless of anything and anyone else.
Never got around to reading the Atlas Shrugged...
You are never in the wrong place... but sometimes you are in the right place looking at things in the wrong way.
I have no doubt you will do great!
).
who the heck is it!!
