Hope Dies Last - 8 years as a day trader

[LeslyTarqTow]

Spoiler alert .. it didn't go too well

Hope Dies Last

My eight-year career as a day trader with some of the best educators in the business

medium.com

 

[tomorton]

Daytrading + counter-trend trading + over-sized positions = failure.

I'm only impressed he stuck it out so long.

 

[fibo_trader]

Spoiler alert .. it didn't go too well

https://medium.com/@sunderwo66/hope-dies-last-71598457c261

The darkest hour is just before dawn

 

[cantagril]

Daytrading + counter-trend trading + over-sized positions = failure.

I'm only impressed he stuck it out so long.

Indeed!

IMHO that recipe should have cleaned him out a lot sooner. Anyway, he's nothing if not tenacious

It's a pity none of his mentors/coaches told him the adage "Learn for free, practice cheap and trade for profit", as it appears that after so long he might have been beginning to get the hang of it.

 

[0007]

It's a long, sad story but you've got to admire this guy's persistence (and the size of his wallet!). I've long thought that some (possibly most?) people are just not cut out for trading but of course, the trading industry ain't gonna tell you that and, after you've been subjected to their barrage of "you just need to get your head right" it's not surprising that their unknowingly-brainwashed victims press on regardless.

I suspect that T2W is one of the few places where, if you put your trading cards on the table, someone will tell you the hard facts of life – unpalatable as they may be - if your results are less than promising. How many people could have saved themselves loads of dosh if they had realised early on that trading is not their forte? It's almost as if it's something to be ashamed of – yet in any other skilled profession (and that's what successful trading is) people who don't make the grade just move on to something else more suitable. Again, the trading industry isn't going to encourage that, is it?

There is also the psychological theory that some people just want to be "punished" and are willing to pay for the experience. But surely there are cheaper ways? I suspect however, that the attraction of "get rich quick – anyone can do it" will always trump commonsense.

 

[fibo_trader]

Daytrading + counter-trend trading + over-sized positions = failure.

I'm only impressed he stuck it out so long.

Post is from an ET poster. Figures. They all pile on and kill their own - same sh*t, different forum


Lesson for the one or two who want to escape the stupidity of a HERD:

Attack one their own weakened ones especially if he is already mauled by a lion, but escaped with gaping wounds - that way he will be eaten first and WE (the rest of us) have better odds of surviving. So let's gang up and attack this poor fellow and make him weaker by destroying what's left of his psyche.

Of course, inherent in such attacks against their own is the concept that they (the gangbangers) KNOW BETTER.

Attack this op and the lot of you are f*** p*****s

 

[fibo_trader]

op has made giant strides on his road to success. Hiatus is to be expected. Self-examination and destructive inner forces to be expected. All part of growth. If there in resides a champ, he will emerge soon just as surely as night follows day.

I await his return.

Good luck

 

[tomorton]

Post is from an ET poster. Figures. They all pile on and kill their own - same sh*t, different forum


Lesson for the one or two who want to escape the stupidity of a HERD:

Attack one their own weakened ones especially if he is already mauled by a lion, but escaped with gaping wounds - that way he will be eaten first and WE (the rest of us) have better odds of surviving. So let's gang up and attack this poor fellow and make him weaker by destroying what's left of his psyche.

Of course, inherent in such attacks against their own is the concept that they (the gangbangers) KNOW BETTER.

Attack this op and the lot of you are f*** p*****s

I think it always best to post just what you're thinking, in a colloquial manner.

Anyway, what point are you making?

 

[LeslyTarqTow]

The darkest hour is just before dawn

It's a long, sad story but you've got to admire this guy's persistence (and the size of his wallet!). I've long thought that some (possibly most?) people are just not cut out for trading but of course, the trading industry ain't gonna tell you that and, after you've been subjected to their barrage of "you just need to get your head right" it's not surprising that their unknowingly-brainwashed victims press on regardless.

I suspect that T2W is one of the few places where, if you put your trading cards on the table, someone will tell you the hard facts of life – unpalatable as they may be - if your results are less than promising. How many people could have saved themselves loads of dosh if they had realised early on that trading is not their forte? It's almost as if it's something to be ashamed of – yet in any other skilled profession (and that's what successful trading is) people who don't make the grade just move on to something else more suitable. Again, the trading industry isn't going to encourage that, is it?

There is also the psychological theory that some people just want to be "punished" and are willing to pay for the experience. But surely there are cheaper ways? I suspect however, that the attraction of "get rich quick – anyone can do it" will always trump commonsense.

Yup. I wouldn't have expected any of those coaches to fix my situation or deal with my psychology in any depth, but it was strange that they never asked about my trading history. I guess it's naive to think anyone was going to turn me away when I had credit card at the ready. Plus, at the time, I would probably have ignored their advice anyway

 

[0007]

Yup. I wouldn't have expected any of those coaches to fix my situation or deal with my psychology in any depth, but it was strange that they never asked about my trading history. I guess it's naive to think anyone was going to turn me away when I had credit card at the ready. Plus, at the time, I would probably have ignored their advice anyway

I think we should also thank you for your honesty & willingness to relate your experience – I know I would rather keep some of my more dubious trades to myself! But it seems that you are now being honest with yourself – that's a big lesson to learn and I''d be the first to admit that it didn't come easy to me either.

 

[fibo_trader]

I think it always best to post just what you're thinking, in a colloquial manner.

Anyway, what point are you making?

Help him, Man! You just don't hammer a fella on the ground on his knees who has just taken a beating by forces so much larger than us all. Give him credit for trying and trying and trying. Failure is part of the game, has been and always will be. For cryn out loud at least bring him a cup of hot tea

 

[tomorton]

Help him, Man! You just don't hammer a fella on the ground on his knees who has just taken a beating by forces so much larger than us all. Give him credit for trying and trying and trying. Failure is part of the game, has been and always will be. For cryn out loud at least bring him a cup of hot tea

I was deadly serious and trying to be concise and helpful when I posted -
"Daytrading + counter-trend trading + over-sized positions = failure."

I never day-trade, only long-term using only daily charts.
I only trend-follow.
My positions are maximum 1% account capital risk.

I trade this way and am making money. I hope my example can be followed with a bit more success, a bit less risk but feel free to add your suggestions too as they might help, as there are many ways to win at this game, not just mine.

 

[cantagril]

Help him, Man! You just don't hammer a fella on the ground on his knees who has just taken a beating by forces so much larger than us all. Give him credit for trying and trying and trying. Failure is part of the game, has been and always will be. For cryn out loud at least bring him a cup of hot tea

What "help" are you suggesting?...besides the cup of tea. I also don't get what you mean by "you just don't hammer a fella on the ground on his knees".... Tom* did mention the fast-track-to-ruin formula but I didn't see that as a criticism of Inkpot but as an observation of something we have all learned, one way or another ....and my own comment about professional coaches was to point out their own self-interest rather than to mock someone who's just taken a beating.

I would hazard that he knows pretty much what he did and didn't do (and why) and obviously regrets the whole experience - as would anybody in their right mind. The fact that he's chosen to stop the haemorrhage is proof that he recognises his part in the story.

I reckon that if he did want to try his hand again that he would not choose to repeat the performance in the same way and would probably approach things very differently.Personally, and right now, I wouldn't dream of offering any advice, after the horse has bolted, as that would seem to be merely adding insult to injury.


* just seen you beat me to it

 

[fibo_trader]

What "help" are you suggesting?...besides the cup of tea. I also don't get what you mean by "you just don't hammer a fella on the ground on his knees".... Tom* did mention the fast-track-to-ruin formula but I didn't see that as a criticism of Inkpot but as an observation of something we have all learned, one way or another ....and my own comment about professional coaches was to point out their own self-interest rather than to mock someone who's just taken a beating.

I would hazard that he knows pretty much what he did and didn't do (and why) and obviously regrets the whole experience - as would anybody in their right mind. The fact that he's chosen to stop the haemorrhage is proof that he recognises his part in the story.

I reckon that if he did want to try his hand again that he would not choose to repeat the performance in the same way and would probably approach things very differently.Personally, and right now, I wouldn't dream of offering any advice, after the horse has bolted, as that would seem to be merely adding insult to injury.


* just seen you beat me to it

More generalities, circular motion with the right hand. "What help are you suggesting?" Your method or part of it that has worked for you. Start with ground zero. Be specific. Give him a hand starting from basics and let him work his way up. specifics instead of I told you so.

I'll start the ball rolling for you gangbangers ....................

Price chart no indicators just place a 15x30 exponential period moving average on it. Then go back and revisit all the failed trades and see if this would alter the outcome. No fundamentals, no other stuff, no CNBC, no experts no earnings reqd. Just Price and the ema combo applied to your time frame of choice. NO indicators in lower panel allowed for this venture. Scaling is Log scale.

 

[fibo_trader]

Personally, and right now, I wouldn't dream of offering any advice, after the horse has bolted, as that would seem to be merely adding insult to injury.


* just seen you beat me to it

Clown! The horse ain't bolted. Had he bolted it would be resolved in his psyche - he would walk away from the whole thing and wash his hands off the nightmare and not post here no more. The horse is screaming in agony for help. The opening post bellows that he don't want to quit but is asking for an experienced friend(s) to step in and assist him. That's you. Get to it.

Oh and by the way, this op is clearly no run of the mill take it in the yazoo newbie. He's been around you know. He has seen. This cat is a different animal. Can't you clowns see that?

 

[fibo_trader]

I was deadly serious and trying to be concise and helpful when I posted -
"Daytrading + counter-trend trading + over-sized positions = failure."

I never day-trade, only long-term using only daily charts.
I only trend-follow.
My positions are maximum 1% account capital risk.

I trade this way and am making money. I hope my example can be followed with a bit more success, a bit less risk but feel free to add your suggestions too as they might help, as there are many ways to win at this game, not just mine.

OK then, that's good for starters. So why not step up to the plate and put your ass on the line. Nobody is going to judge you if the trades fail.

Trade live right here in this thread for the op to show him precisely how YOU do it. Pick your most successful instrument. Then post a trade live with your entire analysis and rules for the trade so he can follow along. Let him be on demo while he learns. One strting package is all he needs right now. Walk him thru' a successful trade and show him the mistakes in the bad trade(s). Watch then how he zooms back to Life.

 

[fibo_trader]

I also don't get what you mean by "you just don't hammer a fella on the ground on his knees"....

Figures!

 

[fibo_trader]

Betting the entire Capital of Iceland (5 bucks) that NOBODY will come forward with a live trade. But wait, let's define a live trade and how it should be posted here ................

LONG XYZ at $12.53/share 2 minutes ago, Stop = $11.21, expected TP1 = $22.4. Will move stop up progressively to let Pr. run.
Fundamental analysis reasoning used: bla bla bla
Technical trade: chart provided with breakout and/or reasoning and especially where the trade will be proven wrong.
Additional data: more explanations the better it is.

Then we go to town and the party begins.

Can't you fellows break your stupid tradition of generalities and hocus-pocus useless trade talk in hindsight and go for the real juice, a live trade in real time?

Show the op how its done or why he is not alone in that he is the only honest one here but is surrounded by posers and pretenders.
Come on fellas, what do you say?

Count me in! I want 'em know I'm Ready like Freddy

op's wail & cry in the wilderness goes unheard?

 

[tomorton]

OK then, that's good for starters. So why not step up to the plate and put your ass on the line. Nobody is going to judge you if the trades fail.

Trade live right here in this thread for the op to show him precisely how YOU do it. Pick your most successful instrument. Then post a trade live with your entire analysis and rules for the trade so he can follow along. Let him be on demo while he learns. One strting package is all he needs right now. Walk him thru' a successful trade and show him the mistakes in the bad trade(s). Watch then how he zooms back to Life.

I've recently posted what I'm doing but just can't recall if it was here or on another forum but I'm happy to do it here. I don't trade live or intra-day, all entries are by pre-set order. Targets are the 28 common forex pairs, plus Gold, Brent and DJIA.

Daily chart with 50EMA.
If 50EMA slope is positive and price above 50EMA -
set buy order at high of next day with lower high
set SL at low of same day with trade sized to risk 0.5% of account capital
after entry exit at close of any day with lower high or at close of 5th consecutive day with higher highs
when trade in significant profit, trail SL from highest high reached minus 2 x ATR20.

(reverse above when 50EMA slope is negative and price below 50EMA)

I'm currently in the following trades -

DJIA	Long
Brent	Short
Gold	Long
EUR/CHF	Short
EUR/GBP	Long
EUR/JPY	Short
EUR/NZD	Short
GBP/AUD	Short
GBP/CAD	Short
GBP/CHF	Short
GBP/JPY	Short
GBP/NZD	Short
GBP/USD	Short
NZD/CAD	Short
NZD/USD	Long
USD/CAD	Short
USD/JPY	Short

I have the following pending orders -

AUD/CAD	Short
AUD/CHF	Short
AUD/NZD	Short
CAD/JPY	Long
CHF/JPY	Long
EUR/USD	Long
NZD/JPY	Long
USD/CHF	Short

All the best.

 

[NVP]

Trading performance (as evidenced and authenticated) is one of the few areas where there is no margin for bluff or fantasy or bullsh*t............you win or you lose.......no waffle or wriggle room.....

the human psyche just cannot handle this .......I try to teach this from day 1 to novice traders ......you will be tested ......you will have to eat so much humble pie that it hurts ...you must adapt .....their are no guarantees .....as soon as you re comfortable in something the floor will move ......Thats trading !

if someone is consistently losing money then they must continually re-evaluate until they at least stop the outflow............jees thats the first 3-5 years of any traders journey ..........stop losing money !!

after that then i would suggest that a trader is not simply cut out to make it .......a little generalist in statement ...but hey ......how long are you prepared to waste time on something ?

N