Where to begin?

[Steve]

Where to begin? Take an I.Q test, preferably a few of them and specifically Culture Fair IQ Tests. You can buy good books on how to boost your I.Q from Mensa and they have tests in them. If you consistently score above 130 then you probably are fit for this profession, if don't then you should find something else to do with your time and money.

Interesting, some would argue that too much 'intelligence' is more of a hinderance. Certainly I have met quite a few traders over the years who probably would not know which way up to put the IQ test paper!

 

[Steve]

Hi,

Best piece of advice I would give is to start a journal and record everything about the reasons that lead you to make each trade. Then at the end of each day/week/month go back and see which trades worked, which didn't and the reasons for both.

Then you can look for correlations and areas to improve, slowly tweaking your strategy to profitability. It takes a lot of time and discipline but I wish I'd done it when I started and saved a huge amount of time and money in the long run...

Cheers.

This is really sound advice and one thing that newer traders continually fail to do in my experience. Most newcomers want the quick and easy way and it just isn't there.

 

[tar]

Interesting, some would argue that too much 'intelligence' is more of a hinderance. Certainly I have met quite a few traders over the years who probably would not know which way up to put the IQ test paper!

So true , you could have high IQ and still lose big time and vice versa , look at pit traders many of them may not have a great IQ but they may know how to squeeze a penny from the market , on the other hand many academic high IQ traders fail in this game , case in point :

 

[new_trader]

Interesting, some would argue that too much 'intelligence' is more of a hinderance.

I'm sure you would get those kinds of arguments from members of Trade2win.

How anyone can argue that "too much 'intelligence' is more of a hindrance" is beyond me. It's like a poor person saying "Being rich is a hindrance"...

Perhaps you can explain how a dumb person would know what it is like to be 'too' intelligent? Maybe you can explain what "too much intelligence" actually means while you're at it.

Certainly I have met quite a few traders over the years who probably would not know which way up to put the IQ test paper!

Call someone in this forum an idiot and you will be reprimanded for an insult, tell people that traders don't need any brains and you get recs...go figure...

I.Q tests measure abilities like pattern recognition, problem solving and sequence recognition...would you say that these are good skills to have as a trader?

 

[new_trader]

Hi,

Best piece of advice I would give is to start a journal and record everything about the reasons that lead you to make each trade. Then at the end of each day/week/month go back and see which trades worked, which didn't and the reasons for both.

Then you can look for correlations and areas to improve, slowly tweaking your strategy to profitability. It takes a lot of time and discipline but I wish I'd done it when I started and saved a huge amount of time and money in the long run...

Cheers.

There are a lot of dumb people who want to become traders and they aren't smart enough to know which way up to put the journal. As far as reading and writing is concerned, some would argue those skills are more of a hindrance. Identify correlations!?...That requires brains...remember, we are talking about dumb people here...

 

[Steve]

How anyone can argue that "too much 'intelligence' is more of a hindrance" is beyond me. It's like a poor person saying "Being rich is a hindrance"...

It might be in some ways. Being rich might solve some of their problems but not all of them, just as having a high IQ might be of some assistance to a trader and not to others.

Call someone in this forum an idiot and you will be reprimanded for an insult, tell people that traders don't need any brains and you get recs...go figure...

I'm not sure that anybody said this so I'm not sure where you are coming from.

I.Q tests measure abilities like pattern recognition, problem solving and sequence recognition...would you say that these are good skills to have as a trader?

Yes they can be. But having these skills means that you would be a very left brain thinker and right brain abilities can be equally if not more powerful in certain situations. I have known plenty of traders who are very adept at such things but their psychology renders them unprofitable.

Oh, and one last thing, I suggest you dial down the tone of your responses, this is a conversation not an argument.

 

[new_trader]

It might be in some ways. Being rich might solve some of their problems but not all of them, just as having a high IQ might be of some assistance to a trader and not to others.

"I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better"
-quote by Sophie Tucker

Sophie was qualified to say this because she experienced both. How does that compare with intelligence? Are you implying that someone with a low I.Q can try out having a high I.Q for a while to see if it helps with their trading and if it doesn't, well they simply go back to their low I.Q?

Are you implying that certain occupations require high intelligence but trading isn't one of them? Based on what? Other traders you know who are as dumb as a post, but not you...you're an intelligent trader, right? I bet everyone who disagrees with me will say the same thing...they won't admit to being as dumb as a post but they know of all these other traders who are as dumb as a post...

Yes they can be. But having these skills means that you would be a very left brain thinker and right brain abilities can be equally if not more powerful in certain situations. I have known plenty of traders who are very adept at such things but their psychology renders them unprofitable.

I didn't say a high I.Q is a guarantee of success.

Oh, and one last thing, I suggest you dial down the tone of your responses, this is a conversation not an argument.

Apart from being very patronizing and condescending, this also sounds like a threat. I think you and I have an issue with each other...actually, I think you have an issue with me...don't know why, but there is something....tacit...People have done worse and I see you give them recs FFS!

 

[resistance]

There are a lot of dumb people who want to become traders and they aren't smart enough to know which way up to put the journal. As far as reading and writing is concerned, some would argue those skills are more of a hindrance. Identify correlations!?...That requires brains...remember, we are talking about dumb people here...

So what you will suggest for those dumb people who still want to do forex trading. I mean there has to be some way because most of those dumb people will be newbies. Should they go for signals or anything like this?

 

[neil]

So what you will suggest for those dumb people who still want to do forex trading. I mean there has to be some way because most of those dumb people will be newbies. Should they go for signals or anything like this?

The ignorant trader (not having knowledge of trading), if he has some intelligence;will read, test,discuss and learn to trade over a period of time.
The dumb (stupid) newbie sees trading as a source to easy wealth. A path requiring little study or effort or strengh of character. In fact the dumb go looking for signal services and "systems" to circumvent the intellect (reasonable amount only required) and character, plus time spent to succeed in trading.

Newbies are not all dumb (dumb meaning stupid as opposed to being unable to speak).
Some newbies work hard and succeed but some don't simply because they are not cut out for it character wise. Not a problem since we all have differing abilities for different things.
Then we come to the dumb (here meaning stupid, lazy but greedy and envious).
They pursue get rich schemes in their droves: Signal services, holy grails, systems, planet alignment schemes and the musings of throwers of chicken bones. The sharks that feed on them, those that peddle dreams of easy wealth, grow richer on the backs of fools seeking Eldorado. No matter how many warnings you post on sites like T2W, the dumb remain remarkably deaf and blind.

 

[D70]

Where to begin? Take an I.Q test, preferably a few of them and specifically Culture Fair IQ Tests. You can buy good books on how to boost your I.Q from Mensa and they have tests in them. If you consistently score above 130 then you probably are fit for this profession, if don't then you should find something else to do with your time and money.

Just pissed my pants.

 

[tony1979]

Where to begin? Take an I.Q test, preferably a few of them and specifically Culture Fair IQ Tests. You can buy good books on how to boost your I.Q from Mensa and they have tests in them. If you consistently score above 130 then you probably are fit for this profession, if don't then you should find something else to do with your time and money.

How many successful traders have you met in person?

 

[new_trader]

I'm sure you would get those kinds of arguments from members of Trade2win.

I was 100% right. Members of trade2win would argue that you don't need any brains to be a trader!

 

[neil]

I was 100% right. Members of trade2win would argue that you don't need any brains to be a trader!

Well - you seem to manage despite such handicap

 

[Steve]

I was 100% right. Members of trade2win would argue that you don't need any brains to be a trader!

What an odd thing to say, there is no evidence whatsoever of people saying that. In any event, you are once again mixing IQ with 'brains'.

Unless I am mistaken you are saying that a trader needs a high IQ? Other people are saying they do not, myself included.

In certain types of trading it would no doubt be an asset but it is in no way a pre-requisite.

 

[new_trader]

Well - you seem to manage despite such handicap

I know what my I.Q is and despite what you and Steve think, too much intelligence is not a hinderance.

 

[new_trader]

What an odd thing to say, there is no evidence whatsoever of people saying that. In any event, you are once again mixing IQ with 'brains'.

Unless I am mistaken you are saying that a trader needs a high IQ? Other people are saying they do not, myself included.

In certain types of trading it would no doubt be an asset but it is in no way a pre-requisite.

If I was The CEO of a website that depended on the QUANTITY of visitors & members rather than the QUALITY I wouldn’t want to exclude or alienate anyone. I would be saying the same thing as you.

 

[D70]

Where to begin? Take an I.Q test, preferably a few of them and specifically Culture Fair IQ Tests. You can buy good books on how to boost your I.Q from Mensa and they have tests in them. If you consistently score above 130 then you probably are fit for this profession, if don't then you should find something else to do with your time and money.

This would suggest that anyone could have an IQ above your magical 130 level right?

 

[kimo'sabby]

Where to begin? Take an I.Q test, preferably a few of them and specifically Culture Fair IQ Tests. You can buy good books on how to boost your I.Q from Mensa and they have tests in them. If you consistently score above 130 then you probably are fit for this profession, if don't then you should find something else to do with your time and money.

Aptitude. Livermore, had it, along with some spectacular gonads (attitude).

 

[new_trader]

This would suggest that anyone could have an IQ above your magical 130 level right?

Actually, I would prefer to say an I.Q score that places you in the top 5% of the general population...Because of the different types of I.Q tests 'percentage' is a better way of expressing the score because it is a relative measure not an absolute. Scoring 150 on one test might be the same (percentile wise) as scoring 130 on another.

As I explained earlier, IQ tests, especially Culture Fair ones, test things like problem solving, pattern recognition and sequence recognition. Can you explain why someone who doesn't demonstrate a high aptitude in these areas is still suited to trading?

 

[bustech]

Actually, I would prefer to say an I.Q score that places you in the top 5% of the general population...Because of the different types of I.Q tests 'percentage' is a better way of expressing the score because it is a relative measure not an absolute. Scoring 150 on one test might be the same (percentile wise) as scoring 130 on another.

As I explained earlier, IQ tests, especially Culture Fair ones, test things like problem solving, pattern recognition and sequence recognition. Can you explain why someone who doesn't demonstrate a high aptitude in these areas is still suited to trading?

wHATSs aN iCUE tEST