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At 08:34 PM 7/18/99 -0400, TradeWynne@xxxxxxx wrote:
>I find it interesting that this was the only response to my McD post.
>In a message dated 7/17/99 9:34:49 AM Pacific Daylight Time, ntw@xxxxxxxxxxx
>writes:
>> And even today. You will not find more than a handfull of TS at the Board
>> of Trade. Tell that to the list. Neal Weintraub
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: <TradeWynne@xxxxxxx>
>> To: <omega-list@xxxxxxxxxx>
>> Sent: Thursday, July 15, 1999 4:15 PM
>> Subject: re. McD and MkWizards
>> > Tom Baldwin (in Market Wizards) became a floor trader after a job in a
>> meat packing plant. He had no computer experience, yet he supposedly
took less
I thought he was part of management at the plant.
Floor and off floor trading is about different things. Baldwin tried to
move off floor
and went back to it after a while.
On the floor, its about broker relationships, you need to be able to be
filled first if the
bottom you tested turns out wrong, averaging down, being able to gauge the
overall size
of bids and asks (hey there's no bid volume vs ask volume columm on the
floor, its about having
a computer in your head), reputation and the intimidation that comes with
it, no outs, etc.
The intimidation factor is a very real thing. At ADT it was mentioned but
it less graphics terms.
A titan local can do this. (A real event of several I have witnessed).
25 on a 100, a 100 at 25. All of a sudden, the pit becomes more subdue, in
a matter of minutes,
your bollinger bands starts to constrict. And remember, same price is a
scratch, no cost at all.
The guy wants to buy and brings the price down 15-20 ticks doing this after
the initial drama.
1 at 24, some takers, he goes 1 at 24, all volume absorbed soon.
1 at 23. Old hands know his game and that the ammo in his ammo belt is more
than theirs and the
smallers won't challenge which and when only then can they will overpower
his ammo dump (if and
until partner arrives to clean up. So no challenge.)
1 at 22, ... 1 at 11. Some paper comes in to challenge. Line handlers have
been busy with their
clients informing them of the "situation". Well, at a significantly lower
price, demand and supply
reestablishes "equilibrium" and he fills his position, whether closing or
opening you don't know
cos he uses the desk also. At the same time with this exercise, he
continues the legend and
renews the reputation.
After a number of trades get done about 15-25 ticks away from when the
local started his action,
prices goes back to where it was ...
And you were stopped out? Well smack his bottom baby ...
>> > than 25K to over 30 million in six years and trades upwards of 20,000
>Bond
>> > contracts a day. I guess you could say the guys at Omega who came from
>> McD's were in the meat packing business too (1/4 pound at a time). The
>point is
>> you can become a great trader (or whatever) regardless of what you did
>before.
>> > You don't have to be a great programer. You don't need six years of
>college.
>> > You don't need a fun toy like TradeStation. In fact, Market Wizards was
>> > written in the late 80's before TS existed.
>
> Many of those guys used computers
> for little more than quotes. Some of them still do charts by hand.
>
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