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You have to start with a first quest for a method that provides a
profitable career. This takes time. Once you have it, to each his own
about what to do next. But the risk remains regarding the market
changing against you with respect to what you have been doing.
You can say that your methodology is robust and has worked for years, and will
work throughout your career, only requiring a little tweaking here and there.
But I think other people are not that fortunate, and worse, they
don't even know it, until they lose their capital.
For example, daytrading the NASDAQ by picking momentous bottoms and being dependent on 1999-2000 style volatility to
pay your bills. Some people made millions from it, while others only
made a living. But if we enter a period of low volatility and low
volume in the wake of scared money leaving stocks due to widespread
corporate corruption, the daytrader's trading performance may not
match his living expenses, because the method was dependent on a
market personality that no longer exists. Then you have a problem.
This methodology weak? Maybe. But how can the novice realize that
until it's too late? I think time spent on new trading system ideas
is a good insurance policy.
BH> I disagree completely on having to be on a constant quest for new methods.
BH> The markets may change in terms of bear/bull and other things like
BH> volatility but the Price action doesn't. I've been trading the same methods
BH> for years and while I have added a wrinkle here and there as I become more
BH> experienced, the underlying methodology has remained and will remain
BH> constant. If you're spending every weekend looking for something new and
BH> different to try you're highly unlikely to achieve any kind of success. You
BH> need to choose a fork in the road in terms of methodology and then bear down
BH> and learn it - and there is a huge difference between recognition and
BH> understanding.
BH> I do agree that it takes a tremendous amount of time and energy to become
BH> proficient at this game. My day begins when the bonds open and ends when
BH> the indexes close - most days. But there is the Globex session on certain
BH> news events as well. Not to mention the preparation that needs to be done
BH> each night before the market opens the next day.
BH> Once you reach a certain level you may decide to not trade every day, move
BH> to a larger timeframe to reduce the number of trades, etc. and that would
BH> obviously reduce the number of hours you "work"....But don't underestimate
BH> the amount of time and energy it will take to get to that point - it is a
BH> h-ll of a lot more than you think.
BH> Bobh
BH> ----- Original Message -----
BH> From: "_Craig" <craigbud@xxxxxxxxxxx>
BH> To: "Alexander" <alexander@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
BH> Cc: "Omega List" <omega-list@xxxxxxxxxx>
BH> Sent: Friday, July 12, 2002 6:32 PM
BH> Subject: Re: Work 50-70 hours a week
>> The real issue is not the time it takes to execute your method, but
>> the constant quest for new money-making methodologies that are
>> compatible with your personality, as the markets constantly change.
>>
>> The bubble created a class of daytraders who limit themselves to a
>> world of eye-shifting between level II screens, daytrading chat
>> rooms, and Joe K on CNBC. They hope to scalp teenies and ride the
>> momentum to riches, and then go off to racket ball as soon as the
>> market closes.
>>
>> Many did well back in 1999-2000. Some are still doing well at it. If
>> you're doing this and your capital is slowly bleeding to death, then
>> you better start looking for a new strategy that will save your
>> capital and newfound career, and this search takes a lot of
>> TIME.
>>
>> Trading is a practice, and it requires time and effort to find new
BH> methodologies
>> that work as the markets change. The methods themselves may require
>> 10 minutes a day, or 80 hours a week to generate trades, but plan to
BH> reserve several
>> hours for your quest for new ideas that you can put into action when
>> your current system turns to poop.
>>
>>
>> A> Color me lazy!
>>
>> A> This month's Active Trader magazine has an article, "A Trader
BH> Checklist." It
>> A> says, "In most cases though, being a successful trader requires
BH> anywhere
>> A> between 50 and 70 hours of work per week."
>>
>> A> Doing what?
>>
>> A> The active markets are only open about 30 hours a week if you stare at
BH> the
>> A> screen the whole time. How much "study" does it take before you learn
BH> something
>> A> simple that you feel comfortable with? Then what? An hour a day reading
BH> trading
>> A> books and magazines to see what other people are playing with? It takes
BH> 10
>> A> seconds to put on a trade and 10 seconds to close a trade. It takes 10
BH> minutes
>> A> to figure out where to get in, where to get out wrong and a target.
BH> Every
>> A> software and web package has alarms.
>>
>> A> I'm just a beginner and maybe a fool but just what are you experienced
>> A> successful people doing all that time? Or does that 50-70 hours include
BH> yoga,
>> A> watching daytime TV, emails to friends, washing dishes, web surfing,
BH> making
>> A> dates, clipping toenails?
>>
>> A> alexander the lifestyle-challenged
>>
>>
>>
>>
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