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Hello Vince and List,
I found using a trading journal to be very helpful. More on that in a moment.
++++++++++++++++++++
First, I cannot resist the temptation to take a vitriolic shot at the
guru-book-seminar-vendors.
I recently contacted twelve of that ilk. I nicely asked all of them to
provide real-money, performance stats....account statements, audited
quarterlies/annuals, whatever. The simple, ordinary stuff that is part of
simple, ordinary due diligence.
Half of them were "I'm gonna make you rich by teaching you to trade fx my
way, for only $5,000".
The other half were guys you've often seen writing articles in the trading
mags, or at the On-Line Trading Expo, and pitching their stuff in display
ads, spam, or direct mail.
Not one of them was willing or able to provide that proof!! And now I
learn they can't even provide a journal!! Instead, some tried to save face
and they sent back windy missives about how their real priority in life is
to "teach and help others". The altrui$m was touching.
Before they sell help to others they ougtha prove they can do what they
peddle. VERY FEW of the gurus can pass that test. Kudos to the legit ones
who can and do.
Considering the financial and emotional damage the phonies do, they should
be held accountable to the point of proving the validity of their junk
BEFORE they are permitted to pitch it. (that may mean a fire sale for the
trader mags)
Most of them use the mother of all loopholes, "it's
discretionary". Fine. Then prove your discretionary crap really
works. After all, that'$ how they pitch it.
I'm not big on regulations, but certain arenas require it....doctors, CPAs,
airline pilots, etc. A lot of these guru momzers use pure fraud to sell
their crap at high prices, so a simple caveat emptor don't cut it. The
First Amendment is a beautiful thing, but the Supreme Court has held a
zillion times that it ends at the other guy's nose and wallet.
Nothing like a good rant before happy-hour.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I found a trading journal to be very helpful in the EARLY days of learning
the basics of TA, market mechanics, how I personally handle fear and greed,
the holding period and trading style(s) right for me, and stuff like that.
I agree with others' comments about the journal being an individual
thing. I cooked up mine with some spiral binders, a ruler and a pen. A
highliter was also a big help.
It was a great tool when going back to the drawing board. I was able to
see the problematic issues I overcame, the rough spots I had thus far
failed to master, and the new rough spots I encountered. I was able to
experience my early learning curve as an orderly, and cumulative endeavor.
I never used a journal to track actual trading method activity, or to
prove/disprove a system I had in mind. Using the journal in the classroom
and the real time, practice phases taught me that system trading is the
only way to fly (for me).
I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree and everything is a struggle. The
variables the market throws at me are tough enough. Avoiding the crap from
between my ears (and my mouth, just ask my broker) that I throw into the
mix put me on the system path right away.
Generally speaking, I don't see how a journal is really useful for
assessing the merits of a discretionary trading method. I'm guessing the
trader wouldn't live long enough to accumulate enough stats/data to ever
know how his method is really likely to perform. That leads to too many
other unanswered questions the poor guy has to deal with. The definition
of "discretionary" practically precludes that entirely. Maybe that's why
so many accounts are blown up?
I know there are some fabulous discretionary traders out there. It's cool
they can do it. I can't.
Using the journal for the other issues listed above can also be a dead end
if the guy didn't do enough practice trading to uncover and resolve most of
his weaknesses. If he's still writing down the same goofs as he did months
ago, maybe a journal is not the answer.
Bob Fulks kindly told me a quote he learned from someone else..."If you
can't count it, you can't fix it". For a guy like me, that's gold.
Thanks to those who read this far.
Merry stinkin' Christmas and Hannukah to all.
The Anti-Claus
At 12:26 PM 12/5/2003 -0600, Vince Heiker wrote:
1. Trading Journal.
Many trading experts state that a trader needs to maintain, review, study
his/her own trading journal, implying that without such, a trader will
lose...because s/he will not learn from his/her mistakes.
Curious, is it not, that none of the experts provide an example of even a
single good trading journal? There is not a single good one among my 400+
trading books and 100+ trading videos, nor years of trading magazine issues,
nor at any trading Expo's or seminars or local trading group meetings that
I've attended.
Occasionally I correspond with very well known trading book authors and
seminar providers. I challenge some, politely, to provide me with just one
decent design or example. None have.
The best trading journal I've seen, is at the website of another trader, who
has been trading only about 2 years, if memory serves. Isn't that also odd,
that a non-expert can put good thought into this, not only design but also
use and bravely post his trading journal for all to see - yet not one expert
can do so?
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