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Hi all,
Hope everybody is not yet bored with this theme. Here is my story, you
draw your own conclusions:
- I have been a pure discretionnary trader at the beginning and was very
successful. One day I blew up.
- I found then that there are techniques tools, etc. I learned these
became successful and one day I blew up.
- I then found there some tools theories etc that allow to evaluate
where the markets stand in relation to their history. I became
successful at these, and one day I BLEW UP.
- I then found there real time feeds and tools that really allow to be
close to the markets, so I used these, became successful and one day I
BLEW UP.
- I then learned we all should use systems, and I went into studying
systems, which I did for quite a long time using famous TradeStation
3.1. Well I BLEW UP even before succeeding, and never found a system
that has a managable drawdown.
- I then thought maybe the systems sellers are onto something after all.
So I bought a few of them. Most were of no use to me, but one I used. I
did several thousand trades with it and I succeeded. But in the end, I
BURNT OUT. Still had the money though.
- Then I went back to it all, and today I do the same I did in my first
days, using only visual price patterns, but none of the tools I found
thereafter, using no particularly methods except trying to be the price
myself and sensing my path of least resistance. I am systematic in the
sense I always act on the same premises, but avoid trading on all other
occasions. I am disciplined in the sense I apply the same criteria and
execute the same way each time, which I all learned trading my purchased
system. I am subject to emotions just as when I was system trading, but
I am much stronger being a discretionary because I know why I am in the
trade and why I am in that position, whereas with the system, I agreed
to be in the trade, but not necessarily in that position at that time,
which stressed me a lot. As an aside, the system I traded has seen its
profitability peek just before I started it, and is now at about a third
it used to be.
So what? Well I had to become a system trader and understand what it was
all about in order to find my own way which I had inside me all along,
only that my ago overshadowed it all the time, so I couldn't tell the
difference between what Ramon labeled the intuition and the
into-wishing.
I agree emotions are dangerous, but ignoring them or suppressing them is
worse. The long term success is dependant on getting every single part
of oneself in harmony, emotions AND ego. Short of that, imbalances will
manifest themselves one way or the other.
That's where I am at now.
Gwenn
Scot Billington wrote:
> I think one of the critical decisions a trader makes, and one of the
> true distinctions between trading styles is systematic vs.
> discretionary. When I say systematic trading, I mean mechanical
> trading, X closes under Z with A, B, C in line, I sell with a stop at
> Y EVERY time.
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