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Michael,
Thanks for your comments. FYI, I agree with you on many of your points
including Van Tharp and Peter Bernstein books. I would add Mark Douglas'
Disciplined Trader to the help list. I approach trading as a business, but
I structure it as a business that I can shut down at 8:30 AM and get on with
my life. Said another way, it isn't the center of my life. I believe I
have come close to the Disciplined Trader and I don't personalize each
trading session. I work at the thought that my results are mostly random
numbers. And no matter how hard I work at it (or hope for the best) I will
not change that very important law of the universe, trading results are
mostly random.
Tonight I have replied to over a dozen emails on my post to realtraders. I
am surprised that they run the gambit of simple, innocent questions on my
computer setup to accusations that I am a dangerous liar. Go figure.
Marlowe
----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Ferguson <wl7bdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <marlowec@xxxxxxx>; <realtraders@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2000 7:21 PM
Subject: Re: [RT] Re: S&P Learning Curve
> I think the learning curve is as large as the opportunity. I suggest you
> read Van Tharp's book on trading, to learn the meaning and importance of
> position sizing, and Peter Bernstein's book to understand what risk is.
(It
> may be impossible to succeed of you don't know what position sizing
means.)
>
> There may be as many systems as there are traders. The best advice I have
> heard is to find one thing that works for you, and learn to do that very
> well. Maybe doing what a friend does is best for you, and maybe not, it is
> something you have to test. Test every assumption. Test forward, so the
> results of your proposition benefit you. Hypothetical trades produce
> hypothetical money.
>
> Simplify. For example, what if you found something that works, with a lot
of
> indicators and alarms; could it work with fewer indicators? With NO
> indicators? How do you know? Prove it.
>
> I have a PfgBest account and get fills within seconds. About five is the
> fastest and twelve is the slowest so far. I would not trade e-mini with
> slower fills. I have studied this intensely for several years and can't
quit
> my regular job yet. Learning to trade is as much about time as it is about
> money, it is a process.
>
> Flat is a position. Mon and Tue this week I could not read the tape at
all,
> and I knew it. I chose to stay out. I am sure that it offered great set
ups
> for some traders, but not for me.
>
> It is possible that someone has stumbled into the markets and never
> struggled to learn, but not likely. The reason it is so hard for someone
> else to help us learn to trade is because it is not about mastering a
system
> or the markets, it is about mastering yourself.
>
> Trading with charts is very deceptive, and nothing can guarantee which way
> the next ticks will go. A neighbor daytrades stocks from a quote page, I
use
> charts. We are suited to the way we trade.
>
> The best advice I can offer is to KNOW HOW YOU LEARN. If you know yourself
> well enough you will see which approaches are dead ends and which lead
> somewhere. Frustration, I mean FRUSTRATION, is extremely annoying, but it
> stimulates my best problem solving. I use it, and there is plenty of it in
> this business, to produce solutions. Again, it is a process. If you know
> yourself you can leverage the process. If you know you can't trade off a
> spreadsheet, don't waste your time trying.
>
> If this sounds clipped and terse, it is because I am a terse and clipped
> kind of guy. <g>
>
> Best Success,
>
> Michael
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Marlowe Cassetti" <marlowec@xxxxxxx>
> To: <realtraders@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2000 12:07
> Subject: [RT] Re: S&P Learning Curve
>
>
> |
> | Sean,
> |
> | I just started (5 days now) daytrading the ES. I have a friend who has
> been
> | trading this and the NQ quite successfully, so I'm following his system.
> He
> | uses Lind Online and I use Jack Carl ETC for trading. I use
TradeStation
> | 2000i and he uses MetaStock RT. We both use eSignal.
> |
> | My experience with JC ETC is that they are quite fast on the orders and
> | fills. On my second day, my JC internet service froze up. I was able
to
> | restore it and recover without a big hit. I now keep my cell phone
beside
> | me with the trade desk speed-dial selected as a backup.
> |
> | I hesitate to give my results because they represent a small statically
> | sample- But I'm averaging about $83 per contract per trade with a 72%
win
> | ratio.
> |
> | Again, I too am feeling my way through daytrading and I'm on my own
> learning
> | curve.
> |
> | Hope this helps ... Marlowe
> |
> |
> | ----- Original Message -----
> | From: Sean Cassidy <scassidy@xxxxxxxxx>
> | To: <realtraders@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> | Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2000 10:26 AM
> | Subject: S&P Learning Curve
> |
> |
> | Can anyone give me the approximate learning curve for most people
trading
> | e-mini S&Ps, in terms of dollars? I know this is completely subjective
and
> | will vary widely from trader to trader but I would just like to know
what
> | most successful traders went through in terms of drawdown before
becoming
> | profitable. I am using some system software that is right most of the
time
> | but have had trouble with slippage and a few bad fills. I am using Jack
> Carl
> | and they seem very slow. it sometimes takes a minute or more for an
order
> to
> | become live. Is this bad? It sure seems to be. Again just a few
> experiences
> | of others would let me know if I am on the right track. After about 17
> | trades I am down 7 points and a total of just over $600. Is this good,
> bad,
> | should I be looking for a real job?
> |
> | Sean
> |
> |
> |
> |
> |
>
|