Reaver

A good trader preys on predictabilty.....the name of the game is figure out what your opponents are going to do. A captain obvious is going to get eaten alive.

Nice setup. Looks a lot like mine. Even the choice of books.

Good to hear, Walter.

You're one smart dude. I like the logical breakdown. I'm tracking.

Yeah Walter sorry it took so long to post here and cast a vote. But you definitely get a thumbs up from me man. Keep it up. I enjoy what you have to say.

Cool Walter. I am looking forward to seeing what you have to say.

I actually went to Dubai once...of course that wonderful tour also included Qatar and Somalia however....

Yes Dubai is an interesting place to say the least.

Update- Frank's been tremendously helpful. He seems like a good guy to me. As far as I can tell he's a straight shooter and he has shown integrity in the times we have talked. I try not to recommend anything to anyone unless I have made a good conclusion....and he gets a green light from me, for what its worth.

lol yeah that would be the good life. Plenty of money to do what you want for the rest of your life. It's funny too, because there are many people who could take 10 million and be broke in a year or less, just check out those people that win the lottery on TV. I need to go buy myself some scratch and win tickets. lol

It was for brevity's sake Cooter.

If I had 10 million right now, I'd put 5 million in a certificate and live off the interest and travel and trade the rest of my life.

My recommendation is to read Trading Day By Day by Chick Goslin. Work outward from there as you see fit.

Poker and trading have similar concepts, but are compeltely different than each other. It's like saying you aren't good at basketball, so you would not be good at football by default. While being good at one shows athleticism and an increased proclivity at success in sports in general..they do not necessarily preclude you from being good at one and not the other. Don't count yourself out like that.

ha ha that was the funniest part to me...when it all started downhill.. The WTF thought that popped into my head the second I heard that was perfect. U.S. Americans. LOL

ouch. Thanks for the additional video links Brownsfan, I'll check them out when I get home.

Yeah it's sad too....as funny as it is...wow, it is a symbol of the state of affairs in the US these days. This type of thing is the same reason people got nailed in this subprime mess....just unbelievable..you'd think it was done on purpose.

lol yeah I saw that this morning, and was seriously just in shock....wow.

Cooter, my youtube thing is not working right now- but I am going to go ahead and guess that this is a clip of Miss South Carolina getting asked the map question.... Am I right?

Yeah I wasn't sure exactly what to say in direct response- but I tried to focus on the basic question. lol

I was referring to the definition of a system, which is set up to override things like discretion. Choosing to do something is also referred to as discretion. Therefore if you are not a discretionary trader, then you follow your system no matter what, or else you are not trading a system. At this point you are what they call being discretionary. In trading, you can pretty much do whatever you want to do, which is why most fail. Therefore you can take a week off if you CHOOSE to. And if you are making enough money, you probably wouldn't notice the difference...but are you supposed to? No. You are not supposed to as it defies the logic of your non-discretionary system which is based on statistics to do so. If I make $100,000 a year trading, a bank will loan me the money to purchase a $70,000 car. Is this the most intelligent thing possible? No. of course not. Can I do it without really suffering major repercussions? Yes, more than likely. Like Brownsfan said- it is about consistency, and yes you are supposed to take every setup your system provides if you are a system trader. Otherwise you are toying with the statistical edge your system is supposed to provide in the first place.

I am no expert, but by definition, if you are not a discretionary trader, then you should take all setups that come along. By trading a mechanical system you are in essence forfeiting the factor of discretion in your trading... However, if I were kicking some major butt at the beginning of the week and had already exceeded my target.....Even though I know I am not technically supposed too....If I for some reason just wanted to relax, I maybe would take the week off...because technically in your business plan you have exceeded your target so you are meeting your expectations....but logically, and by definition, I would also know that I SHOULD take every setup that presents itself, as that by it's very nature is how a system is supposed to work. The Kenny Rogers song applies only to discretionary traders, IMO...for a system trader-knowing when to hold, fold, cover, go long, or whatever has no bearing......it is all about what the system says to do....

I totally agree. Lenders sure wouldn't have been crying if the market hadn't collapsed and people were eventually paying 13-14% on their mortgages... They took a risk, and unbelieveably foolish one at that, and it blew up in their face. Ya gotta pay the piper sometimes. If I were to open a restaurant and do stupid business practices and I went under, then hey too bad...nodody's gonna help me out, I get to go back to working for someone else...as is the supposed nature of capitalism....but for some reason when these predatory lenders start to suffer for their misdeeds...they call on the government like they were some philanthropic group that fell on bad times.... Maybe it has something to do with the ungodly amount of money they funnel to the government in lobbying and campaign contributions each year.... This whole thing is just a mess...everyone involved should just own up to their responsibilities and move forward.

awww come on they're not that bad!

Looks like it was on local Public Broadcast from the 80's.