TheNegotiator

Quite amusing- TOP 50 JOKES OF ALL TIME(??amusing but not sure about that!) 50 I went to the doctors the other day and he said: "Go to Bournemouth, it's great for flu." So I went - and I got it. 49 A seal walks into a club... 48 Went to the corner shop - bought four corners. 47 So I met this gangster who pulls up the back of people's pants. It was Wedgie Kray. 46 I'll tell you what I love doing more than anything - trying to pack myself in a small suitcase. I can hardly contain myself. 45 I tried water polo but my horse drowned. 44 A three-legged dog walks into a saloon in the Old West. He sidles up to the bar and says: "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw." 43 You see my next-door neighbour worships exhaust pipes, he's a Catholic converter. 42 I've got a friend who's fallen in love with two school bags. He's bisatchel. 41 Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly. But when they lit a fire in the craft, it sank, proving once and for all that you can't have your kayak and heat it. 40 I said to this train driver: "I want to go to Paris." He said: "Eurostar?" I said: "I've been on telly but I'm no Dean Martin." 39 My phone will ring at 2am and my wife'll look at me and go, "Who's that calling at this time?" I say, "I don't know. If I knew that we wouldn't need the bloody phone." 38 A lorry-load of tortoises crashed into a train load of terrapins. What a turtle disaster. 37 I swear, the other day I bought a packet of peanuts, and on the packet it said "may contain nuts". Well, YES. That's what I bought them for. You'd be annoyed if you opened it and a socket set fell out. 36 I backed a horse last week at 10 to one. It came in at quarter past four. 35 I went down to my local supermarket and I said: "I want to make a complaint. This vinegar's got lumps in it". He said: "Those are pickled onions." 34 A man entered a local paper's pun contest. He sent in 10 different puns, in the hope that at least one of the puns would win. Unfortunately, no pun in 10 did. 33 I was having dinner with Garry Kasparov (world chess champion) and there was a check tablecloth. It took him two hours to pass me the salt. 32 Four fonts walk into a bar. The barman says: "Oi - get out. We don't want your type in here." 31 I'm in a Chinese restaurant and this duck comes up with a red rose and says: "Your eyes sparkle like diamonds." I said: "Waiter, I asked for a-ROMATIC duck." 30 I'm in a great mood tonight because the other day I entered a competition and I won a year's supply of Marmite - one jar. 29 I saw this man and woman wrapped in a barcode. I said: "Are you two an item?" 28 A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their tournament victories. After an hour, the manager came out and asked them to disperse. "But why?" they asked. "Because," he said, "I can't stand chess nuts boasting in an open foyer." 27 Went to the paper shop - it had blown away. 26 I cleaned the attic with the wife the other day. Now I can't get the cobwebs out of her hair. 25 I sent my girlfriend a huge pile of snow. I rang her up and said: "Did you get my drift?" 24 A sandwich walks into a bar. The barman says: "Sorry, we don't serve food in here." 23 A priest, a rabbi and a vicar walk into a bar. The barman says: "Is this some kind of joke?" 22 Slept like a log last night. Woke up in the fireplace. 21 A jumplead walks into a bar. The barman says: "I'll serve you, but don't start anything." 20 I met a Dutch girl with inflatable shoes last week, phoned her up for a date but she'd popped her clogs. 19 I rang up BT. I said: "I want to report a nuisance caller." He said: "Not you again." 18 "My therapist says I have a preoccupation with vengeance. We'll see about that." 17 When Susan's boyfriend proposed, she said: "I love the simple things in life but I don't want one of them for my husband." 16 I went to buy camouflage trousers but I couldn't find any. 15 Two fish in a tank. One says: "How do you drive this thing?" 14 A woman has twins, and gives them up for adoption. One goes to a family in Egypt and is named Amal. The other goes to Spain and is named Juan. Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his mum. Upon receiving it, she tells her husband that she wished she also had a picture of Amal. Her husband said: "But they are twins. If you've seen Juan, you've seen Amal." 13 I saw this bloke chatting up a cheetah. I thought: "He's trying to pull a fast one." 12 My mother-in-law fell down a wishing well, I was amazed. I never knew they worked. 11 Went to the doctors and said: "Have you got anything for wind?" He gave me a kite. 10 A man walks into a bar with a roll of Tarmac under his arm and says: "Pint please, and one for the road." 9 I'm on a whisky diet. I've lost three days already. 8 "Doc, I can't stop singing The Green, Green Grass Of Home." He said: "That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome." "Is it common?" I asked. "It's not unusual," he replied. 7 Two aerials meet on a roof, fall in love and get married. The reception was brilliant. 6 Police arrested two kids yesterday, one was drinking battery acid, the other was eating fireworks. They charged one - and let the other one off. 5 A classic from Tommy Cooper - I said to the gym instructor: "Can you teach me to do the splits?" He said: "How flexible are you?" I said: "I can't make Tuesdays." 4 A young blonde fears her husband is having an affair. She goes to a gun shop and buys a handgun. The next day she finds him in bed with a redhead. She grabs the gun and holds it to her own head. The husband jumps off the bed and starts begging and pleading with her not to shoot herself. Hysterically, the blonde responds to the husband: "Shut up, you're next." 3 A dyslexic man walks into a bra. 2 Went to the zoo. There was only one dog in it. It was a shitzu. 1 A woman gets on a bus with her baby. The driver says: "Ugh, that's the ugliest baby I've ever seen." The woman walks to the rear of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to a man next to her: "The driver just insulted me." The man says: "You go up there and tell him off. Go on, I'll hold your monkey for you."

Hi iznogoud! Nice to have you with us! May I suggest taking a look at our beginners forum and possibly this thread:- http://traderslaboratory.com/forums/f30/considerations-wannabe-trader-9328.html

I believe FulcrumTrader is talking about cumulative delta over on the 'Trading Momentum Moves Intraday' thread:- http://traderslaboratory.com/forums/f229/trading-momentum-moves-intraday-8549.html I will ask him if he has any input here.

Hi TraderIQ, I am still looking into it for you and I am awaiting a response back.

Thanks sdoma. I definitely think that this is the sort of idea that is very useful to intraday traders. What are your thoughts on cumulative delta?

You could take a look at some Eurex products. The Schatz (FGBS) would be very manageable with a 10k account so long as you don't decide to go crazy on the size you trade. However, it's not for everyone. Not a big mover. I know many guys who like to trade the EuroStoxx (FESX) as it moves nicely and is liquid. That depends on the kind of margin you could get though.

Thanks for those points dgdevans and leobust. It is really amazing how much people pick up when they start trading but how little they realise it takes beforehand. Keep 'em coming!!

Scott, Fascinating insight into some of the inner technical workings that make up the market. In this case though, it doesn't seem as though it is directly affecting the delta. Correct me if I am wrong though.

It doesn't sound messed up at all. In fact, it sounds to me at least, very sensible. Creating aversion to bad habits, instincts or desires surely has to benefit you in the long run. But are there any negatives to this approach? Does it also create a dependence on the plan? Does it just create the desire to always take the setup? It really depends on what sort of trader you are. System or discretionary. It sounds to me like it's a good thing although if you can force yourself to take the trades that specifically don't meet your criteria to create the aversion, I suppose the question to ask would be why can't you also force yourself to adhere to your plan anyway? Just a thought...

Dcash, Is there anything in particular that you believe helps you to stay out of non-setup trades and stick to your rules? Cheers,

Imo, the issue about bundling is only a problem if you are looking for specific traders. When I started on eurex, it used to be obvious when paper came in. Then they made it tough. I decided that it had become best guess and it was better to look at the context of trade occurrence rather than specific size. You can still get a feel generally if you are decent at DOM reading, but I never rely on this alone. So for me, it's about delta with context.

So after 3 years, do you feel you have addressed all these point poorly/well/got them nailed? It's important for new traders to realise how many things they have to look at and how many more things they will find out they have to look at when they get into trading. Being extremely organised should help!!

Nice! Just make sure you treat it as you should treat the markets. Prepare thoroughly, be extremely diligent and take lots of notes. Sterilise everything. If you don't think about this- how do you feel when you spill a full pint of beer? How would you feel if you lost a full brew? Good luck and enjoy!! Cheers.

Currently I am using Ninja/zenfire. There is an add on which is pretty good for a monthly subscription but I don't use volume breakdown at price at the moment at least. I have used market delta in the past with CQG and this is very good. I did feel though it was somewhat a waste considering the cost and the basic way I used it. How are you looking for trapped retail? With the way CME unbundled some of the tick data, isn't it easier to have commercial appear as retail? I'm sure it is possible but I've never really gone into such depth. Cheers, TheNegotiator.

I love my football. I mean the kind which you actually are meant to use your feet with(yes, soccer if you must)! Lol. I play some guitar. I do enjoy cooking a lot. I like brewing beer- or I enjoy the end product anyway!!

An experience I had early on as a trader comes to mind on this topic. A trader who had been very successful while being backed by an arcade was now trading at the same firm where I worked but was now a client. I was quite privileged in this sense as I knew and socialised with some really good traders. Having done very well as a client, he had reached a plateau seemingly and actually I was trading bigger size than him(I was actually made to - it wasn't my choice!!). He asked me how I dealt with it. I can't remember exactly what I said as a young cocky(not too cocky!) trader, but it was something along the lines of I try not to look at size in any way other than mechanically whether it affects my ability to enter and exit the market. I trade the same way as I traded a 1 lot. This wasn't strictly true as it got to a point where I was pushed to do too much size and a couple of 'bad beat' trades affected me for a while. The client actually upped his size and carried on doing pretty well just with bigger size. So my idea is to correctly size your trades is to have a thorough money management plan but also understand how you deal with the fluctuations psychologically. For me, they are symbiotic. Sorry for the ramble! TheNegotiator.

Too right Dave. It's better to have rules that sometimes keep you out of winners than no rules at all. Remember, and I know this seems really obvious, missing a winner is not the same as taking a losing trade. There are plenty of opportunities for you if you are diligent and trade to your plan. Trigger happy traders or 'itchy' trigger finger traders usually have to get burned before they realise their error. Some never learn. But hey, if you disagree then let me know! TheNegotiator.

I find I must focus my mind and clear it of unimportant clutter before trading.

I'll start the discussion off with a few core points which I would say any trader must consider(btw I consider anyone who is buying and selling products is a trader. So that includes longer term investors too). 1-Why. Firstly I would consider why exactly it is I want to trade. Is it to make money, is it to prove I am the best, is it to learn to be the best? The markets are a great humbler and anyone who walks into them with their eyes shut is likely to get their arse handed to them on a plate. 2-Commitment. How much time can I/will I commit to trading? Trading is not like riding a bike. You have to learn the basics and progress to the more advanced material and understanding. But it is ever evolving. So when you can't make heads nor tails of something, it's possibly because it has changed before you understood it in the first place. Commitment is key. If you don't provision for time, you'll likely lose money. 3-Timeframe and method. Will I be a swingtrader or a scalper? A position trader or a news trader? How might that fit in with my account size and my other commitments? Will I trade fundamentals or technicals? What is a technical?(lol j/k). 4-Account/investment size. How much can I realistically afford to start an account with and what are my expectations of potential return? Have I got enough savings or additional income to support me before I become profitable? There are those who say it takes at least 18 months of live trading before you become profitable. 5-Money management. Have I got a firm and realistic plan of how to deal with profit and loss? Can I say that so long as I have a reasonable trading method I will make money. People often overlook this part of trading but it is critical. If I don't accept that I have to take losses as part of doing business, I won't plan properly for when things go wrong. Also, how will I know when I can or should increase my position sizing? 6-Product. So which type of product would I like to get into? Stock, bonds, fx, metals, energy etc. Spot, futures, options, cfds (contract for difference), spread bets etc. etc. etc.. All of these products offer a multitude of different characteristics which must be understood. How volatile is the product, how much margin is required, how much are commissions, what affects the market, what are its trading hours. 7-Broker. How do I find a good broker that is going to be genuine and well managed. This is my money after all. I know that brokers net all their clients off in some cases and I certainly don't want to have something go wrong. It shouldn't be a problem, but I must research any potential broker thoroughly. Low margin and great commissions are not the only consideration. 8-Platform. Which platform is going to fit in best with my plan? Different platforms are generally employed for different product classes and so finding the one which is most appropriate is important. Also, how much is it going to cost and how stable and efficient is it? 9-News source. Some people hardly even use news. Some people use it a lot. But which news source if any will I use? I know some TV channels are really not too great. There are so many websites and commentaries and even something called squawks which have people speaking relevant news. Newswires which banks and trading arcades have are probably uneconomical at least to start with. I think they run into the thousands of $$$. The absolute minimum I need to know is the times of economic and possibly earnings data. 10-Computer. Is my PC up to scratch? Will it run the platform I selected? Is it clear from clutter and junk that bogs down even very decent computers? 11-Internet Connection. Do I have a decent enough internet connection? If I want to trade through my pc, the data need to get through to it fast and reliably. Just a few ideas to look over for you guys and comment on/question. Cheers, TheNegotiator.

Hi! This will be a thread where people can discuss their hopes and dreams and fears about trading full-time or part-time, but either way trading for real. There are many considerations a wannabe trader must take into account before trading live and many of those will likely be missed or overlooked understandably by someone new to the business. Some will be breakers like account size, some will be obstacles like investigating which product may suit you and your trading. If this thread can be a source of knowledge and be an eye opener to what may be involved in beginning to trade then it's goal will have been achieved. It'd be great to get some posts from new traders here to see some of the hurdles you have had to overcome or even problems which have prevented you from trading completely. Looking forward to sharing your experiences. Cheers, TheNegotiator.

Hmm. Interesting. The way I would see it though is that they are both very competitive. I am not a golfing buff but I would think that there are some golfers who do pretty well for themselves outside the top 100. But maybe we should be thinking multi-sport for trading. I mean, there are so many different types of product and trading style and player in the markets that perhaps even all the sports couldn't cover it! I think trading is highly competitive and something that takes years of practise to master if you even have enough ability to make it. But hey, everyone has their own view! TheNegotiator.

Maybe the other 10% for MadMarketScientist is the pulling the trigger part? Forces you to be there and feel the market. Realise the current nuances and demonstrate awareness of potential system weaknesses. That way, you are quicker to adjust. Maybe. Lol.

TraderWill reminded me of another thing that you hear from traders who do well generally. The outcome of any individual trade should never matter that much. That's why people liken successful trading to successful poker playing. Play enough hands in the right way and you will overall come out on top. Undoubtedly you will lose some hands and get some hard to take 'bad beats', but overall you should do well. Same with trading.

Hey Tim! Nice to have you with us. I had noticed you posting in the forums already and so it's nice you formally introduced yourself to everyone! Cheers, TheNegotiator.

I agree with the last 2 posts. Very important to recognise how your personality will best fit the different styles of trading and different markets. Understanding the type of day that is unfolding is pretty critical imo as so many get done by fading trend days and the like. I'd also add that if you are struggling, deconstruct your charts and your workspace. How many markets do you actually need to be monitoring and exactly why have you got a EMA of momentum as an indicator? TheNegotiator.