mslk

hey phantom - any more updates on this thread? i've enjoyed following your thoughts on price action thus far - mslk

is it true that wycoff doesn't really trade, and makes his money doing other things? is this a case of 'those who can't teach'? i apologize in advance if i offend anyone but its just a honest question. thanks - mslk

hey cnms - i'm having a hard time figuring out your chart ... would you care to describe it a little? TIA - mslk

according to the MIDAS system, the vmap subsequent to a reversal in trend is a major indicator of major change in market (trader) sentiment. this is one of their key chart predictors - mslk

isn't it interesting that its 'very simple' but damn freaking hard! it requires so much discipline. and with the overflow of information these days it makes it even harder. thats being discussed in the other thread: Information overload!! - Page 2 - Traders Laboratory Forums - mslk

yes i agree - for most people trying to trade, they treat it like a form of gambling, it just easier and more fun to try and pick tops and bottoms instead of sitting down, putting together a risk-management plan, wait for the 1 or 2 trading opportunities, execute, and watch it for the exit. its just too much boring work! its more fun to buy and sell throughout the day! - mslk

amen! great post ... it is so hard to separate the two but the ones with discipline will get the spoils. professional athletes, in particular golfers, have learnt to do this well. its all about the process - mslk

great line! thanks for these posts, i'm really learning alot. please post more often if you can there are alot of people just starting out that you are helping. thanks - mslk

I was referring to the "Half way where?" question but no worries, maybe I read the tone wrong mslk

why so negative MM? SpecTrade is just trying to give the guy some encouragement ... I take the statement as "he is half-way to his goal of learning how to be a successful trader so don't quit!" so what if the statement is a little loose? OP - don't quit ... take a step back, regroup, read some more, try to plan before attacking. but don't give up. you are further along now than when you started ... and there is still a journey ahead but don't give up! best of luck. mslk

Here are some very compelling reasons why some people I know prefer to trade e-mini YM to stocks (off the top of my head). - can day trade without needing $25,000+ in the account - Comissions are decent $4/round turn trip on the YM - As I dont have to wake up at 6am and scan for stocks to trade - Tax Reasons - You don't have to list every sale on your return! (for people in the USA) - The $5/tick range of the YM makes for lower slippage(ES, ER too volitale=bad slippage) - The spreads are never going to be huge like they can get on stocks - Focusing on one instrument day in and day out is less complicated and more productive - It's liquid enough. Market orders are instant. No weird fills - Share size allocation is easier. I trade from 3-8 contracts depending on the setup - I've held a stock that plunged 20 pts due to random company event. While econ reports move the futures. It's never been THAT bad - There are always shorts available If anyone has any more to add?? mslk

Hi, Not sure what best forum is for this thread so I figured this forum would give it the most exposure (IMHO that, I think it deserves) I have been researching various trading methods, for six months, that may or may not give me an edge in trading. I now want to move onto another part of my research. HOW NOT TO LOSE MY SHIRT. I have often seen it mentioned that we should only risk at any time 1% or 2%( if your a high roller) of our trading capital at any time. What I hope is that some members might enlighten me(and other newbies) with real experiences of what are the consequences of not listening to this rule. Also what are the real benefits of using a robust Money & Risk Management System. Maybe also, what are some of the Physiological pitfalls that might be waiting to pounce. Thanks mslk

To answer your questions ... 1. how much money do you have ? (free money) $10k 2. how much time do you have ? intermittent time during the day (I have full-time job) and time on evenings and weekends 3. how much risk can you take? ie how much of the free money you can lose before feeling the pain. $10k! :-) 4. what do your friends trade? they don't, mostly value\buy-hold investors 5. what books have you read? books on TA and trend trading ... but they don't give much advice on specific instruments thanks, mslk

Hi, I am just starting out, trying learn as much as I can about trading. But there are so many instruments I can trade and I suspect picking the right one is probably one of the most important decisions I can make? Any advice for someone starting out? I read the thread about why the eMini stinks ... how about forex or options? Does anyone have suggestions or advice on how you picked what you trade? Thanks everyone mslk

I trade stocks, usually by reading newsletters and following trends. I'm starting to learn how to trade options, just selling puts and covered calls. I trade to take ownership and control of my investments instead of handing it over to an 'advisor'. I want to take the plunge one day and trade full-time but i'm still studying charting and technical analysis ... thats my goal - to be able to make trading my full-time gig.

Thanks for the suggestion about IB, I will try them out. But I find it hard to believe no broker has good accounting? Isn't one of the most important aspects of trading is knowing your positions, win\loss record, etc? Having to manually enter this stuff into XL seems like an unnecessary task in this age of technology. I guess I'm not the only one struggling to find a good (automated) setup?

Canada is pretty much the 51 state anyways, I wouldn't be surprised if the US tries to take over the oilsands. But back to QE2 and coming doom ... how are we going to trade it? Or do we just buy PHYSICAL gold, silver, land and hunker down? Do these paper gold and silver products (GLD, SLV) even own the amount of physical product they claim they do? Fun times this is going to make 2008 seem like a walk in the park.

just stocks & options - my main grievances is that the portfolio position tracking, historical trade data, charting & screening functionality is terrible. and it takes forever to execute a trade. plus i am a programmer so i would also like to dip my toes into automation. so instead of using TD's poor interface, i'm just using google to manage my portfolios positions (i know its sad) i would just like some help and direction on a good setup (programming interface, trade execution, broker, data, etc) thanks!

bump ... no one can recommend anything?

The US won't go down without a fight ... They are going to: 1. try and screw their creditors via inflation (which is already happening) 2. if that fails, they will try to screw their biggest creditors (China) by making up some accusations of currency manipulation\fraud and then essentially write off those debts 3. if that fails, they will threaten to nationalize 'critical to the US' companies and threaten to pull all of them out of China and put in other locations with cheap labor 4. if that fails, they will go to war And on US soil, this is going to happen: 1. severe depression because of inflation and no jobs 2. a hallowing out of middle america to the big cities It's sad but I don't think the leadership has the balls to do anything drastic to turn this around. Greed and corruption has ruined this country ... just like every other world power in the past

The video here is quite remarkable. What starts as a police stop of a white guy for the innocuous offense of riding a bicycle on the sidewalk, followed by an innocent wisecrack by a bypassing black pedestrian - aimed at the bicyclist (who received it in the humor it was intended) - ends up with a dozen policemen arresting the black guy followed by a near riot. On viewing the video, one might be forgiven for feeling some level of outrage at the entire farce - but it is so over the top, I could only laugh. You truly can't make this stuff up. Watch the video here.

Hi, I've been using a combination of google finance to track my positons and TD Waterhosue Webbroker to make the trades ... obviously this isn't the optimal setup! Can you someone recommend a *proper* setup for me? I would like the ability to program some rules, execute the trades, track current\historical positions - all in one place, access to live stock & options data, open\close multiple positions with less click (oh my god it takes 5 clicks sell anything in TD Waterhouse!) I've been reading and getting started is really confusing ... what software do I use, which broker should I use, do I need a data provider, etc? Thx in advance!