A Must See !....principals Apply, Whatever You Trade

[MINTED 10]

I have just finished watching a 3 part series that was aired in the UK called "Million Dollar Traders".

 

Basically it follows 8 people who were plucked out from all walks of life, to see if they could actually learn to trade in only 2 months. To make matters worse, the world financial crisis was just beginning, adding added pressures, that even "seasoned" traders had never seen. Worst market conditions for a generation, as one trader says.

 

It was FASCINATING. I wont give too much away (as I DO recommend you view it), but ONE statement stood out from ALL the others....one of the participants just said

 

"YOU CANNOT LEARN THIS FROM A BOOK, ONLY BY EXPERIENCE"

 

The final "results" will shock you....

[DbPhoenix 42]

ONE statement stood out from ALL the others....one of the participants just said

 

"YOU CANNOT LEARN THIS FROM A BOOK, ONLY BY EXPERIENCE"

 

The final "results" will shock you....

 

Unless they all failed miserably, the results wouldn't shock me. Anyone who can tell the difference between up and down ought to be able to learn this in a much shorter time than is generally claimed (usually by those who have something to sell).

 

Children learn quite well and quite easily, until they go to school....

[Kiwi 16]

I suspect you need to watch it db - you might find it differs from what you expect. If not available locally copies can be found on the net pretty easily.

 

It is an excellent lesson for anyone. I really enjoyed it.

[atto 20]

The series was very bizarre and perplexing to me. I can't relate relate to their trading style and strategies (which are governed by the gut, primarily). In addition to that, it's typical reality trash at times, which some people quite enjoy. I'm sure the producers were eating up all the drama. I got a chuckle on the results, especially since they were mostly in cash, so it's expected that they couldn't win or lose all that much.

 

Trading doesn't have to be like that. And a lot of the "wisdom" they impart makes for good TV, and that's about it.

[BlowFish 10]

It was enjoyable enough. I gave a heads up when it first aired on UK TV (not much use to many) though It pretty quickly found its way to youtube.

 

I would have liked to know a bit more about the strategy they employed, I guess an average reality TV viewer is less likely to be interested in that so not much coverage was given. A lot was gut, based on the newspapers and news wires, though I seem to remember they had to trade pairs.

 

It would seem that people react to trading other people money similarly to there own, though I guess some might be able to be a bit more dispassionate.

 

'Certainly worth a look' rather than 'must see' imho

 

As an aside I found this absolutely fascinating The Ascent of Money | Financial History | Professor Niall Ferguson | Channel 4 it's also on you tube I think and definitely worth a view. It's good to know that there are quality programs being made here and there.

[thalestrader 14]

Anyone who can tell the difference between up and down ought to be able to learn this in a much shorter time than is generally claimed (usually by those who have something to sell).

 

Many are misled both by those who have something to sell, as well as by others who merely have an ego that they wish to have stoked and stroked. Many are led to believe that learning to trade is a long drawn out process, full of pain and peril, not unlike that endured by the Sorceror's apprentice. When I finally had the epiphany that the question for the speculator is simply "is price rising, falling, or holding steady?" consistency and profitability quickly followed.

 

 

 

Children learn quite well and quite easily, until they go to school....

 

Children are perhaps the best candidates to learn to trade ... Goldman Sachs ought to start now training their next generation of traders by starting a charter school.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[ehorn 10]

Much more are those who believe trading is probabilistic.

[uexkuell 10]

It was FASCINATING. I wont give too much away (as I DO recommend you view it)

 

Too bad for me (and probably some others).

 

Sorry guys, perhaps I don't know how to search in YouTube but I surely don't succeed in finding these videos except some trailers that do not have any informational content.

 

May I ask you to sum up what the results where or what impressed you?

[firewalker 10]

I have just finished watching a 3 part series that was aired in the UK called "Million Dollar Traders".

 

Basically it follows 8 people who were plucked out from all walks of life, to see if they could actually learn to trade in only 2 months. To make matters worse, the world financial crisis was just beginning, adding added pressures, that even "seasoned" traders had never seen. Worst market conditions for a generation, as one trader says.

 

It was FASCINATING. I wont give too much away (as I DO recommend you view it), but ONE statement stood out from ALL the others....one of the participants just said

 

"YOU CANNOT LEARN THIS FROM A BOOK, ONLY BY EXPERIENCE"

 

The final "results" will shock you....

 

Strangely the majority of traders on this forum found the "worst market conditions for a generation" a lot more profitable then before.

 

As for 'fascinating', I disagree. Half the time they were repeating what already was being said, there was more focus on the ego's of some people than on the actual trading, and viewers didn't learn a single thing about what trading is actually about. The only thing brought to the viewer's attention was a short explanation of what it means to "short a stock".

 

The series focused primarily on interactions between people, not in the market. Which is fine, if you're into the kind of reality-TV where who said what is more important than what is actually going on, but those who want to watch a show about traders are probably more interested in what trading is actually about.

 

I agree with atto, reality pulp, not the trash usually aired by commercial broadcasters, but still below the general level of a BBC documentary.

 

Warning: spoiler

@uexkuell: If I remember correctly, the end result was that the best trader gained about 1-2% in that month.

[MINTED 10]

if you're into the kind of reality-TV where who said what is more important than what is actually going on, but those who want to watch a show about traders are probably more interested in what trading is actually about.

 

Warning: spoiler

the best trader gained about 1-2% in that month.

 

Reality TV?

....perhaps, More a fly on the wall experiment?

You wont learn much on "trading" methods, but still encouraging to see that over 30% of "class" produced results that were on par or better then "pros"

 

I liked it, and it gave me the impetus to carry on knowing that.....it IS possible to turn a profit. Not easy, but POSSIBLE

[BlowFish 10]

As you pointed out earlier, one of the intresting things was that it seemed clear that some where better emotionally equipped to trade.

[firewalker 10]

Reality TV?

....perhaps, More a fly on the wall experiment?

You wont learn much on "trading" methods, but still encouraging to see that over 30% of "class" produced results that were on par or better then "pros"

 

I liked it, and it gave me the impetus to carry on knowing that.....it IS possible to turn a profit. Not easy, but POSSIBLE

 

A fly on the wall experiment observes neutrally and shows everything so that the viewer can form a picture of his own. Reality TV selects certain moments, magnifies them and directs the show in a certain direction. If you call that programme a 'documentary' by all means, but it's not.

 

Besides, comparing the results of someone who's trading a handful of stocks with someone managing a hedgefund...

[jchatel 10]

Thanks for the info, I watched it and enjoyed the first episode, the second and third turns into reality shows and I got bored.

 

I like the explanations: "Shorting involves a complex mechanism..." lol

 

Why did they need to phone their brokers?! and I couldn't see them using derivatives

[jchatel 10]

Too bad for me (and probably some others).

 

Sorry guys, perhaps I don't know how to search in YouTube

 

Try thepiratebay.org

[Arthur 10]

 

"YOU CANNOT LEARN THIS FROM A BOOK, ONLY BY EXPERIENCE"

/QUOTE]

 

This may be true unto certain degree but may not be entirely true.We need practical experience as well as some basic theoretical basis for creating strategies as well as perform number crunching to maximize the gain .