# Becoming a Big Gun Million dollar daytrader



## Trembling Hand (22 May 2008)

Here is a great article about  Marc Greenspoon a "world class" day trader.

Brett Steenbarger's blog is always great but this post is magnificent. A rare insight into what it takes to "make millions of dollars a year, Not just one year or two, but year after year."

Some of the gems in the article,


> He doesn't trade with a mechanical system, and he doesn't trade with quantitative research. Nor does he manage a portfolio. He trades with his mouse and his computer, accounting for several percent of the day's total volume all by himself.




Of the most Liquid contract out there!


> conservatively say Marc trades 60 times per day with an average of 400 contracts per trade. That's 24,000 contracts per day. It's also about 6,000,000 contracts per year




6 Mil round trips. thats atleast 6 mil of brokerage per year! Holy 


> aggressive competitors who wear their emotions on their sleeves..............If non-emotionality were a necessary ingredient of trading success, Marc would have gone belly up long ago.




Ha! Love it this from a trading Psychologist!


> ...you need the drive to continually adapt to changing market conditions; and you need enough capital. I have never met a successful trader who makes money by doubling his or her money every year.  Their success is measured in *their consistency*, not in their ability to make occasional big scores.





> Marc studies himself as diligently as he studies markets. His daily journals, religiously kept, go back years in notebooks that are always at his side................Marc studies himself as diligently as he studies markets. His daily journals, religiously kept, go back years in notebooks that are always at his side





> Quite simply, he's reviewed so many more of his performances than other traders that he's learned more than others. He is a one-man study in implicit learning. And it's all driven by his desire to improve.




Who would of thought keeping records of your actions would help you to learn. Have a read its educational and motivating


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## ThingyMajiggy (22 May 2008)

Wow, great find, good read


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## peter2 (22 May 2008)

Seems you share many similar trading characteristics with Marc, TH. 

Looks like he would be a good role model for you.


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## professor_frink (22 May 2008)

wow that's pretty extreme!



> Similarly, Marc keeps a large TV monitor and recording device in his office. He records his trading day by capturing everything on his trading screen, and then he archives each day for reference.




I wonder how he goes about recording everything on a tv


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## Trembling Hand (22 May 2008)

professor_frink said:


> wow that's pretty extreme!
> I wonder how he goes about recording everything on a tv




He uses a digital video recorder. and archives the video files.


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## Nyden (22 May 2008)

professor_frink said:


> wow that's pretty extreme!
> 
> 
> 
> I wonder how he goes about recording everything on a tv




There is desktop recording software out there ... that captures video of everything on displayed on your monitor. Fairly high system requirements though, for high framerate at least.


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## professor_frink (22 May 2008)

Trembling Hand said:


> He uses a digital video recorder. and archives the video files.




might be something for the wishlist



Nyden said:


> There is desktop recording software out there ... that captures video of everything on displayed on your monitor. Fairly high system requirements though, for high framerate at least.




yeah I had looked at something like that a while ago, camtasia I think it was called. It basically required a full computer upgrade just to get it to run properly


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## Timmy (22 May 2008)

Hi guys, screen recording software can be found for free and while it does require a good computer to run it I had it run on an Athlon XP1700 (or something like that) which is about 5 years old technology and it did fine.  Didn't want to be doing much else on it at the time .... so should run fine on a P4 or dual core with other apps running.

The files you end up with (video files of course) are HUGE ... depending on length of time recording etc.  Good to play around with, though, if you are at all interested.  Relive those D'oh! moments again and again ("Why did I put my stop _there _????")

Free screen recording software:
Camstudio

Even SnagIt has a basic screen recording function
I use a free version of SnagIt, don't have the link handy but easy to find it if anyone wants it.

Sorry to go OT ... back to scheduled program.

Great, really great, link thank-you TH.


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## Trembling Hand (22 May 2008)

Just a few points about recording trading. NT can repay the day with all the data and entries tick for tick. Something I have used in the past and have come back to after a couple of months away as I found it to valuable tool to be without. I can tell you if its not bad enough losing money but replaying crappy trades is very painful. Great tool but its like sticking bamboo up your fingernails sometimes. Like what the hell was I thinking 

Marc (the gun trader) uses video recorder not just as a screen recording tool, which he would have access to with a TT interface, because it gives him feed back of his actual action. Its like Bio-metric feed back. What his looking at, his position in the chair, displays of frustration etc. this guy must be a freak for feedback and learning.


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## Temjin (22 May 2008)

Trembling Hand said:


> I have never met a successful trader who makes money by doubling his or her money every year. Their success is measured in their consistency, not in their ability to make occasional big scores.




But....but...Takashi Kotegawa did it! 220% compounded per year for 8 years straight.  

https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11002

Nevertheless, a great article to read. Thanks.


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## Timmy (22 May 2008)

Trembling Hand said:


> Marc (the gun trader) uses video recorder not just as a screen recording tool, which he would have access to with a TT interface, because it gives him feed back of his actual action. Its like Bio-metric feed back. What his looking at, his position in the chair, displays of frustration etc. this guy must be a freak for feedback and learning.




Thats a big difference yes TH - thanks for clarifiation.


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## njc.corp (25 May 2008)

t/hand-thanks for the good read-

well the article sums it up-big balls-

balls vs no ball's

if anyone wants to push that hard and they do well-well good luck and u have earned it in my book

Thats a heap of fee's-anyone have a idea on broke-fee's for the year with the details provided in the article-

Thanks

Nick--


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## Trembling Hand (26 May 2008)

njc.corp said:


> Thats a heap of fee's-anyone have a idea on broke-fee's for the year with the details provided in the article-




For a CME exchange member its $0.90 cents per round trip per contract.

So 6 mil trades would be about $5.5 Mil USD per year in brokerage


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## njc.corp (26 May 2008)

Trembling Hand said:


> For a CME exchange member its $0.90 cents per round trip per contract.
> 
> So 6 mil trades would be about $5.5 Mil USD per year in brokerage




Jesus-

Thanks

Nick--


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