# My trading - how I trade for a living



## rmt

Hello guys,

I hope this is not the wrong thread, because I want to post my trading here. I trade for a living for 10 years now and I want to share my trading with you. I hope this will help some people. From time to time I will explain how I spot my setups.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me


----------



## Gringotts Bank

rmt said:


> Hello guys,
> 
> I hope this is not the wrong thread, because I want to post my trading here. I trade for a living for 10 years now and I want to share my trading with you. I hope this will help some people. From time to time I will explain how I spot my setups.
> 
> If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me




A screen shot would be better.

xls files can contain viruses etc.


----------



## skyQuake

they're all US equities?


----------



## ThingyMajiggy

Gringotts Bank said:


> A screen shot would be better.
> 
> xls files can contain viruses etc.




so can pictures..


----------



## sammy84

Haha, that spreadsheet provided very little.

I think you would be better of explaining your strategy etc rather than showing us your open and closed positions.


----------



## Dantepuma

Forex trading for a living:


----------



## rmt

Hi,

yes all us equties I only trade US equities and commodities. But I only use limit orders so that I dont have to sit in front of the screen all the time. I will explain my setups later in the moment I will post and on the weekends i will try to explain how I find my setups.

I am trading for a living and pretty risk averse I always test the market and if it does not do what I want I am out with a little gain or loss.

Here is the update for today


----------



## tech/a

Great my type of trading.
Look forward to your work
I know how Time consuming ( posting on forums) are.


----------



## rmt

True it is really time cosnuming. I am still working on improving the file so that it will be eaiser for all. if you have any suggestions please tell me. If you have questions concerning my trading please ask me as well


----------



## bailx

Are you having a lend of me _Dentepuma._ where did you get the charting software. I've got to get me sum? *Not!*

maybe _RMT_ knows how ya do it?


----------



## rmt

Ok here is the update for today

View attachment TRADE OVERVIEW.xls


No I have no idea about special software etc. I cant predict the markets and I have no secret setup or indicator. I just test the market and if it not goes my way I am out. Most of the time with a small loss or gain


----------



## bailx

rmt said:


> Ok here is the update for today
> 
> View attachment 49913
> 
> 
> No I have no idea about special software etc. I cant predict the markets and I have no secret setup or indicator. I just test the market and if it not goes my way I am out. Most of the time with a small loss or gain




O.K so you have made a couple of bucks hear and there. I'm really beside my self about it. I see your more then happy to show everyone. I'm happy for you.

But what I want to know is whats the big secret. I always wanted to know how to *test* _( predict )_ the market. so how do you do it. _Come On!_ *RMT* spill the beans?


----------



## tech/a

So your a discretionary trader.

Your trading edge (it seems) is your trade management only.
If a trade goes against you then you quit with as small a loss as possible
and if it goes with you you get out ( unfortunately) also with a small win.

Do you know your win/loss rate?
Do you know your average win to average loss?
Do you know your longest run of losers to winners?
Do you know how many winners it takes to knock out your average draw down?
Do you know your initial Draw down value?
Do you know your peak to valley Draw down?
What is your average position size and how do you determine that?
What is your average % return year in year out over the last 10 years?

I dont expect you'll have all these stats.
I dont--not unless I spend a few weeks doing them by hand! (For my discretionary trading)

You must have a condition which says by and or sell which is more than pure GUT feel?


----------



## rmt

Yeah I trade specific chart pattern and I tested them. I use market profile to get an idea where it could be useful to get in or out. That does not mean that I can predic the markets. For commodities I use chart patterns in cobination with the cot report.

I am not here to show off with my trading. I just want to share it. Like i said in the coming weeks I will try to explain some more about my trading.

But for me the most important part is the risk management. I have ideas what the market will do but if the market does not do it I am out. For example my NG trade, the market was not doing what I wanted I am out with a small loss. ZC for example is doing what I want so I try to adjust the stop and take some profits.

Stopp for CDNS is 12.45 USD
View attachment TRADE OVERVIEW.xls


----------



## brty

rmt,

You have made 5 posts to this forum, all under the thread you started, stating in the title "







> _how I trade for a living_



"...

 ...yet I do not detect any such thing in your posts. The use of nefarious terms such as "specific chart patterns", " I use market profile to get an idea" and  "I use chart patterns in cobination with the cot report" is next to useless in explanation.

My question to you is why did you start a thread on a new forum to you, about "How I trade for a living", if you didn't have the time or the inclination to post about this topic?


----------



## Boggo

brty said:


> My question to you is why did you start a thread on a new forum to you, about "How I trade for a living", if you didn't have the time or the inclination to post about this topic?




Thankfully its not just me thinking the same thing !


----------



## CanOz

We are all waiting for it....


----------



## Gringotts Bank

He's building suspense.

Here's a better way to do it:  

"Hey guys, I'm ultra busy but I just wanted to tell you all that things are going great here.  I can only come onto the forum occasionally due to all my very important commitments.  It's just that I'm so tied up with all that's going on with my trading.  I may get time later on to show you little people how it all works... if I have time.  You see I'm in high demand, I'm an important guy and my work is very serious.  Hopefully I can drop in and help you guys out soon. Got to run now, FTSE about to open and we (yes we) have some big positions on".

The whole idea is to get as many people as possible hanging on your every word by drip-feeding info.  Seen it before?  Sure you have!


----------



## rmt

Guys,

I will try on the weekend but first we need some trades. I have 2 closed position since I am posting here. I will explain on the weekend why I closed them and why I opend them. 

But to be honest why dont you check out my trading so that you can see how I am doing. Most of you think I am not profitable, so why dont see and wait and when I am profitable you still can ask for my setups. But if I post them now and most of you think I am not profitable why should you waste your time checking my setups?


----------



## rmt

update for market opening


----------



## tech/a

I don't see any opinions.

I'm interested in your management.
I can see that you've widened the initial stops on some trades,
That is odd?
Still will see what the weekend brings.

Market profile should be interesting --- a topic I am well versed in!
What software are you using for M/P ---- or do you hand plot the distribution?


----------



## rmt

Here is the update for the 13th of Dec.


----------



## rmt

I can see that you've widened the initial stops on some trades,
 That is odd?

No which one? That would be a mistake. I am using agena trader for my managing. And my broker is IB.

Like I said I try to do my best but please do not be impatient.


----------



## prawn_86

I'm still failing to see a point for this thread. An excel file which can be manipulated, not a single chart posted, and no explanation of trading methodology.

I'm just waiting for the link...


----------



## bailx

rmt said:


> Here is the update for the 13th of Dec.




_prawn_86_

_I'm still failing to see a point for this thread. An excel file which can be manipulated, not a single chart posted, and no explanation of trading methodology_.

I don't mean to have a go at you _rmt_ As does any else I'm sure? But your really cutting it fine on methodology or system if you like. Since all you are offering is excel spreads. I had a review and noticed that your open positions haven't changed a bit since you opened them. Now don't you think that, odd. I mean don't you think a successful guy like you, would open a position to trade and make money. Not to stair at in the mirror all day and dream. Please Explain!?*$@&% We already know how to do that!

Nothing worse than being on a thread that has no answer or educational dialogue.
Are you sure Agena Trading, aren't doing the work for you. they look all very good quite professional. but problem is they can't speak a word of English much like yourself.  rmt. :frown:

_*Sorry*_ Big fella, But please don't lie and show a bit of b**** & Cuts.


----------



## rmt

I am posting the excel file and you can check it every day. There is no manipulation.

No Agena trader is doing a lot of work for me but I programmed it the way I wanted. It is a great tool and you will hear about it a lot the coming years.

My trading is most of the time like that. I have some long positions some short position. Buy strength and sell weakness, most of them will have a small gain or a small loss. SOme will have a bigger loss but not a single position will have a huge loss.

But some positions will have some hugh gains and that is how I make money. For example ZC is working pretty nice, but unfortunately I dont know stuff like that in advance. I had a good setup I took the trade and than I only can manage the trade.

Look I just want to post my trading for some time and than I want to talk about it. I perceive you as bulling me and as you are great traders. So why do you want to learn from me. You are not really polite and it doesnt seem to me that you are really interest exchanging ideas. I am sorry that english is not my native language I try my best.

If you want pm with your email or fake email and I will email you the excel sheet before the us opening . All my posts with the list are before us opening.


----------



## CanOz

RMT, perhaps the blog facility is the best for this?

CanOz


----------



## rmt

update for the 14th Dec


----------



## peter2

Seems you're buying break-outs/break-downs using stop orders. Your initial stop loss is miles away so they can't be used for an effective position sizing model. I assume they are only disaster exits and you hope that they never get hit. Your trade management seems aggressive as you trail an exit stop very close. This sees you making many small wins and small losses as your stop distance is well within 1ATR. However if you get lucky and price moves in your direction for several days you will get the occasional larger win. Your overall profitability will depend on these occasional larger wins as your W% will be < 50%.

If it's your intent to provide any educational content then you should explain briefly how you select your stocks, how you manage your exits and how you manage your money. Some past trade statistics would also be good.

You can be profitable doing what I've described but this would depend on your consistency. It's very hard for most people to remain patient while seeing small wins and small losses accumulate. It's hard for people to persevere when they become frustrated by lack of progress. Most people don't apply the discipline required to stick with their plans.

It's far too early for us to assess your competency in these aspects, hence our skepticism.

-------------

I do see evidence of inconsistency in your trade management. 
IPGP: Has not moved higher after your entry. If price drops to your exit stop this loss will be much larger than your occasional larger wins. It would have been better to close this trade earlier for a small +/- once price didn't go higher immediately.


----------



## rmt

Hello Peter,

many thanks for your post. My risk and money management is my key to success. Exactly the first stop is a disaster stop in the end it is all about preserving capital. I think I should enter another column because I have different risk with different trades.

Like I said I test the market but when one trade works for me I will add to the position. If you see my trading for a longer time you will see that I have some big winners and they are in charge for my performance.

I will try to further improve my excel sheet. It is the first time I am sharing my trading therefore the presentation is not perfect. I really need some time and if members rush me it will not help. If members do not like it they should not read the thread. Hopefully it is useful for some members to see my kind of trading and to see that you will have quiet some loosing trades but you still can make decent money with it

My hit rate is 62% on average over the last 10 years.


----------



## rmt

Ok today I want to talk a little bit more about my trading, so that it will be easier to understand for you. 

First of all I am trading for a living for 10 years now and for me capital preservation is the most important factor. Without capital I cannot trade and I cannot make money.

That is the reason why I am talking about my Risk- and Money management today.  I will talk about my entries later, because they are far less important than my Risk and Money management.

During the last 10 years my hit rates is on average 62% of course it is higher or lower from time to time.

Due to the fact that I don’t have any magic indicator and that I cannot predict the markets I do not know which trade will work out for me and which one won’t. That is the reason I am entering most of the time with  ¾ or  ½ of the risk my first position.

For example HP my Buy Stop Limit was 53.10 USD and my initial stop was 48.80 USD. Let’s assume we have a 250 K account and we want to risk 1.5% per trade. This means 1 risk unit for me is 1.5% for another trader 1 risk unit could be 2% etc. 

Unfortunately I forgot to post this column so far that is the reason why I improved the excel sheet with this column. For HP my risk unit was  ¾ instead of 1 because most of the times I want to test the market first. 

Remember my goal is capital preservation that is the reason I am acting very cautious.

*No let us do the math:*

1.5% of 250 K = 3750 USD = 1 Risk Unit 
No let’s check out the HP trade where I only used  ¾ of 1 Risk Unit.
 ¾ Risk Unit = 2812.50 USD that is the amount I am willing to lose with the HP trade.

Now let’s calculate how many shares we can buy.

Entry: 53.10 USD; Stop: 48.80 USD; Risk 4.30 USD

This means I can buy (2812.50 USD / 4.30 USD) shares (654)

IMPORTANT: Do not forget to calculate the transaction fees, because they will add up over one year. I always calculate 1 cent per share, but if you compare brokers you can find flat rate deals with 9.99 USD for 5000 shares. It always depends on your Portfolio size. Always try to find the best deal, because it is hard enough to make money in the markets but it is much easier to save some money to boost the performance. Just do some calculations what amount of money you can save over 10 years.

I will try to do more and more explanations about my trading. If you have any questions please ask me I will try to answer your questions.


----------



## howmanyru

Well, weird thread but I might join in anyways. I want to trade for a living, but have not been sucessful so far. My new approach is to follow very closley only a couple of stocks and get to know them intimately. I feel you can reasonably  get to know the way a stock moves if you spend a LOT of time observing it. You don't need many stocks for trading, if you can trade one well it's all you need. So I am trading only AUT for now because I feel I know this stock very well. My plan is to take small profits often where as I used to hold for months to try and make more profit. This approach has mostly only frustrated me as the SP wandered up and down, up and down. My last trade on AUT saw a $730 profit in 5 days, in at $3.41 and out at $3.61. I was tempted to hold for more but will see how this shorter term approach goes. Been trying for 7 years to turn pro, maybe i should give up ? Nah, It's a whole lotta fun.


----------



## Julia

howmanyru said:


> You don't need many stocks for trading, if you can trade one well it's all you need.



Really?  All you need to achieve what exactly?


----------



## rmt

Ok now I will explain a little bit more of my trading. I think the best way would be a webinar, so if there is any interested please tell me. (Post, PM me). 

If there is enough interest maybe we can do that in the future.

The first picture is a screen shot of DAN. This is how one of my screen looks like. I always have a monthly, weekly and daily chart on it. Of course my screener is doing the work for me to find setups like that.

I can see a positive trend on the monthly and weekly chart and the trend continuous on the daily chart. I want to trade the break out and I will place a stop below the low. That is the reason why it was below 12.60 USD

*Why I use buy stop limits*

DDD is a very good example why I use buy stop limits. It opened with a gap and came back. I got filled and after that it went up again. Of course it will not work always like that but I will not chase a trade. There are so many opportunities so that it makes no sense to chase any trade

*HP that is how a trade should look like*

HP is a very good example to see my trading tactics. The break out occurs and the trade immediately kicks off. But a couple of days later we have a negative candle with high volume. This is a warning and I adjust my stop, because I don’t want to risk my gains. So I put the stop below the candle.

*Corn *

I like commodities because they have nice moves. You can see red candle in the chart this are moving days which my software marks for me. There was a mowing day and after the moving day we had sideway action. I wanted so short if the market breaks out of the sideway action. Furthermore the COT data and Weather made me bearish. 
Corn so far was my best trade since I am posting my trades here.


----------



## daveM

Thanks for documenting your technique, your ideas will probably help many others.


----------



## Trembling Hand

howmanyru said:


> I want to trade for a living, but have not been sucessful so far. My new approach is to ..
> ..
> ..
> last trade on AUT saw a $730 profit in 5 days, in at $3.41 and out at $3.61. I was tempted to hold for more but will see how this shorter term approach goes.
> ..
> ..
> Been trying for 7 years to turn pro, maybe i should give up ?




Be surprised if you get there with that approach. Forward testing with real money a strategy you have no idea if it works.

There is also a HUGE risk in concentrating on just 1 stock. They very often change character and just go to sleep for years. So the chances are you could have a year of making money, decide to step it up and run right into a change in the way AUT move. End up just wasting more time.

Most pros I know who concentrate on one instrument do it with futs or fx. Seems like a crazy business decision to do that with 1 stock.


----------



## tinhat

Hi rmt. Thanks for posting the charts. what do you mean by "moving days"?


----------



## tech/a

Fixed fractional position sizing.
Without a return of over 1.2 R
at 62% success rate your not going to turn a profit.
Then there is brokerage.

If you have the 62% figure you should have all the other figures I 
enquired about earlier.



> Do you know your win/loss rate?
> Do you know your average win to average loss?
> Do you know your longest run of losers to winners?
> Do you know how many winners it takes to knock out your average draw down?
> Do you know your initial Draw down value?
> Do you know your peak to valley Draw down?
> What is your average position size and how do you determine that?
> What is your average % return year in year out over the last 10 years?




Put up a view on this over here.



> There is also a HUGE risk in concentrating on just 1 stock. They very often change character and just go to sleep for years. So the chances are you could have a year of making money, decide to step it up and run right into a change in the way AUT move. End up just wasting more time.
> 
> Most pros I know who concentrate on one instrument do it with futs or fx. Seems like a crazy business decision to do that with 1 stock.



https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25764&page=3&p=741898#post741898


----------



## bailx

' Can we play Cowboy's and Indian's Now? ::1zhelp: MA's


----------



## rmt

@ tech/a

I will have a look to find the figures, but like I said i am doing for 10 years and I know it works.

Please read with more attention. *Without a return of over 1.2 R*

My trading starts with a test position and some positions will work out and I will add up. These are the positions which makes huge R multiples but of course I dont have them every day.

Do you trade for a living? Please tell me a little bit more I am curious.

I am calculating with brokerage fees I exactly know how important it is.


----------



## tech/a

rmt said:


> @ tech/a
> 
> I will have a look to find the figures, but like I said i am doing for 10 years and I know it works.
> 
> Please read with more attention. *Without a return of over 1.2 R*
> 
> My trading starts with a test position and some positions will work out and I will add up. These are the positions which makes huge R multiples but of course I dont have them every day.
> 
> Do you trade for a living? Please tell me a little bit more I am curious.
> 
> I am calculating with brokerage fees I exactly know how important it is.




I'm sorry I was un aware that you had to meet your reply criteria to be involved in discussion.
No I don't trade for a living----dont have to----don't wish to----infact couldnt think of anything worse.

Successful trading is as boring as watching paint dry!!!
I use it as one of my passive income streams.

Oh and I'll be sure to " pay attention "


----------



## noirua

tech/a said:


> I'm sorry I was un aware that you had to meet your reply criteria to be involved in discussion.
> No I don't trade for a living----dont have to----don't wish to----infact couldnt think of anything worse.
> 
> Successful trading is as boring as watching paint dry!!!
> I use it as one of my passive income streams.
> 
> Oh and I'll be sure to " pay attention "




Spot on, that's why some write books or spend much of their time writing articles (or in my case writing blogs as no one wants to hear my views, let alone pay for them) or running tip sheets. There is a need to be ruthless, totally uncaring, absolutely disciplined, and for many 'two-faced' to boot.


----------



## skc

howmanyru said:


> Well, weird thread but I might join in anyways. I want to trade for a living, but have not been sucessful so far. My new approach is to follow very closley only a couple of stocks and get to know them intimately. I feel you can reasonably  get to know the way a stock moves if you spend a LOT of time observing it. You don't need many stocks for trading, if you can trade one well it's all you need. So I am trading only AUT for now because I feel I know this stock very well. My plan is to take small profits often where as I used to hold for months to try and make more profit. This approach has mostly only frustrated me as the SP wandered up and down, up and down. My last trade on AUT saw a $730 profit in 5 days, in at $3.41 and out at $3.61. I was tempted to hold for more but will see how this shorter term approach goes. Been trying for 7 years to turn pro, maybe i should give up ? Nah, It's a whole lotta fun.




I am a full time stock trader and I would offer you a different approach. 

1. Know many stocks and know what moves them.
2. Read plenty of news, forums, stock announcements etc.
3. Understand stocks and their inter-relatedness. 
4. Monitor a shortlist 15-20 for the any day. These are usually ones with announcements overnight/in the morning/the day before, or major broker upgrade/downgrades, or major moves the day before, or major news in a related stock.
5. Watch the market depths and trade with the flow. 

News and movements generate flow. While you might have a view on what the flow "should" be, always trade what the flow actually is. Easier said than done but that's what separate amateurs and professionals.

Incidentally I do know one other trader who trades only one stock, but I have little idea if he's successful or not.

I do concur that, if you wish to focus your energy on just one instrument, make it a futures contract. In case you are wildly successful, AUT will probably only make you so much money.


----------



## rmt

Update for the 17.12.2012


----------



## rmt

Intraday update


----------



## tinhat

tinhat said:


> Hi rmt. Thanks for posting the charts. what do you mean by "moving days"?




Mabye I've missed where you discuss this - but you obviously have an algorithm that identifies a "moving day". Can you explain what you mean by "moving day" a bit?


----------



## rmt

@tinhat

I am sorry I forgot to explain that. A moving day is a day with the reversion of demand. These days are interesting because they could be the start of a good setup. I try to explain it better with a chart at the weekend


----------



## rmt

Update for today


----------



## burglar

rmt said:


> Update for today




I'm waiting for the money shot!


----------



## rmt

@burglar

me too but I cannot force it to come.


----------



## baby_swallow

You must have a very large account to earn yourself a living on this one...


----------



## tech/a

baby_swallow said:


> You must have a very large account to earn yourself a living on this one...




I too am disappointed.
If youve been trading for a living youll have every conceivable 
stat about your trading method at hand.

Strangley the only one quoted is 62% win rate.---which hasnt been currently supported.
Even with this we dont know if its the last years win rate or over the last 10 yrs.

To have the stats from a trader who has traded for 10 yrs made available would be very insighful to those wishing to do the same in the future.
It would be great to see if all years were winning years if drawdowns varied
If certain years out performed others.
If win rates varied year to year.
If $ return also varied year to year and Maximum strings of losses and winners not to mention average winning trade V average losing trade.

If youve got these then you can certainly have something of interest to discuss going forward with trades and method presented.

I did exactly the same with "techtrader" on Radges site for 5 yrs
I learnt massive amounts from that exercise it was the most dissected system on the net as far as I know.
There were 1000s of posts its still there if you have a few months to plough through it!

CLICK TO ENLARGE.



As it is I cant wait to paint my next wall so Ive got something to look at!


----------



## peter2

I also think that you are at the beginning of your trading journey. This journey starts when you accept full responsibility for your trading results. This means keeping detailed trading journals (or records). If you haven't got records then your trading is better described as a hobby. 




I've shown some very basic stats on your closed trades. I think you should have these stats over the past 10 years if you were really trading in a professional manner. I also think you should know where you make the most profit, stocks or futures, long or short. You should also keep a record of the trade setups so you know which ones work best for you. What are the best conditions for your break-out style? 

I also think you need to manage the size of your trade risk and portfolio heat better. Portfolio heat is the total amount of risk you are comfortable with in the current market conditions. I see that you are starting some short trades using 0.25% of risk. Your trade risk varies from 0.25 - 1% (1.5%). This seems very arbitrary and will lead to inconsistent results. Profits from these smaller risk trades will not be worth the effort. I know you will add to these trades if proven correct, but even then you won't get proper reward for the risk. Are these stocks you've shorted the weakest stocks in the weakest sector? 

Do you use an index filter to help manage your portfolio heat? 
For example: 
When the index is up you are totally long (with a 5% limit = 10 trades risking 0.5%/ T or 5 trades risking 1%/T)
When the index is down you are fully short and when the index trend is unclear you have a mixture of longs and shorts. 

You decide how much risk is comfortable based on what you see in the charts and your own risk tolerance. 

I hope you don't think of us as overly critical. We expect more from a 10 yr trading veteran.


----------



## tech/a

peter2 said:


> I also think that you are at the beginning of your trading journey. This journey starts when you accept full responsibility for your trading results. This means keeping detailed trading journals (or records). If you haven't got records then your trading is better described as a hobby.
> 
> View attachment 50043
> 
> 
> I've shown some very basic stats on your closed trades. I think you should have these stats over the past 10 years if you were really trading in a professional manner. I also think you should know where you make the most profit, stocks or futures, long or short. You should also keep a record of the trade setups so you know which ones work best for you. What are the best conditions for your break-out style?
> 
> I also think you need to manage the size of your trade risk and portfolio heat better. Portfolio heat is the total amount of risk you are comfortable with in the current market conditions. I see that you are starting some short trades using 0.25% of risk. Your trade risk varies from 0.25 - 1% (1.5%). This seems very arbitrary and will lead to inconsistent results. Profits from these smaller risk trades will not be worth the effort. I know you will add to these trades if proven correct, but even then you won't get proper reward for the risk. Are these stocks you've shorted the weakest stocks in the weakest sector?
> 
> Do you use an index filter to help manage your portfolio heat?
> For example:
> When the index is up you are totally long (with a 5% limit = 10 trades risking 0.5%/ T or 5 trades risking 1%/T)
> When the index is down you are fully short and when the index trend is unclear you have a mixture of longs and shorts.
> 
> You decide how much risk is comfortable based on what you see in the charts and your own risk tolerance.
> 
> I hope you don't think of us as overly critical. We expect more from a 10 yr trading veteran.




Excellent Advice Peter.


----------



## burglar

So what does an American hope to achieve by telling Aussies how he/she trades US equities?
Are you sending microdots to US Military Intelligence?


----------



## peter2

rmt: It's only fair to also compliment you on your 8 open trades (7/8 are in profit totaling +1.72%). 

Getting rid of the losers quickly sees you collecting winning trades. This is a winning habit. 

It's been only two weeks since you started posting your spreadsheet and yet you are almost 2% in profit. We both know how a few % each month can compound up. Keep up the good work. 

I am always interested to read about the efforts of other traders as I know how hard it is to work out how to earn consistent profits.


----------



## rmt

Thanks Peter,

I like your style of writing and critic. I wil try to post some more numbers on the weekend. @ burglar I am from the UAE and that makes me not an American. Not even close.

I only trade US equties because they are highly liquid and there are over 8000 different stocks. Furthermore the commission are really cheap


----------



## burglar

rmt said:


> @ burglar I am from the UAE and that makes me not an American. Not even close. ...




@rmt
A poor assumption, and an extremely rude post on my part.


----------



## rmt

update for 20.12.2012


----------



## daveM

Kudos for your efforts to post regularly...!


----------



## Trembling Hand

daveM said:


> Kudos for your efforts to post regularly...!




Yeah. Few make the effort and you can see why.


----------



## tech/a

*



			you can see why.
		
Click to expand...


*
No why?


----------



## Trembling Hand

tech/a said:


> No why?




Well in spite of the doubtful heading...

Most people post on someone's else's thread to take the **** rather than anything vaguely constructive. As you know few people put up 10 - 20 continuous trades for any scrutiny. Let alone something that you can gauge properly like 100 or more in an organised thread. The way it mostly goes is random calls through various threads. Pretty hard to get any idea from that as to skill/system. So anyone who does do it and puts up with the pot shots deserves some sort of kudos. 

Posters that put up 100 or more trades in a thread on these boards probably number 5 or 6..


----------



## tech/a

I'd like to see more of it and I'm sure I'm not alone.

But when you get
" I've been trading for a living for 10 yrs and this is how I trade"

I'd expect the sort of info I've asked for to be off the top of a traders head.
I'd expect they'd be updating this weekly or at least monthly.

What a wealth of info this could be to other traders
(1) to compare their results
(2) to in some cases see where they can improve their results.

They ( the numbers ) give rise to all sorts of pertinent questions
In fact I'll go as far as saying they are the *only real questions *relevant!

Entry/ Exit / Stops / Trailing stops ---- et al

*Tell us nothing*----but 99% of those presenting ideas and certainly the vast majority of silent readers think
This information is the holy grail-----{' this guys been trading for a living for 10 yrs WOW and he's going to show me how'}

Peter has already raised some interesting discussion with very limited numbers he has extracted.


----------



## rmt

@tech/a

First of all I think I made pretty clear that I do not have the holy grail and that you can see that loosing is a big part of trading. Second all the numbers you asked will not show if I can trade because you can make them up. In the moment you can see my trading live I cannot fake anything and if you ask me that is the most honest way.

If I would ask you to give me money to manage it I would totally understand that you want to know as much as possible but I do not ask for money to manage. There is no risk involved here for you.

I like Peters questions and I will try to do more and more to explain my trading but I need some time. I have other thing to do as well, but I try my best that many people can learn something here.

The only problem with the calculations Peter did is that the number of trades are not enough to say anything. Lets see in 3 Month, like always good things take time.

Update later today before market opening. On the weekend I will try to explain my basic tatctics


----------



## tech/a

Ok
I'll accept you don't have any numbers for your trading method.

Carry on.


----------



## rmt

Update for 21.12.2012


----------



## tech/a

rmt said:


> Update for 21.12.2012




How on earth do you determine P/L both closed and open.


----------



## peter2

I also, think you should report the results of your trades. I suggest reporting them as % / account. You are recording your initial trade risk so we see how much you are risking each trade. Reporting your results will help others see how you are going and it will keep you more accountable.

Using the O2 (OJ?) trade as an example. Your buy price was 135.00 (SL 120.00) and you risked 0.25%. This trade was closed at 138.20 with a profit of 3.20. However this result was 3.20/15.00 * 0.25 = 0.05%. This is a very small win and only slightly better than break-even. 

You should risk more each trade if your initial SL is a disaster exit and you are trailing your exit stop closely after entry. This is a good reason for keeping detailed records. You would be able to look back at your past results and know the size of your average loss (AL) in relation to the size of your initial SL (Van Tharp's R multiple). If the AL is less than half your initial risk then you should use more risk. I would suggest a minimum 0.5% if your account size is big enough so that you can earn and withdraw your living expenses. 

You can see in this snapshot of my xls. My AL = 0.4% with an average trade risk of 0.6%. This shows that I can keep my losses low and I should risk a little more, especially when the index (XAO) is up.


----------



## rmt

Hi Peter,

I will add a tab with a model Portfolio in my excel file. In real I trade a 1.5 Million USD Portfolio therefore even small gains are quiet big. I wouldnt reccommend to trade for a living under 1 Mio USD. I think the good thing about me trading is the fact that you can do it as part time trading as well because you do not have to watch the market all the time


----------



## CanOz

rmt said:


> Hi Peter,
> 
> I will add a tab with a model Portfolio in my excel file. In real I trade a 1.5 Million USD Portfolio therefore even small gains are quiet big. I wouldnt reccommend to trade for a living under 1 Mio USD. I think the good thing about me trading is the fact that you can do it as part time trading as well because you do not have to watch the market all the time




Whoa....


----------



## tech/a

rmt said:


> Hi Peter,
> 
> I will add a tab with a model Portfolio in my excel file. In real I trade a 1.5 Million USD Portfolio therefore even small gains are quiet big. I wouldnt reccommend to trade for a living under 1 Mio USD. I think the good thing about me trading is the fact that you can do it as part time trading as well because you do not have to watch the market all the time




Sorry not making sence.
In your first posts you mention that you like to exit when a trade 
Moves against you.Fine and your trading so far has shown that you haven't traded to
A single target in a trade yet.

Yet you say above you don't have to watch the market all the time.
...


----------



## rmt

@tech/a

First of all my target andd my initial stop are always my best and worst case scenario. You are an expierenced trader so you know that some trades ,not many, will immediately go for you and go straight to your target. These are the trades which you need to catch. When the trade goes for me than I normaly try to move the stop very fast so that I can get out at least with a little profit. I think you know the concept of MAE and in my trading ( i know you know that I dont have any statistics about my trading) i expierenced that my target trades have almost no MAE. Therefore I move the stop quick.

I do my scans in the morning and after that I put in all the limits stops etc into my software. My software manages everything, I do not have to sit in front of the screen and watch every single minute. After the Close I will have a look and change stops etc. I do not trade intraday. I do not move stops intraday etc.

That is the reason I do not have to watch the markets all the time. Furthermore I dont understand how you can judge my trading after this short amount of time? Peter is asking good questions and in a much nicer way, at least I find his style of writing nicer. Maybe I am wrong but do you have a problem with me?


----------



## rmt

Today I want to shares some thoughts with you about trading. First of all I do not know the holy grail of trading and I do not know the way how to get rich quick. If you want information like that my thread is not right for. All I am writing and showing is just my opinion and it doesn’t have to be right.
TRADING FOR A LIVING
Trading for a living is not suitable for everyone. First of all you need quiet some money to do it. I think you should have at least 1000000 USD to do it. I am trading with 1500000 USD and I have no problem to earn my money with that. This amount secures that I do not have to rush into trades or have to be worried about how to afford my rent for the next month. Of course it always depends if you want to live in a flat where you have to pay 50000 USD rent a month you need more money to trade. Furthermore being a full time trade is like being self employed. No one will tell you what to do and you’re the only one who is responsible. If you do a bad job the market will show you that you are doing a bad job. You have to wake up in the morning on your own and you have to do your homework. If you don’t like to be in charge for everything than trading for a living is not for you.
GETTING RICH IN THE MARKETS
If you ask me it is a fairytale that you can get rich trading the markets with only little capital. Of course there are some people who done it but some people always win the lottery. Like I said if you do not have enough capital the odds to succeed as a full time trader are very little. In this case you should see trading as a second stream of income. If you have 50000 USD and you can get a return of 10% that is some nice money (extra income). It still is worthwhile to trade but you shouldn’t trade for a living.
Another really important key point is your style of trading. If you cannot trade full time daytrading is not a choice for you. You have to find your style of trading. Of course there are very very good daytraders out there and you can make a lot of money with daytrading but it does not work for me and I like swing trading. That is the reason why I trade how I trade I feel comfy with it and it works for me. That does not mean that it will work for you
WHY DO I POST HERE
I want to share my trading and maybe some people can find something useful in may trading so that they can improve their skills. Like I said I cannot offer you the Holy Grail but maybe my thoughts will help you a little bit.

Furthermore if there are any ideas for improvement please do not hesitate to tell me. I was thinking if it would make more sense to email you the trade overview every day. Would that be helpful for you? 
I know there is always room for improvement.

Hope that helps

Merry Christmas to all

RMT


P.S. I am pretty sure someone will ask why I told my account size. It is not for showing off I just wanted to make clear that I think you need quiet some capital to trade for a living


----------



## tech/a

Dont know that you need over $1 million to
trade for a living. I trade with less than that and could survive on 
on the return. It really is a matter of what you can
generate in profit /year.

23%  is a fair guide. But there are some
who can return a consistently higher
figure---
Bull markets see many traders returning well above 23%

But yes I agree the more you can have as starting
capital the easier it is.

Oh and Id be surprised that anyone with over $1 million to trade with
rents.

Thanks for your reply.
Have a great Christmas.


----------



## rmt

Oh and Id be surprised that anyone with over $1 million to trade with
rents.

I am not sure if I get this senctence right because I am not native. Do you mean you are wondering why renting a flat or house when having over 1 Million USD? For me that is an easy answer. Here in the UAE we do not have real property laws. It could be possible that the government decides to take your property away and you cannot do anything. Therefore it is quiet risky in my opinion owning propoerty here. That is the reason I am just renting and if anything happens here I book a flight to another country and I am away.

I forgot to write that you have to think about taxes as well. I do not have to pay taxes here but if you have to pay taxes its getting harder.


----------



## burglar

rmt said:


> ... I am not sure if I get this sentence right because I am not native. ...




I perceive you are having difficulty with our response to your arrival.
You are a very rare species in our reality.

You trade for a living, in itself rare!
You trade US equities. (Each to his own.)

You are half a world away.

You use "math" a figure of speech rare outside the US.
Yet you are a "not american" and now a "not native" either?

Make no mistake, you are very welcome here!
There is no need to demystify you presence here.
Nor do you need to explain your motivation, unless you want.



rmt said:


> ... if anything happens here I book a flight to another country and I am away. ...




I cannot imagine a disaster which would cause me to leave Adelaide. 
To me it is the greatest place on the planet.


----------



## tech/a

rmt said:


> Oh and Id be surprised that anyone with over $1 million to trade with
> rents.
> 
> I am not sure if I get this senctence right because I am not native. Do you mean you are wondering why renting a flat or house when having over 1 Million USD? For me that is an easy answer. Here in the UAE we do not have real property laws. It could be possible that the government decides to take your property away and you cannot do anything. Therefore it is quiet risky in my opinion owning propoerty here. That is the reason I am just renting and if anything happens here I book a flight to another country and I am away.
> 
> I forgot to write that you have to think about taxes as well. I do not have to pay taxes here but if you have to pay taxes its getting harder.





Ok thanks for the explanation.


----------



## daveM

I scrape out a paltry living with my tiny account, I don't think I will ever see the big numbers that some other people have, then again I do not really have the desire for the big numbers.
My trades are liquidated when I finish each day so it does not require a lot of capital for overnight.


----------



## rmt

With not native I mean not a native speaker of English. That is the reason why it could happen that I do understand something wrong or that i do not get it.

DaveM that is totally ok. Like I said there will be a point when it makes sense just trading your money because it is more porfitabel than go to work. Furthermore my trading is not very stressfull compared to working.


----------



## tech/a

rmt said:


> With not native I mean not a native speaker of English. That is the reason why it could happen that I do understand something wrong or that i do not get it.
> 
> DaveM that is totally ok. Like I said there will be a point when it makes sense just trading your money because it is more porfitabel than go to work. Furthermore my trading is not very stressfull compared to working.




So at sometime you must have been working.
How did you scrape up $1.5 million?


----------



## howmanyru

rmt said:


> First of all you need quiet some money to do it. I think you should have at least 1000000 USD to do it.




Damn, I knew there was something i was doing wrong!


----------



## cynic

howmanyru said:


> Damn, I knew there was something i was doing wrong!



+1

And here was I thinking that I needed to sharpen my analytical and business skills!


----------



## cynic

peter2 said:


> I also, think you should report the results of your trades. I suggest reporting them as % / account. You are recording your initial trade risk so we see how much you are risking each trade. Reporting your results will help others see how you are going and it will keep you more accountable.
> 
> Using the O2 (OJ?) trade as an example. Your buy price was 135.00 (SL 120.00) and you risked 0.25%. This trade was closed at 138.20 with a profit of 3.20. However this result was 3.20/15.00 * 0.25 = 0.05%. This is a very small win and only slightly better than break-even.
> 
> You should risk more each trade if your initial SL is a disaster exit and you are trailing your exit stop closely after entry. This is a good reason for keeping detailed records. You would be able to look back at your past results and know the size of your average loss (AL) in relation to the size of your initial SL (Van Tharp's R multiple). If the AL is less than half your initial risk then you should use more risk. I would suggest a minimum 0.5% if your account size is big enough so that you can earn and withdraw your living expenses.
> 
> You can see in this snapshot of my xls. My AL = 0.4% with an average trade risk of 0.6%. This shows that I can keep my losses low and I should risk a little more, especially when the index (XAO) is up.
> 
> View attachment 50078




Thanks for sharing this Peter. When reading your posts I get the impression that you relish the opportunity to display your trading nous. 

Perhaps a thread dedicated to discussion of your own trades and trading style might be worth pursuing. 

Such an exercise may provide the added bonus of attracting other traders' input and you'll have the delightful experience of defending your method from those whom attempt to superimpose preferred ideologies on top of your own.

@RMT, like others I get a bit skeptical regarding motivation and sincerity when someone declares themselves as an accomplished trader, but you're to be commended for the courage in choosing to continue with this thread, and the diplomacy you've shown in the face of criticism.


----------



## rmt

@ cynic

Of course your analytical skills etc are very important but without the right amount of capital you will have little chance to make a living out of it. Imagine founding a company. Most companies need more than 50000 USD when you want to found them. You have to spend money on equipment etc.

I was an investment Banker during the good years and made enough money so I quitted in 2001 because it was way to stressfull and the good times were over. I was an M&A Banker and during the tech bubble you could earn quiet some money.

I am thinking if it would help if I would send the excel sheet directly via email? Any comments on that Yes or No just want to hear your opinion.


----------



## cynic

rmt said:


> @ cynic
> 
> Of course your analytical skills etc are very important but without the right amount of capital you will have little chance to make a living out of it. Imagine founding a company. Most companies need more than 50000 USD when you want to found them. You have to spend money on equipment etc.
> 
> I was an investment Banker during the good years and made enough money so I quitted in 2001 because it was way to stressfull and the good times were over. I was an M&A Banker and during the tech bubble you could earn quiet some money.
> 
> I am thinking if it would help if I would send the excel sheet directly via email? Any comments on that Yes or No just want to hear your opinion.




Thanks for your reply. No need to email things to me directly, I am happy to just read whatever you post to this thread. 

As for my opinion on anyone's trading strategy, it is simply this: 
If you are consistently achieving superior returns (i.e. amply beating the best bank interest rates available) via your trading activities, then the last thing you need is the opinion of others - just keep doing what you're doing whilst it continues working for you!


----------



## tech/a

rmt said:


> @ cynic
> 
> Of course your analytical skills etc are very important but without the right amount of capital you will have little chance to make a living out of it. Imagine founding a company. Most companies need more than 50000 USD when you want to found them. You have to spend money on equipment etc.
> 
> I was an investment Banker during the good years and made enough money so I quitted in 2001 because it was way to stressfull and the good times were over. I was an M&A Banker and during the tech bubble you could earn quiet some money.
> 
> I am thinking if it would help if I would send the excel sheet directly via email? Any comments on that Yes or No just want to hear your opinion.




Any comments?

Sounds like you want email addresses.
Sounds " Scam" like.
I think if anyone wanted to give you private access they would
Offer it up. You've asked at least twice to turn this into email
Based communication.


----------



## rmt

@ tech/a

You are really afraid of people and always think the worst. It is just an offer I just asked for opinions? I thought it would be easier, but there is no need for it.

But serious who would put out his personal email address. We are living in the freemail time. You just open an account at gmail or whatever for stuff like this. Then there is no danger.

I have two opinions so far and they both do not want emails. I am totally fine with it.


----------



## Joules MM1

pin







			
				rmt said:
			
		

> the excel sheet directly ...



to the forum/thread via the attatchment (see the paper-clip icon above)

i've attatched one, works fine.....

Tarantino says two  ......really, he does......


----------



## rmt

update for 27.12.2012


----------



## peter2

@rmt: I hope these charts of your results (my calculations) will encourage you to keep posting and perhaps make you think about the placement of your initial SL and subsequent trade management. 

It appears that you have been affected by the recent increase in volatility caused by the fiscal cliff issue. You won't be the only one. However your trading style won't cope with it very well as you prefer to use tight stops after the entry. 

Not enough trades yet, but so far all your profit is due to the few futures trades. 

[ ZC trade: I've used 740 as your initial SL not 770 as it's miles away from the break-down ? ]


----------



## CanOz

This is quite an interesting thread thanks to Peter and rmt...

Please keep it clean as this _could_ be a great learning experience for many new traders...

Thanks again to rmt for being tolerant and Peter for being so generous with his time as well.

CanOz


----------



## tech/a

> ZC trade: I've used 740 as your initial SL not 770 as it's miles away from the break-down ?




But Peter this effects his R/R? if he s quoting an amount of Risk. Eg .5---blah blah.


----------



## rmt

Very nice Peter

I hope there will be a time when my stock trades work out better. It is normal that there are phases where they are not working out so good. And there will be a time when the market will not raise all the time.


I think we can see more in a couple of month with more trades


----------



## rmt

update 28.12.2012


----------



## peter2

@tech/a:  Yes, you're right. I'm hoping it's a mistake, although I don't know yet. An initial SL at 740 is half the size of the SL at 770 and this would allow twice as many contracts to be traded. This in turn allows a bigger reward if the trade works out well. The 770SL would allow a much larger trade risk (1% not 0.25%) as this price level is very unlikely to be hit after a successful break-down trade entry. 

@rmt: The 770 SL is more suited to a longer term trader, trading monthly charts and this trader would not use tight exit stops. IMO the 740 SL is more suitable for the break out trader. Since this trade started well, removing the risk as you did to 709 is a sensible decision. 

You had an earlier trade in this corn market selling the break-down through 740 (SL 760). This trade also started well but was closed by a one bar correction (very tight TS). One could have expected the price to have met some resistance at this 720 level as price has bounced off this level twice before. IMO the two logical trade management options were to use the R level (720) as an exit target. This would have earned a 20:20 RR. My second option would have been to anticipate the resistance and move the TS to BE and no closer allowing price to react at the 720 level and hope that it didn't bounce higher and close the trade at BE. The second option would have allowed the trade to remain open earning a much better RR. 




Yes I know it's easy in hindsight, but I hope you understand that I am offering suggestions on general trade management using ZC as an example. Trading plans are made to help us manage each trade in a similar and consistent manner. 

I don't see the benefit of the combination of large initial SL size with variable trade risk and tight trailing exit stops after entry. 

I know I haven't seen much from you yet rmt, but I'm getting an early impression that your trading with "scared money". The large SL's make it unlikely to lose soon after entry, variable trade risk allows you use less risk when you don't feel comfortable, tight exit stops to protect the profits. If you think I'm right then you can improve your trading much more. If I'm wrong then I'll close the trade with a small loss.


----------



## rmt

Hello Peter many thanks for your posts.

My initial stop is my catastrophic stop when the worst possible outcome happens. Something that is really really unlikly and hard to imagine that it will happen. It just protects me if it runs up or down immediatley without any stopping.

I will adjust the stop pretty fast after I entered the market most of the time the next day. Like I said I trade for a living and I try to keep the risk pretty low. In the future there will be a time where I will catch the really good trade. Of course that doesnt happen all the time that is the reason I have to be patient. But when I catch the trade you will see how I will add up the positions and that is where i make my money

Still I am always interested in other opinions and I am really thankful for sharing them with me


----------



## rmt

happy new year to all


----------



## peter2

I thought you might have a lot more break-outs lined up after the FC vote. The great thing about stop orders is that you can place a few and wait for the market to get you in. 

I'm interested in how you decide which stocks to trade. You have mentioned multiple timeframes (monthly, weekly, daily). Do you have a set process to help you find them?


----------



## rmt

update for today


----------



## rmt

mistake YNDX: entry 23.55


----------



## rmt

Ok I am back after a short break. Today the markets will start for the big players again.


----------



## rmt

update for 10.01.2013


----------



## rmt

update for 11.01.2013


----------



## tech/a

Seriously I just cant follow your stuff presented.

Peters graphical display however is far more intelligible.

*Cant you replicate that.*
At least we can follow your progress---although there is nothing offered up as help for the budding trader who wants to make a living replicating---How you trade for a living----???


----------



## peter2

I'll post my graphical update at regular intervals so long as rmt continues to post his xls. 

My reasons for monitoring these trades is that I'm starting to swing trades US stocks myself. My past attempts have not been the success I'd like, so I'm gaining experience in seeing how they move. I'm paper trading another 30 trades consecutively to learn how to best manage the trades myself. US stocks get pretty volatile during periods of uncertainty and now earnings season. Opening gaps are quite common and have to be managed. Even though the VIX is low, using tight trailing stops looks unhelpful.


----------



## tech/a

Thanks Peter very helpful


----------



## rmt

yeah thank you peter,

I will keep up my posting. Many will say oh he is not making any gains in the moment. How can he trade for a living.

First that is how trading works you have to accept that losing is a part of it. I am sure that there will be times when I make decent gains because some of my plays will work out perfectly, but you have to be patient.

Do not rush anything, like you can see my risk is down in the moment. That are all important parts of trading to know how to adjust your risk and to know when your trading is not working out really good.

That is a reason why I think you should have a decent amount of capital to trade for a living

Update later today


----------



## CanOz

peter2 said:


> I'll post my graphical update at regular intervals so long as rmt continues to post his xls.
> 
> My reasons for monitoring these trades is that I'm starting to swing trades US stocks myself. My past attempts have not been the success I'd like, so I'm gaining experience in seeing how they move. I'm paper trading another 30 trades consecutively to learn how to best manage the trades myself. US stocks get pretty volatile during periods of uncertainty and now earnings season. Opening gaps are quite common and have to be managed. Even though the VIX is low, using tight trailing stops looks unhelpful.
> 
> View attachment 50417




This is ASF GOLD!


----------



## rmt

update for 14.01.2013


----------



## prawn_86

rmt said:


> I will keep up my posting. Many will say oh he is not making any gains in the moment. How can he trade for a living.




If this is how you make your 'living' how do you cope with taking money out of your account to pay for rent, bills, spending etc? You are flat on p&l after a month, so surely your living costs have decreased your capital base this last month?


----------



## So_Cynical

prawn_86 said:


> If this is how you make your 'living' how do you cope with taking money out of your account to pay for rent, bills, spending etc? You are flat on p&l after a month, so surely your living costs have decreased your capital base this last month?




Trading for a living with a 1.5 million account...thinking rent is not an issue.


----------



## CanOz

So_Cynical said:


> Trading for a living with a 1.5 million account...thinking rent is not an issue.




LOL...understatement of the year..


----------



## Garpal Gumnut

Can anyone beat this method of picking stocks?




gg


----------



## FlyingFox

Hi rmt ,

I have been briefly looking at this thread. Would I be right in assuming that your trading on the volatility of the instrument? Assuming the stock prices go up and down (with either an upward trend or even flat trend), you buy at a certain point. If this happens to be a point at which the stock increases in value than you keep going (still need to figure your closing method). If it drops below the your stop, you sell with a small loss. 

Assuming stock price was like a sinusoid, your looking to get in at the bottom and sell near the top (but in more short term cycles ). While the average stock price is zero, if you consistently pick the bottom and top you get a nice positive return? 

Obviously this only works if you're getting more profits than losses and you profits on average are at least as large as your losses. It helps that you have a very large capital base.

Something along those lines?


----------



## Julia

So_Cynical said:


> Trading for a living with a 1.5 million account...thinking rent is not an issue.




Has rmt stated that he is using a 1.5M account?  I haven't read the whole thread.


----------



## burglar

Julia said:


> Has rmt stated that he is using a 1.5M account?  I haven't read the whole thread.




Yes



rmt said:


> Hi Peter,
> 
> I will add a tab with a model Portfolio in my excel file. In real I trade a 1.5 Million USD Portfolio therefore even small gains are quiet big. I wouldnt reccommend to trade for a living under 1 Mio USD. I think the good thing about me trading is the fact that you can do it as part time trading as well because you do not have to watch the market all the time


----------



## Julia

Thanks, burglar.
I wouldn't necessarily assume someone trading with 1.5M can afford many losses.
Depends on his lifestyle.


----------



## So_Cynical

Julia said:


> Thanks, burglar.
> I wouldn't necessarily assume someone trading with 1.5M can afford many losses.
> Depends on his lifestyle.




Can certainly afford more losses than i can  Rent is an issue for me!


----------



## rmt

update for 15.01.2013


----------



## boofis

So_Cynical said:


> Can certainly afford more losses than i can  Rent is an issue for me!




+1 lol.


----------



## tech/a

Referring my post in the longterm investment thread.

Here is a perfect example of the type of hypothetical thread and discussion 
Offered up which just has no value.


----------



## peter2

Tech/a: I have to disagree with you that the advice given in this thread has no value. The fact that it wasn't used doesn't lower its worth. 

There's value is seeing how hard it is to trade profitably. There's value is seeing that quitters can't ever win. There's value in seeing the attributes that are required to trade successfully. 

---------

I'm disappointed that rmt has not continued his thread, but I'm not surprised. Life can sometimes sidetrack our intentions and I hope that all is well with rmt and that he did manage to earn something out of this recent bullish rally. 

The hardest thing to master when trading is ourselves. We naturally suck at trading. We are conditioned to fail. To succeed in our trading we are forced to confront our worst nightmare, the real us. Every successful trader has been forced to confront themselves. If you lack integrity, you'll fail. If you can't control your emotions, you'll fail. If you can't make rules, you'll fail. If you can't follow your own rules, you'll fail. If you have to be right all the time, you'll fail. I can go on, but the main impediment to trading successfully is ourselves. 

The only way to start this confrontational process is to keep detailed trading records (trading journals). Our past performances define our current trading skills. If you don't keep good records then you are not serious about being successful. If you enjoy the game, treat it as a hobby or just plain gamble then that's good for you. Don't tell me you're trading for a living, because I won't believe you if you don't have records. 

I know it's hard looking at a crappy batch of trades that you've just completed. If you don't know that your trading sucks then how are you going to improve? Trading can be a lonely activity and if you keep yourself isolated, you will miss out on valuable feedback about your trading ideas. 

Public forums are a tough place to show your trading results, but provided they're moderated properly, you'll get great feedback from people more experienced than you, for free.


----------



## tech/a

I agree Peter.

Perhaps he took the advice and is now formulating his return.

Excellent thoughts.


----------

