How do we "learn" to take losses and to follow our stop loss?

[SOCRATES]

Price pattern or market behaviour as seen on a chart Is mechanical, this is why charting programs lend themselves to having indicators and averages and allosorts included in them. Proficency at a mechanical level is not an edge, it is just proficiency. Period.

An edge is something very different . And I am not going to say anything further because I am now bored also with closed loop arguments.

 

[SOCRATES]

Hi Socrates,
"your edge" may be more than prudent trading, more than competent mechanical skill, more whatever it is that you have achieved. I don't doubt it for a minute!

But for the rest of us, and particularly for those of us who are beginners, we must use what core skills and knowledge we can discover in progressive steps along the way. There are bills to pay and mouths to feed, and the bulk of us can not wait for the add ons before we embarked on the earning part. We must gather pips in whatever meager fashion we are able to sustain. I suspect this impedes our progress, yet I don't see any way around this issue. No one has yet offered to stake my pot and support me in the manner to which I would like to become accustomed while I go about the task of discovering how to trade..

Sigh...
JO

You are right jumpoff and I agree with everything you say in your post above.

However, I consider it morally indefensible to mislead people into assuming or believing that rock bottom mechanical proficiency is an edge. It is not an edge. It is what it is and no more. Ane edge is something very different.
Sigh....

Kind Regards.

 

[dbphoenix]

Price pattern or market behaviour as seen on a chart Is mechanical

And, again, I said nothing about charts.

As for not saying anything further . . .

 

[SOCRATES]

So where do you see it DB ? I know I can see all of it inside my head, and what is more I can hold it in there for as long as I like or is necessary, but for most ordinary people a chart is absolutely crucial. And even then, it is not enough, as they now embroider a statement of fact on an ongoing basis, which is mechanical, with all sorts of indicatorial overlays, and thus miss the object of the excercise and succeed in misdirecting themselves. An edge, which obviously you do not understand in its proper context, is far above and beyond all this. This is why, if you ask any expert to explain or reveal his edge, the answer you will get is a forgone conclusion. To ask questions about what is mechanical, by contrast, elucidates lots of answers, many from individuals who themselves know very little and persist in answering question with question and quote with counter quote.

Kind Regards To You.

 

[contrakt]

Socrates

I really dont want to know what your specific edges are.
That being said, by now Im more than curious about what your general definition of an edge is?

Regards

 

[the blades]

I really dont want to know what your specific edges are.
That being said, by now Im more than curious about what your general definition of an edge is?

Regards

I hope you have the ability to translate gobbledegook



UTB

 

[Salty Gibbon]

My feelings entirely Blades m8.

I'm sticking with the beer.

 

[the blades]

My feelings entirely Blades m8.

I'm sticking with the beer.

Funnily enough - I got home last night, extremely pissed, and for some sad reason logged on to T2W. Sure enough, nothing made sense until I stumbled upon one of Soc's sermons.

So I have unlocked the secret - Tetleys and Stella! And in my experience, "which is considerable" , this is much more fun than Trading.

So stick to the beer, Salty mi old.

 

[dbphoenix]

So where do you see it DB ? I know I can see all of it inside my head, and what is more I can hold it in there for as long as I like or is necessary, but for most ordinary people a chart is absolutely crucial. And even then, it is not enough, as they now embroider a statement of fact on an ongoing basis, which is mechanical, with all sorts of indicatorial overlays, and thus miss the object of the excercise and succeed in misdirecting themselves. An edge, which obviously you do not understand in its proper context, is far above and beyond all this. This is why, if you ask any expert to explain or reveal his edge, the answer you will get is a forgone conclusion. To ask questions about what is mechanical, by contrast, elucidates lots of answers, many from individuals who themselves know very little and persist in answering question with question and quote with counter quote.

Since this is the third time you've said this, I won't prompt you to repeat it yet again.

Ardhill's satisfied, and since his question prompted my original response, that pretty much takes care of that. Anyone who prefers your course is welcome to follow it.

 

[Splitlink]

Ahhh ... that makes sense.
I confess to being more of a phase II trader with occasional excursions back into phase I to keep me humble. I look forward to reaching phase III one day.

Great minds thinks alike! I like to call it money management.

I am making progress with my foray into day trading the FTSE. I won't attract shreaks of laughter by telling how many points I made last week, three daily gains and one loss, but I am encouraged, because if I can make the same number each week I shall be ahead of the game.

I am following, as far as possible, Socrates advice, given on another thread, in keeping my stops very close and, in four trades (one per day), I lost 8 points on the loser. What I am asking myself is- with a spreadbetting bet of 2 and, I estimate 1-2 points of bias as well, am I putting my stop too tight? To be fair with myself, yesterday was a bitch to trade and after the first 90 minutes FTSE traded sideways in a narrow, worthless range.

My opinion of the day's trading on Thursday was that Friday would be a shorting day, so that is what I did. That was wrong, but if I had waited after being stopped out and continued my shorting policy I would have made more losses. Fortunately, I sensed that I wouldn't do any good and stayed out.

So, what is your opinion " Should my stop include spread and estimated bias, or should it be added?"

Split

 

[Splitlink]

Sorry, Socrates, but neither are you "correct".


There are no mysteries, no secrets, no "indefinable extras". Just hard work and the willingness to do it.

Sorry,but none of you are right! An edge is the knowledge you have of the instrument that you are trading which will, consistently, get you in and out of the trade at the right time. The "right time" being before most of the others act on the knowledge that they have.

I know what it is, but I can't find it!

Split

 

[Salty Gibbon]

Edge is a thing you fall off if you ***** up.

 

[SOCRATES]

Sorry,but none of you are right! An edge is the knowledge you have of the instrument that you are trading which will, consistently, get you in and out of the trade at the right time. The "right time" being before most of the others act on the knowledge that they have.

I know what it is, but I can't find it!

Split

Correct, at last ! And in addition, consistently right.

 

[SOCRATES]

Since this is the third time you've said this, I won't prompt you to repeat it yet again.

Ardhill's satisfied, and since his question prompted my original response, that pretty much takes care of that. Anyone who prefers your course is welcome to follow it.

DB, you still do not understand. Anyone who is in possession of an edge is not going to lay a path for everyone else to follow, so that they can replicate that particular edge The holders of an edge guard it jealously, because it is too precious to allow anyone who asks for it to have it. If you know anything about trading, you should know that at least.

Kind Regards.

 

[Salty Gibbon]

Piffle

 

[SOCRATES]

All your reponses are very interesting, fascinating, but not for the reasons you think.

 

[dbphoenix]

DB, you still do not understand.

Nor do you, Socrates. But the bank accepts the money, whether it's earned transcendentally or not.

 

[dbphoenix]

Sorry,but none of you are right! An edge is the knowledge you have of the instrument that you are trading which will, consistently, get you in and out of the trade at the right time. The "right time" being before most of the others act on the knowledge that they have.

Split

Which is essentially what I said. Don't know why Socrates introduced charts and "mechanicals" into it.

But regardless of how one defines it, it isn't something you get from a correspondence course or "personal time" with the guru of the month or a weekend seminar for $4500 donuts and coffee included, though if one choose to believe that it is, at least it's not my money.

 

[the blades]

All your reponses are very interesting, fascinating, but not for the reasons you think.

Soc - could you confirm that when at your computer you have under-pants on your head and a knitting needle up each nostril?

Just wondering like......

 

[SOCRATES]

Don't know why Socrates introduced charts and "mechanicals" into it..

DB, I now know. Now that I know, because finally you explain yourself very well, my curiosity is finally satisfied. Thanks. Goodnight.