Recent content by grass_hopper

I don't know who Howard is but there is definitely a possibility of some funny accounting as well. I know about one promoter who sold basic covered calls strategy to unsuspected public under the guise of "creative" accounting rules. All premiums from the calls were booked immediately as...

They are using non-directional strategies that work well in volatile times but probably not as good currently - down in January.

Re: "Only risk what you can afford to lose" - please help me understand this Then you're mixing your trading losses with your other expenditures. I don't mind spending 5K on food, clothing, etc. (I get something in return for my money) but I would hate to simple lose it in the market getting...

Re: "Only risk what you can afford to lose" - please help me understand this Inspiring, but I got lost in your math. How did you arrive to £67K loss? Your tally: -5000+3000-5000 = -7000. Where did extra 60K come from? Regardless, I have this irrational fear of big, devastating, loss and I...

Re: "Only risk what you can afford to lose" - please help me understand this Options can be used to reduce leverage and risk. It all depends on how you use them. E.g. instead of buying 100 shares of stock for $50/share ($5000 total), buy a vertical call spread (50/55) for $2/share ($200...

Re: "Only risk what you can afford to lose" - please help me understand this I am in the US and spread betting is illegal here. Also, I don't like leverage - it does more damage than good and you may lose more than your account size. As for 2% rule - I interpret it as the maximum position...

"chillout" refers to Dec'07. They made so much in previous months that they decided to take a month off. I would not blame them for that. "TBU" is probably "to be updated". Last published month (Jan'12) has negative performance even though the market was up. Not a good sign. Did they switch...

Hi Y'all, Every trading book, forum, website, etc. has these words engraved in them: "Only risk what you can afford to lose". Yet the same sources say that many traders who fail do so because of the lack of capital. Some recommend starting with at least $50K to have a good chance to succeed...

What a great response! Thank you so much! This was a missing link I was searching for so desperately. Dude, seriously, if you don't know anything about the subject why comment on it?

Hi Y'all! Has anyone heard of or even used OptionTrading | Powerful OptionTrading Strategies for Consistent Income services? They show some amazing performance (going up 14 times since 2007) and I wonder if these numbers are real or some back tested, simulated, or selected winning trades. They...

I don't get this paying for SIM trading idea. Why pay at all and does one need a prop firm for a simulator? There are plenty of brokers who offer demo accounts. Just don't do things that depend on execution mechanics (e.g. day-trading in general, scalping, arbitrage, etc.). Any demo is good...

Wow! I did not anticipate that my question would spark such a lengthy thread! On the subject of prop firms, my ideal would look like this: - does not ask for any upfront fees of capital commitments - accepts a trader based on past performance including demo accounts after reviewing all...

DionysusToast, Do you have an example of a company #1? I look at prop-shop ads every now and then but they all fall into #2 category. Thanks -- GH

I actually feel exactly the same way about good vs bad trades (pride vs sadness). Even more, I may be net short on my demo account while the market cooperates and goes down as I expected, so I feel good about my paper gain. At the same time my real 401k account loses real money and I don't even...

Interesting idea... So, you're saying: "Forget rules, stops, etc. Just buy a stock on the uptrend (or short in a downtrend) and set a sell limit at the target price" Correct?