Any of you believe in the luck aspect of trading

[stockoperatr]

just curious.

 

[chump]

depends what you mean by "luck'...if you are talking about events happening in your favour that are outside of your control ,yes I do....in a random sense and vice versa for being 'unlucky'.
For example...when you first trade without much understanding of what you are doing then you would be 'unlucky' if you were to get a few sizeable wins to start you off. In such a situation the wins would simply be a random event we might normally think of as 'beginers luck' and they would be "unlucky" if they convinced you that you had more expertise/control than you really did have.
"Luck" in any significant sense stops being a factor when your track record displays consistent results over a considerable period of time. To generate that record you've found a way to control the output within acceptable parameters and that in turn reduces the influence of events outside your control and implicitly the role of "luck" is diminished.

 

[jacinto]

for me luck is defined as : the place where opportunity and intelligence meet.

 

[TheBramble]

Dunno about just in trading. We all know people that are 'luckier' than others and their 'luck' seems to be pervasive – in that it infects more than just one area of their lives.

It’s probably a lot to do with Knowing What & When to Let Go, Being Proactive, seeking Engagement, making Commitments, Pushing Hard, Providing and taking Direction, Being Purposeful, genuine Endeavour, Being Enterprising, Persisting, Having (or believing you have) Power & Being Empowered, Simply Taking Action, Getting Out and Doing It (rather than just analysing and talking about it), Showing Initiative & Initiating, Planning, Arranging & Organising and Keeping it Together.

None or all of which are any use to you in Trading unless you’ve sorted out the basics of Trading.

And to be brutally honest, I increasingly find it difficult to imagine anyone being successful in trading unless and until they are generally successful in all the other aspects of their lives too. I don’t think you can exhibit excellence in one field while being a dong is others. It simply doesn’t work – not in the long term.

However, you can start off building excellence in one field or one area of your life whichever one grabs your passions most fully and then you will find, in time, this excellence tends to spill over into the other areas of your life too. Can’t not. Quality in Everything.

 

[Rhody Trader]

I believe that to a larger degree one creates his or her own luck, which is what it sounds like TheBramble indicated.

Given that, I definitely hold the view that luck - or maybe chance is the better word - plays a significant part in the results of any individual trade. Over the long run, though, one who consistently puts the odds in their favor, and is well set up to exploit good luck while minimizing the damage of back luck, comes out ahead.

 

[Theta2000]

Luck is what happens when you are not expecting it. For example: when market gaps up when you are bullish; or when it gaps down when you are bearish!

 

[Directional]

Dunno about just in trading. We all know people that are 'luckier' than others and their 'luck' seems to be pervasive – in that it infects more than just one area of their lives.

It’s probably a lot to do with Knowing What & When to Let Go, Being Proactive, seeking Engagement, making Commitments, Pushing Hard, Providing and taking Direction, Being Purposeful, genuine Endeavour, Being Enterprising, Persisting, Having (or believing you have) Power & Being Empowered, Simply Taking Action, Getting Out and Doing It (rather than just analysing and talking about it), Showing Initiative & Initiating, Planning, Arranging & Organising and Keeping it Together.

None or all of which are any use to you in Trading unless you’ve sorted out the basics of Trading.

And to be brutally honest, I increasingly find it difficult to imagine anyone being successful in trading unless and until they are generally successful in all the other aspects of their lives too. I don’t think you can exhibit excellence in one field while being a dong is others. It simply doesn’t work – not in the long term.

However, you can start off building excellence in one field or one area of your life whichever one grabs your passions most fully and then you will find, in time, this excellence tends to spill over into the other areas of your life too. Can’t not. Quality in Everything.

Absolutely agree with TheBramble. I believe you make your own "luck". People who think positive, get off their **** and do something about their situation or aspirations, and take actions that give them a favourable probability of success, are much more likely to succeed and be "lucky" or successful, than someone who is negative, complains and moans about their lot in life and sits around waiting for the world to be handed to them.

Great explanation Tony

 

[chump]

'I believe you make your own "luck""...but when you are in effect "making it" ..it isn't "luck" anymore because it isn't random as most people would describe it. It's an expected/'known' outcome in statistical terms.

 

[rols]

'I believe you make your own "luck""...but when you are in effect "making it" ..it isn't "luck" anymore because it isn't random as most people would describe it. It's an expected/'known' outcome in statistical terms.

I agree. Richard Wiseman wrote a book called 'The Luck Factor' and it seems that some people are more lucky than others.

 

[Charlton]

just curious.

I agree with the other posters that you make your own luck. Having the right mental frame of mind, expectation, application and a willingness to learn from others, oneself and one's mistakes is key.

I would also like to pick up on the point made by Chump, which I think has been largely overlooked. When you start trading you might be considered UNLUCKY if you are lucky enough to have some wins. This might make you complacent and you could be in for a very unlucky and more major fall later in your trading career. It's probably better to be hit by some small losses soon after you start to steer you down the correct money management path. Money management is often overlooked by newbies caught up in the thrill of money creation.

Charlton

 

[barjon]

Whether you make you own luck or not, it's your money management that lets you ride your good luck and slam the door on your bad luck. imo, of course!!

good trading

jon

 

[chump]

"luck" and it's opposite follow this mandate.....

"When a man with money meets a man with experience, the man with money gets the experience, and the man with experience gets the money. "

 

[StupendousTrader]

When Preparation meets Opportunity, Luck suddenly appears and the "Lucky Fellow" smiles to the bank.

 

[Profitaker]

All traders are susceptible to luck, both good luck and bad luck. But over time the luck evens out and so while short term success or failure can be attributed to luck, long term success or failure cannot.

I think this is what Mr.Chump alluded to in post #2.

 

[DDI]

All traders are susceptible to luck, both good luck and bad luck. But over time the luck evens out and so while short term success or failure can be attributed to luck, long term success or failure cannot.

I think this is what Mr.Chump alluded to in post #2.

agree 100%.
Even if you take a silly position (both size and entry) and suddenly therer is a takeover and you are 80% in the money, rest assured you will lose that money as you've learnt nothing.

 

[Tullio]

The man who said "I'd rather be lucky than good" saw deeply into life. People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It's scary to think so much is out of one's control. There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net and for a split second it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck it goes forward and you win. Or maybe it doesn't and you lose.
Woody Allen (Match Point)

 

[Windowsill]

just curious.

10 days ago, for the 1st time ever, I put a trade on the wrong way round. Puzzled me greatly when I didn't get stopped out!! For a while I was just got caught in the headlights and didn't react at all to the surprising event.

I think rather than luck, its being available and able to take advantage. Thats the key.

 

[Tullio]

I think rather than luck, its being available and able to take advantage. Thats the key.

So true!

 

[Rhody Trader]

I think rather than luck, its being available and able to take advantage. Thats the key.

And that comes from being prepared.

The successful trader realizes that for any given position chance can impact that result either way, but that by being properly prepared in advance for each potentiality he can come out ahead in the long run.

 

[Citizen2007]

The more you rely on luck, the less you seem to have of it.

Remember reading that somewhere.