What Hours Do You Keep ?

[nkruger]

Gotcha MP.

Thanks for the enlightenment

 

[gamma]

=====================================================================

gamma PLEASE stop using the word SCALPING as doing that is long past being possible for ANY trader -- the correct term is FLIPPING.

back in the mid 90's when the markets were not in decimals, many of the vanguard of the ELECTRONIC market "scalped" a stock by buying BETWEEN the bid and ask because of the FRACTIONAL manner of pricing stocks.

we were eating the specialists lunch, and they got really ticked about it, leading to the SEC instituting DECIMAL pricing and raising the amount one had to have in equity in their accounts !

When that was done, the decimal pricing effectively ELIMINATED the ability to trade between the bid and ask, and so SCALP slowly slid beneath the waters and has never been seen again !

NOW, why I spend more hours than you in front of the monitor ----- first, im probably much older with far more responsibilities than you. I have enjoyed the fun and foolishness and now its LETS GET SERIOUS TIME !

I can certainly appreciate your pride in 30 pips, but with my responsibilities, a few hundred only scratches the surface, and while i dont really count pips, I believe 650 or so was done on a decent day recently !

I take long term, intermediates and flip all the timeframes in one day --- part of the reason is thats what im paid for and part is for my own personal satisfaction, as I see forex as a 3 dimensional chess game whose really tough side is remembering what each trade is supposed to do and simply letting it do so !

now, i cant say im average for this site, although i figure im average for professional traders, but i dont spend EVERY second in front of the monitors, but do wander back and forth, looking for effective trades and at different times of the day, because of the reversals !

shucks, i even go shopping, to the movies, buy pipe tobacco (actually, thats sent to me), entertain the McGivers, DO NOT go to the gymn because im beatifully "buffed" for a man of 104 and most of the things we humans do every day (EXCEPT travel to work and pay those horrid gas prices)

i may be a tad different than others though --- first off im a Yank, and you know how WE ARE !!!!
and i sadly believe i have an addiction to CRT monitors !

enjoy and trade well

mp

dear mp6140, I humbly apologise if I gave the impression that I look down with disdain at anyone who scalps. I have tried it myself and was totally useless at it so have nothing but the greatest respect for people do do it.and a great acomplishment for anyone who succeeds at it you are obviously one who has.I have geared my life style to live within what I can achieve without too much stress,My post was really meant for traders who want of a better term "gamble " with every twist , ask me to trade the ftse or dow and you will see a complete lost soul gambling.
Now 650 points that s to be admired! wish I could do that
but the whole thread is about long trading hours and really do we need to trade such long hours and more importantly how many of those hours are really productive.
I find only trading the mornings helps keeps my concentration.
Like you say you need to work longer times because of commitments
what I find truly altruistic on your path is also finding time to post some very good opinions and views on this site

good trading to all.

 

[mp6140]

dear mp6140, I humbly apologise if I gave the impression that I look down with disdain at anyone who scalps. I have tried it myself and was totally useless at it so have nothing but the greatest respect for people do do it.and a great acomplishment for anyone who succeeds at it you are obviously one who has.I have geared my life style to live within what I can achieve without too much stress,My post was really meant for traders who want of a better term "gamble " with every twist , ask me to trade the ftse or dow and you will see a complete lost soul gambling.
Now 650 points that s to be admired! wish I could do that
but the whole thread is about long trading hours and really do we need to trade such long hours and more importantly how many of those hours are really productive.
I find only trading the mornings helps keeps my concentration.
Like you say you need to work longer times because of commitments
what I find truly altruistic on your path is also finding time to post some very good opinions and views on this site

good trading to all.

oh NO, NO, NO gamma --- nothing was taken to be negative in your post at all !

always try to remember that i tend to wrap my tongue, which is usually firmly implanted in my cheek, around a lot of what i say, and the history lesson on "scalping" was just one of those things !

i enjoy flipping while i wait for the longer term holds to come to fruition, and since some of those trades take a day or so to come home to roost, my addiction to CRT monitors FORCES me to sit and watch, perhaps expecting my trading platforms to suddenly become the Playboy channel ---- im simply not sure !

but since they have not yet turned into the playboy channel, i cant just sit dumbly by, watching in a fog as numbers go up and go down, so completely out of boredom i flip many a 5 pipper off the 5 minute charts and many a 15 pipper off the 15 min charts --- part of course is commitments (the McGivers are indeed willing and able, but golly do they LOVE to be entertained mightily !) and then the two girls in college at an average of $40 thou per and a few more "reality checks" in my life, and I "tend" to spend a lot of time in front of those CRT's (so far, flat screens are NOT as sharp as my Rasterops)

over the years, as stated, i have found more time available, as after noon (EDT) currencies simply retrace until the rollover, so i can choose to just leave a few trades alone and then take care of other things as needed -----

i agree completely --- unless youre an absolute, died in the wool flipper and the fire burns in your groin with no chance of going out, you can do darn well by simply placing your trades and doing something else, BUT THAT ONLY COMES WITH EXPERIENCE AND TIME ---- the two handmaidens of successful trading !

oh yeah --- the 650 pip day was one of "those" days where things just NEVER stopped happening and while i would have left my desk far earlier, it was just so much FUN that i couldnt leave. although i make a decent pipage a day, THAT DAY was quite something !

enjoy and trade well

mp

 

[rnicoll]

There isn’t constant news about particular stocks or currencies or bonds that you might be interested in, the only reason I can see for spending such a long periods of time in front of a monitor is scalping, or waiting for a setup to come about.

Was getting worried it's just me. Paying attention to my trades actually makes me do worse, leading to a day structure along the line of:

Get up 7:45, flip on the computer, scan RSS feeds and boot trading app.
7:45-8:20 stand well back, watching the market figure itself out for the day, keep an eye on Bloomberg, check other news/e-mail, have breakfast.
8:20-8:40-ish, decide if anything's worth trading now. Put in a (spread) bet, figure out stop/limit orders for all bets.
8:45 go to day job.

And that's fairly much it. I check on everything at lunch, trade anything that's moved to a better position since morning, close anything that looks like it's got as good as it's going to get, and then get on with my day.

Now, obviously: 1. I have a day job paying my bills. 2. I miss quite a few opportunities. Still, up until last week I was doing really quite well with my spread bets (I'm now doing merely "well"; today's tip is don't just leave a forex bet and go to bed unless you really know what you're doing).

 

[gooseman]

wake up at 5, , at my desk my 630. leave work just after 6.

 

[mp6140]

MP -- its gonna depend on priorities and realities

I love these conversations, as if they are not happening this very second on subjects ranging from alphabet wrangling to zebra herding.

IF YOU THINK OF IT AS A JOB, then you spend the time to DO YOUR JOB !

IF its simply an "adjunct" to your income and regular job, then you certainly spend a whole lot less.

If you require $300 to live well for a week, you go to the gymn and try to meet women.

If you require $3000 to live well for a week, you work for it and bring the women to meet YOU !

its a simple intermingling of age, personal requirements, wants and needs ---- those with "obligations" tend to work longer and make more --- the younger, without those obligations, tend to work less for less and play more !

unless youre unbelieveably wonderful at trading, you will get out of it what you put into it and what you put into it is based on your PRIORITIES !

for me, the McGivers require large inputs of capital, so i put a lot into it !

enjoy and trade well

mp

 

[nkruger]

wake up at 5, , at my desk my 630. leave work just after 6.

Gooseman ~ that reminds me of the old Python sketch.....

" We used to have get up out of bed 2 hours before we went to sleep, eat a handful of hot gravel, and work 28 hours a day down t'mill and pay mill owner for permission to come to work....."

 

[gooseman]

Ha ha. Been doing it for years so you kind of get used to it. Unless you have a hangover of course!