By traders I mean those who trade long and short in stocks, bonds, forex, commodities, futures, etc...
2006-07-11 03:32:43 · 5 answers · asked by permagrin617 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Investing
The opening line in that link cracks me up.
2006-07-16 23:26:51 · update #1
Many very intelligent people have failed to answer this question. Intelligence has very little to do with it, surprisingly, as I am a test of that premise. I am not overly intelligent, yet I am successful.
What a trader lacks in intelligence, he makes up for with study and hard work. Perseverence is a must, passion is a must. If you are just doing it for the money, it will grow tiresome, and will be too much work.
Although a trader is probably intelligent, he need not be, but he is certainly knowledgeable. I have over 100 books on the subject.
Like any vocation, it takes hard work, lots of study, and the testing of your theories, learning what makes you tick, learning your own particular time and stress levels, and fighting the emotions of fear, greed, and loss of hope.
Most traders spend their entire time looking for the Holy Grail of indicators, and that's why 85% of all traders fail.
Your success or failure lies within you. Part of the key lies in finding the right combination of which markets and which time intervals to trade. For example, I am no Day Trader, although I do Day Trade sometimes. In choppy markets, it is a must, like now in the Currencies and even more so in the stock market.
Some say that psychology is 50% of trading. I would guess more. The markets weeds out people who are unable to be honest with themselves. Trading is one of the most self-revelatory things that a person can do. Day in and day out you’re confronted with all your primal emotions.
Many traders react to uncertainty by hoping it would just go away. They fruitlessly try to deny the implications of change. But change is commonplace in trading, and it's vital that you accept change and think of creative ways to deal with it. You must learn to accept the market on its own terms; hope must go out the window. After a trade is put on, it will do what it will do, and no amount of hope or fear will change it. Without a firm committment to this psychology, if you chase your tail in worry, the markets will eat you alive.
Most novices focus on how much money they can make, which is basakwards to what they should be doing. If you focus on risk control and money management, you might stick around to play the game another day.
There are so many places you can go wrong, and only a few right ways of thinking will help you. Your ability to concentrate fully and intensely can mean the difference between consistently taking home huge profits and barely staying above water. It's vital that you pay attention to multiple sources of information, sift through them, prioritize each separate piece, and make an astute decision once all information has been scrutinized. You can't be distracted and unfocused while formulating a trading plan or monitoring an ongoing trade.
It is vital that you develop your intuition by trading with a variety of methods under a wide range of market conditions.
These reasons are just for starters. Maybe I should write a book.
2006-07-11 06:10:31 · answer #1 · answered by dredude52 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The two Es: Experience and expertise.
2006-07-11 10:36:35 · answer #2 · answered by Evan a.k.a. His Studliness 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Knowing when to SELL.
2006-07-11 16:42:56 · answer #3 · answered by fastfrank7 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have a gander at this
2006-07-14 05:47:15 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
How much they make.
2006-07-11 10:37:12 · answer #5 · answered by GaryODS 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋