You are correct. Most day traders do not want the on-line people to know that they are at a distinct disadvantage, so there are probably a lot of day traders out there that would be pissed off by seeing me post all this stuff.
My personal opinion is that the more tools anyone has, the better off we all are, since the real slimeballs in this game are the corrupt MMs (not all MMs are corrupt) that "seem" to "have an influence" on the price of stocks.
Put simply, I was successful at day trading when I was doing it over the phone with a broker. My broker was in direct touch with their trader, and I could usually get pretty good executions. I never shorted, and I only went long in anticipation of a continued move up on a stock. But that was a raging bull market, and I was buying from the ECN traders, I am sure.
Now, I am on equal footing with anyone that is trading on Level 2. The MMs still have the edge, of course, but I'm no longer handicapped by trying to predict where a price will be in 3 minutes and giving my order accordingly.
Day trading is a serious game, it is not for everyone. It is dangerous as hell, and most people don't make it when they start out. Guys like me take their money away from them on a regular basis, and we don't feel bad about it at all.
I certainly will never share on the www the specific things I do to consistently make money (so far, knock on wood, etc.) but I think that trading on an ECN, if you are going to trade at all, is the way to go.
I've seen it all; I've seen guys buying and selling options on their Schwab account by punching in codes over the phone, I've seen guys try to day trade on the Internet, I've seen the Wade Cook dudes, all of it.
It's not easy. It's not. If it were, they would invent some new game that was hard, because the Big Boys have been doing this for a Very Long Time, and they don't like to have their profits squeezed out by pipsqueeks like me.
If you are going to play the game, then get the best equipment. If you are going to race with Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhart, you have to understand a couple of things. First, you can get killed real quick, the race will go on without you and nobody will give a flying f about you except your car owner, who will be really sad. Second, you will just be in the way if you are driving a 2 year old car. Third, if you want to pass Jeff on the outside of Turn 4, you would best have some confidence in your equipment and your ability to drive, because it won't happen without both. Jeff and Dale are don't care who tries to pass them, they only care about preventing it.
Finally, I don't think a rate cut or lack of rate cut will have any influence on the market. I think one should watch for news about large hedge funds that are in trouble, and the flow of money related to any future problems in that area. That is what will drive the market in the next 6 months, IMHO, followed closely by the economics of Latin America and the Y2K problem, which is real.
But I don't care which way the market goes, because I will make money either way, and I'm in cash every day at 4:00 p.m. |
