To: Ken Wolff who wrote (421 ) 2/7/1998 11:36:00 AM From: David Smith Read Replies (2) | Respond to
I think your post was extremely well thought-out, and I agree with almost all of it. If someone told me they were going to quit their job and become a full-time daytrader, I would first say "don't" (having made the progression from daytrader to dealer, I know how difficult the former can be without the experience of the latter). But if one is determined to be a full-time daytrader, or at least spend a large amount of leisure time playing in the market while keeping a full-time job, my one piece of advice would be this: it is far, far better to try to hit singles than homeruns. It's useful (and appropriate) to imagine yourself as a batter going up to the plate against a major league pitcher. In this scenario, if striking out is equivalent to losing money on a trade, and finding a way to get on base is equivalent to making a profitable trade, which of the following courses of action do you think would afford the best probability of 1) getting on base, 2) possibly coming home to score, and 3) staying on the team over the long haul....swinging for the fence every time, or sticking your bat in front of the ball and just trying to find a way...anyway...to get on base? Against a major league pitcher, the latter is obviously the path to survival.
