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Strategies & Market Trends : The Art of Investing -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Johnny Canuck who wrote (8517)	4/21/2024 1:25:19 AM
From: Sun Tzu	2 Recommendations Recommended By S. maltophilia sixty2nds Respond to of 10711

Thanks for the link. Since I don't day trade, I was unaware of this resource. I think it is always a good idea to watch good traders in action. If I have to venture a guess, I'd say his may edge is his instinct and tape reading. I just don't believe that any public indicator or pattern can outcompete algos. As to day traders being adrenalin junkies, I am sure many traders (not just day traders) fit the bill. In his Trading for a Living book, Dr. Elder recommends that prospective traders first spend a month or two attending gamblers anonymous sessions before starting their journey. This is sage advice, though I doubt many take him up on it. The best traders that I know find trading either boring or at most very cerebral. Boring because they have to patiently wait hours/days/weeks for the market to present them with the right set up. Cerebral because many (myself included) treat the market a giant puzzle to be solved or "diagnosed" rather than a Vegas substitute. Additionally, what you trade and your timeframe will decide the level of brain work and control you must have. Pure day trading of equities is perhaps mostly instinct. Trading structured derivatives on the other hand demands a lot of mental power, advance math, and market intelligence. Most people don't realize how vast the trading landscape is. Not only do people specialize in different companies or commodities and/or different timeframes (from day trading to very long cycles), there are many styles from TA, FA, Momentum, Value, Growth, Sector Neutral, Volatility Neutral, Duration Neutral, etc. And on top of that there are volatility traders, arbs, options, structured derivatives, exotic derivatives, etc. etc. These are just the ones that I could think of off the top of my head. The list goes on. 80% of the times I don't even understand what the vol traders or structured derivative guys are talking about no matter how many times I reread it. I once tried going through a list of questions one of them had put out as part of his interview for a junior assistant, and I still couldn't follow. But even if I could, it just isn't the kind of trade that interests me. It is very important for each trader to find a style and instrument that matches his personality and personal strengths.