On the topic of BS in trading forums...

I vote we delete FF and replace it with Hanover's post, its all you need to know.

Yes damien.

I vote no, because I read the forums to primarily see what others are thinking, right and wrong.

Great post hanover!

This really sums up where I was a few months ago! I have pretty much stopped reading forums now and haven't actually commented on any posts but yours post struck a chord. I used to spend ages going through thread after thread looking for a mechanical edge. Now I have stopped looking and am trading well (last 2 months have been profitable! which is a nice change!)

Now i am just trading supply and demand or support and resistance, breakouts and various patterns that I like. Its all discretionary but I put in at least 12 hours a day screen time. Hopefully I am getting there now but its gonna be a very long road!

Anyway once again great post hanover - nothing else needs to be added, you said it all.

As usual everybody gets bogged down in useless detail...
I think everybody misses the point of David's post, people quibble over various points that he makes or they seem take the post as a list of inviolate truths, it's neither. The real lesson to take from his posting is the way he thinks, the way he uses logic to strip away rubbish and come to (reasonably) logical conclusions.

Edit: Upon writing this I did not realize that things had gotten commercial, my comments are based on what I'd read in the past and are not an endorsement of any current commercial venture.

Yeah, I hear that. That wouldn't even be so bad in and of itself but, what gets me is how damn contrary so many people feel obliged to be. I honestly don't think that it matters what points are made. They're just so eager to jump on the "other side" of a discussion. Immature egos trolling the forum - really irks me just about every day here.

Well I disagree with this...





Just Kidding.

GREAT POST, hanover! This should really be stickied for all the newbies to read. After studying Forex for over 3 years now, I'm slowly coming to similar conclusions...

Sir david,
good lengthy posts, as usual.
u have been helpful all the way.
Good luck in your new venture.

Please wait for the mangoes i'll be sending u. it may take some (indefinite) time.
who knows, i might hand them to u myself. Mt.Cook is still in my list

Logical conclusions....for him, not necessarily for everyone else. He quite rightly pointed out "...of course the above is merely my opinion...", others may reach different opinions and conclusions and be equally (un)successful.

In my opinion it's a pointless exercise trying to catalogue what makes or doesn't make a profitable trading approach or trader, people apply different things in different ways, one man's poison etc etc.

I get the feeling David writes posts like that more to crystallise his own thoughts rather than as an advisory for others to follow (although inevitably some will, blindly!). Like all posts on chat forums we take away what we find useful and disregard the rest, ultimately reaching our own conclusions and forming our own opinions.

Hanover, by his own admission, has never been a consistently profitable trader so it seems his 4-year journey of discovery and conclusions haven't been able to be put to any practical use in his trading.

Anyway as Mr J pointed out, it's always interesting to see how other people think though.

excellent first post. loved it.

lol, and now selling stuff, classic!

http://i49.tinypic.com/2dlox92.jpg

I joined this forum after reading Hanover's posts (i don't know him). I knew then he wasn't consistently profitable, don't know about now (although i suspect it might have changed for the better) and really don't care (as far as to how valid his posts are).

Much of what he has written helps me crystallize my 'own' thoughts and process. Like Craig said, instead of getting bogged down in the details, lets think of his 'thought'. The first post in this thread along with its links is easily hall of fame on this forum and probably should be stickied.

Thanks and good luck to you David.

Hanover is one of the many people who I admire here in FF. It makes you think; here is a person who can cut through BS and yet is not consistently profitable. I mean, what are the chances of the other people who doesn't possess such way of thinking. And there are heaps who doesn't think this way... easy shark bait.

Personally, it took me around the same amount of time (4 years) to arrive at what Hanover says and thinks. I was also not consistently profitable. It took 6 years for me to create my system. My system slowly evolved over the years, applying the theories, the philosophies and removing the BS. That's when I realized, knowing how to remove BS and having a logical way of thinking is still not enough to be consistently profitable. And creating a solid trading system doesn't take days, weeks or months... but years.

You have to lay the foundation and cementing the bricks of knowledge over the years. Brick by brick; theories over philosophies, philosophies over theories and removing all the BS along the way. It is an evolving process... it is not plot this and that, backtest for a month and we have a winning system.

Applying logic, and only LOGIC can make you profitable on the long run.....

Well newton said...


I can calculate the motions of the heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.

V

Another one going commercial, good luck, are any of the threads in this forum not geared towards starting some commercial venture.

Pipmutt,

I don't understand what would motivate a profitable trader to criticize the efforts of others; why he wouldn't simply be content with his own success.

I've never seen you post a chart, or outline any part of your winning formula, on the forum, other than vague references to pyramiding. Yet you've spoken out against the methods outlined by Jacko and Darkstar, whom I understand are two of the most successful traders that generously contribute their time and knowledge here. And, if I may attempt to anticipate your response, they've offered every bit as much proof of their profitability as you (or anybody else) has.

I've worked very hard for almost 4 years at forex, and 3-4 years with CFDs prior to that. It's cost me my health, and almost my marriage. I'm well ahead for 2010, but I attribute much of that to shorting EUR based pairs (while there have been obvious problems in that part of the world). It takes many months to execute the several hundred trades needed to prove conclusively that a discretionary strategy will work under all market conditions; and of course along the way one gains more knowledge and ideas to test, which necessitates some kind of partial restart. I may well have finally 'made it' as a forex trader, but just don't have the proof yet; it's probably fair to say that I'm a cautious person who perhaps undersells himself. You seem to assume that, just because somebody doesn't employ the same 'key' ingredients that you do - whatever those might be - they are guaranteed to be unsuccessful. That's not necessarily true.

Anyway, no matter; it's my business partner who is the experienced forex trader and coach. He will be offering services in those areas, while my role will be software development and client support. If you're somehow implying that I'll be joining the list of unscrupulous vendors that sell dubious or untested forex systems and EAs, well I'm afraid that's completely untrue, and I believe that an apology would be appropriate.

David

Anything worth doing is worth doing for money. This isn't a charity.

I think there are a couple but they're rare! There are a handful of posters who are experienced traders and who I believe genuinely want to help other people without any ulterior motive but then who knows, tomorrow they may also be going commercial!

I've yet to see anything on the net worth buying as far as teaching, training, systems, strategies, EA's etc etc etc, either they're snakeoil or they're not anything which can't be found elsewhere for free!

Ho hum.....