The Competitive Edge in Trading

Well said. Trust me, none of my first post comes from anything less than personal experience as well as observation of others I've befriended, tutored, and observed in various forums.

IF I had all the money I had margined my way out of before "growing up" as a trader, well....I'd have a lot more money!

Thank you, buddy.

It's an honor coming from you.

MuddBuddha
Thank you for taking the time to write down and share your thoughts with us. I find myself agreeing with what you wrote and I copied a few lines that struck me into a Word doc. They struck me because I recognized myself from the description. Some of the traits and habits you mentioned I have put behind my back but I find myself having trouble with others. From the rock that I'm standing on it's impossible to tell whether I'm one of those who are bound to be failures. A person standing next to me might have a better chance at recognizing whether I belong to the first or second group (perceptional fallacies and biases make it difficult for one to accurately asses oneself). I firmly believe in success through hard work and persistence and I will use your thoughts, combining them with my own, to focus my trading development outside of charts. Recently I've been putting far too much emphasis on charts and price movements which has led me to leave the 'human resources/skills' department without the proper attention it deserves. Thank you for provoking me to refocus. You can be sure that your 'electronic ink' hasn't gone to waste.

PS. It's not a big thing coming from a relatively new member like me but I think you deserve a +1.

It was pleasure to read your post, it was a small masterpiece in an ocean of lost posts!!

IMHO opinion the value or not of a demo account depends on the trader. Demo accounts are perfect to test new strategies, and can be valuable for new traders only if they trade them with the same seriousness than a real one. I now it is hard, but not impossible.

Regards

Pepe

Excellent post. This is something all traders should read, beginner or experienced. Thanks for writing it.

When I first started trading in a demo account I had all of about 2 months of FX trading experience. If I had demoed for a year, I still would not have been ready to trade live. One month of being exposed to FX is like taking the first bite of eating an entire elephant. Trying to debate the merits of whether or not a demo account is worthwhile, is a mute argument when it comes to a beginner trader. The reality is that it takes well over 25,000 hours to begin to become a competent FX trader. Trading the demo is part of the first few baby steps of a significant journey. I thought I knew all I needed to know in my first, second, third, and fourth year of trading FX.......I wasn't even close in my first couple of years because I didn't know what I didn't know.

If you are currently trading a demo account, you are probably a newbie trader. Please do not call yourself a FX trader after trading in your demo account after 5 months or whatever. As I said earlier.....the only thing that a demo account experience will do for a newbie trader is delay the inevitable; which is losing consistently.

Every new trader should start out with a demo account. Learn as much as you can and find creative ways to challenge yourself while in demo mode. It is an absolute shame that you will still be uniquely unqualified to trade FX live afterwards which is unique to any profession that I can think of. When a pilot finishes flight simulator classes it is part of a certification process where he or she will have 50% of what it takes to be a good pilot afterwards. Whereas, when you finish trading a demo account, you probably only have 1% of what it takes to be a good trader.

I'm really honored by the overwhelming response to the post article. I'm sincerely glad it's helped/inspired/re-inspired the few who have read it.

In a forum this large, finding the rare few who are the "white sands on a black sand beach" is hard. They don't post the most, they don't argue over fundamentals nor debate the practicality of technicals; but when they do emerge to comment on a article such as this, it's truely an honor.

there is more to the first post on this thread than some whole threads.

WBR

(which is something that is mandatory )

i will never forget this sentence:

The Green Bay Packers have never lost a game. They’ve only ever ran out of time.

but doesn't it go against the fundamental mind change that is accepting loss?

another bullshit article about discretionary trading.

Love it, being a Packers fan! :-D

As for the article, I saved it into a Word Doc. Thanks for sharing your words, thoughts and experiences!