Having been in this game longer than most, I thought I'd seen every scammer under the sun. By nature I'm the most sceptical man on the planet and when it comes to forex, my bullshit detector is highly attuned and ready to beep at any given moment. So when I discovered Darkstar's posts on FF it was like a breath of fresh air. Here, finally, there seemed to be someone who had not only walked the same path as I, but who was actually a few steps ahead. For although I was (and still am) a profitable trader, I hadn't made the quantum leap that I had long desired. As such, I thought I'd do something I hadn't done in years and actually purchase a trading book. The book in question was Darkstar's Order Flow Trading For Fun And Profit.
It was a good read and I felt that my initial impression of DS was correct, i.e. this was someone truly unique and who knew his stuff. It is clear from his writing that he holds a similar opinion about himself, but expertly manages to avoid (albeit barely) openly boasting about his brilliance. I think this is just as well, because for all his insight into the THEORY of forex and the so called 'meta-game', he recently betrayed his true knowledge, as well as his shockingly lacklustre abilities in this blog post from April: http://www.orderflowtrading.com/HedgeFund/LifeOnTheBuySide/tabid/200/entryid/22823/It-s-Time-For-Something-New.aspx
Ostensibly, this article was to inform his readership about his impending plans to open a hedge fund and of the superiority of holding long(er) term positions. At the same time, he went on at length about the improbability of success in day trading for the vast majority of market participants - I won't question the validity of this claim. What struck me was that for all his written output and supposed superior understanding, his ACTUAL PROFITS and projected maximum annual returns for the best 10% of day traders, were so far off base as to be laughable. I'm talking about these paragraphs in particular:
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Oh really, Darkstar? Is that so?
It was at this point I realised that the guy was a theoretician rather than a trader and I consigned him to the same waste bin as all the other would-be gurus that pollute the world. Now, a few months on from this eye openingly naive (yet revealing) blog post of his, and as the previous few commenters have mentioned, I see that he's turned into a full blown hypocrite to boot.
C'est la vie...
It was a good read and I felt that my initial impression of DS was correct, i.e. this was someone truly unique and who knew his stuff. It is clear from his writing that he holds a similar opinion about himself, but expertly manages to avoid (albeit barely) openly boasting about his brilliance. I think this is just as well, because for all his insight into the THEORY of forex and the so called 'meta-game', he recently betrayed his true knowledge, as well as his shockingly lacklustre abilities in this blog post from April: http://www.orderflowtrading.com/HedgeFund/LifeOnTheBuySide/tabid/200/entryid/22823/It-s-Time-For-Something-New.aspx
Ostensibly, this article was to inform his readership about his impending plans to open a hedge fund and of the superiority of holding long(er) term positions. At the same time, he went on at length about the improbability of success in day trading for the vast majority of market participants - I won't question the validity of this claim. What struck me was that for all his written output and supposed superior understanding, his ACTUAL PROFITS and projected maximum annual returns for the best 10% of day traders, were so far off base as to be laughable. I'm talking about these paragraphs in particular:
QuoteDislikedThe reason is, no matter how fuckin good you are at this, you're never going to average more than maybe $500k a year. And that's if you're extremely lucky.
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QuoteDislikedYes, I've had years where I pulled down $300k. But I've had losing years as well. Years where, for whatever reason, I couldn't stop the carnage before it was too late. And lately it's been more stable, but at much lower levels. Last year I made just under $35k trading intraday.
Oh really, Darkstar? Is that so?
It was at this point I realised that the guy was a theoretician rather than a trader and I consigned him to the same waste bin as all the other would-be gurus that pollute the world. Now, a few months on from this eye openingly naive (yet revealing) blog post of his, and as the previous few commenters have mentioned, I see that he's turned into a full blown hypocrite to boot.
C'est la vie...