This post was contributed by a guest author, and does not necessarily reflect the views of Richard or MovetheMarkets.com
He even posts a picture of the house he will lose if he goes broke. It appears he took out major loans to finance this endeavor. Who knows what happened with that Apple position.
This post was contributed by a guest author, and does not necessarily reflect the views of Richard or MovetheMarkets.com
January 24th, 2008 at 9:39 am
there’s also this: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080124/france_societe_generale_fraud.html
January 24th, 2008 at 9:57 am
No hot chicks, but plenty of Failure Porn. I gotta stop reading MtM if I ever want to have the confidence to take a trade again :)
I haven’t seen that blog before, but I’m betting that guy actually enjoys having people think he’s going to fail. Some twisted part of his head thinks “ha, wait till I succeed despite losing all this money. That’ll be sweeeeeet. What if I make $100k by trading with no stops and holding through earnings, everyone will think I’ve lost my mind, but I’ll show them, I’ll show them all!” It’s like playing Russian Roulette - he might make money, but he’s still a dumbass.
Back to trading… None of the markets gapped huge today so you gonna trade it, MWF?
January 24th, 2008 at 10:28 am
richard: he wins for the biggest blowup
tyro: for some odd reason i’m fascinated with reading these stories…watch for more failure porn as i find it…i’m starting to think that too about these public blowups…i’m wondering if its feeding something inside of them…if it is, it will only lead to more disaster…bill left a comment on dr. bretts blog about the same thing, and after thinking about it, it may apply in some cases
when will i get back to trading? i’m trying now, but have yet to pull the trigger…i’m not feeling very confident that’s for sure…i may just spend the day looking for more failure porn
January 24th, 2008 at 11:31 am
@MWF: You have a virtual treasure trove of it here. Just hit the “Posts by Prospectus” link. :P
I can definitely say that posting a failure once in a while can be a warning to others to not repeat your mistake. What I’m about to say next does not apply there. However, and I’m one of the worst offenders, posting repeatedly a cycle of failure does fill a psychological need and only leads to a continuation of the losing behavior. I had to go cold turkey from trading and blogging about it, because I was in that spiral. Fail, feel bad, post to feel better, feel bad about failing, try again, fail, feel bad, post to feel better, etc. The good feelings that come from an outpouring of support can be addictive, so you fail and blog it every day to get your pep-talk comments. Not a winning scenario as far as trading is concerned, but it does fill some kind of need that people have.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:55 am
prospectus: i can see that…i’ve heard that they’ve done studies, and gave people the opportunity to get cured from some major disease..some people wouldn’t take it, because they liked the sympathy, and being able to play the martyr card…i don’t know that applies necessarily in any of these cases…however, it one instance his level of posting went up dramatically after the blow up…maybe it was a tactic to raise blog revenue…i’m not sure that he can make it up in ad clicks, but who knows
i better lay off these posts…however, i am trying to mix in a chart or two
January 24th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
tyro: one trade for +3.25…hehe…i’m gonna be rich in 250 years!
January 24th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Nah, you just gotta step up and trade with SIZE. ;)
Slow and steady, man. I’m starting to believe that it’s more difficult to recover mentally from outsized winners that outsized losers. A big loser can shake you up & get you trading properly, a big winner can get you breaking your rules in order to win big again. If you keep taking a point or two a day and slowly increase your position size (slowly), you’ll be rich. Just might take you a few years.
January 24th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Yes, that is what I believe. Slow and steady is the way to go.
January 24th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
tyro: good point!
January 24th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
And now http://www.dehtrader.com/index.php?/archives/700-BLOW.html
January 24th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
nevermind, the dehtrader link turned out to be a joke
January 24th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
@Tyro: That’s EXACTLY what happened to me. I was doing great going slow and steady, then I got lucky with 2 big trades in CFC that put me up 10% on my equity (20R) in one day. After that, I gradually overtraded myself into net drawdown, and kept destructing until I pulled the plug at about -75%. After those big wins, I wanted more! I stopped dummy trading and started scalping. The rest is history.
A big loss can make you a better risk manager, and a big win can do the opposite. If I had it to do all over again, I’d take a break from trading after a big windfall gain. Just as a big loss can screw with your mind, that big win can mess you up. It’s more insidious when it’s a win, though. Since you feel good, there’s no natural danger flag in your mind, like there is when you are devastated. You really have to be aware of yourself.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
richard: yeah, i saw that joke…it was funny
tyro and prospectus: i just read the other day that dr. brett takes an inventory of his trading after new equity highs or a specific drawdown…he said that when he is at new highs, he likes to see what is working and what is not…of course it also helps him stay grounded…that guy should be a trading coach or something :-)