Welcome to the Trader-X blog!

> TRADEthemove.com - my thoughts
> meditationSHIFT (formerly "tad")- just say "om"

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Back from the dead?

Greetings. My engagement has officially ended and I am free to post again. The question is, to post or not to post. That, repetitively, is the question.

There are many days I miss blogging and interacting with faceless names on the Internet. And there are many days when I don't. I certainly have a lot of new and interesting things to share as it relates to trading, Technical Analysis, and Fibonacci strategies. But over the past year plus I have also seen and met several people who "tried their hand" at trading and failed miserably, and a part of me wonders if blogs like mine might adversely influence people.

I have never claimed trading is easy, only that it can be done successfully with a lot of hard work, study, and patience. To be sure, there are more failures than successes - but that is almost always because someone is looking to make a quick dollar and does not approach this business with the proper mindset. And to those that approach trading as if it were gambling and risk their life savings, their houses, and worse yet go into massive debt trying to trade - you are what creates the stereotype that makes the rest of us look bad. Go to Vegas and lose your money there instead.

So I have to weigh the pros and cons, as well as some of the other things about blogging that can be disturbing. I am not sure where I will land, but I wanted to check-in and say hello to everyone. As far as my trading - I have honed my strategies even more, and 75% of my trades are now complete within the first hour of trading (95% of my trades are easily complete within the first two hours). I am pleased with my style (which still closely resembles what you can find in the blog archives) and with the time I spend each day in front of the screen. There will always be room for improvement, but overall my accuracy and profits are better than ever.

I hope everyone out there is having a wonderful year, and I look forward to [possibly] re-connecting in the coming months.

_______________

19 comments:

Jules said...

At long last!
You've been missed :-)

clue said...

Hi X,

Shortly after your sabbatical commenced, I saved your blog to a thumb drive then spent a few consecutive days at the local campus library reading every post and chart from first to last. I even saved charts to folders according to my own particular "setup types" to compare with my work. The whole extended study session was really enjoyable and the time spent was money in the bank.

I know I speak for many when I say you've done good work here.

WE WANT MORE :)

Jamison said...

Welcome back X.

I would like to know what has changed in your trading since you have been honing your skills?

Also, what new arsenal have you added that you previously did not use?

P.S. This blog has been very helpful to me, though I can imagine how someone can misuse the information as the "Holy Grail".

Anonymous said...

AVE MARIA! he is back!
X...i thought u were not coming back anymore!
I missed ur posts so pls...get back to ur blog and post some trades..at least once a week or once a month..but dont let this blog die...

Rocky said...

What a great early Xmas present! Don't blame yourself for other's bad decisions, though. That is a bit like saying gun makers or auto makers kill people. No, people who make bad decisions kill people.

I hope you start posting charts again. Single best site that has ever existed for traders.

Peace.

AnthonyB said...

X,

Great to have you back. I agree with all the comments here also. Like clue, I copied and bound into a book every chart on this website. Don't blame your self for the irresponsible behavior of others. I hope you decide to share again all that you have learned since your last posts. Your insights have a LOT of value. This is exciting. You were missed.

TonyB

Anonymous said...

Hi X,

Go Yankees, they won yesterday! You expect them to reach the world series?

Well, I like to see you post, but it doesn't have to be every day, maybe once a week so you don't get burned out.

Hector

loanme5 said...

Glad to hear from you. Feels like an old friend is back.

Jorge said...

I happened to read the blogs of two guys that supposedly were following your system. They were simply losing money because of their own lack of guts and patience when a trade went a few cents against them. They were entering trades based on 15' charts, but were managing the same trades using "15 seconds" bars.

Is it your fault that these guys consistently lose money? I don't think so...

If you do not want to interact with faceless people, you can move to Facebook and see everybody's faces, but you will lose your own anonymity...

Anonymous said...

Every now and then I stop by to see if Tom's added anything but just about gave up hope of you returning. This is a delightful surprise. For any possible negatives that might result from your teachings, you can rest assured that they've been extremely OVERbalanced by the knowledge and know-how you've generously imparted. Certainly don't want you to undertake anything you have misgivings about but I fervently hope you do climb back onto the opening gap saddle and soon.

Times of Your Life said...

T.T
thank god....thank god.....
you are back. I missed you and Tom

I am almost done reading your past posts in your blog...

I have to agree, its extremely hard in this trading business @.@....

Allan said...

Welcome back and please, I beg you, continue with your blog. Your blog has been extremely helpful in learning more about trading strategies and has helped me understand real trading vs. what I learn from trading books. People who love trading will look at your blog as a great reference. Most "Vegas" style traders won't take the time to read your work and fully comprehend what you do. Your blog is a great gift and I implore you to blog again. Thank you for all that you have shared.

B L said...

Welcome back, the Holy Grail must continue. :]

David R. said...

Good to hear from you, and I hope for new charts soon. BTW, your are not responsible for other's actions. They are!

Tom T. said...

I would love to hear how prop. trading experience was different or whether it was better than trading on your own (I know you cannot divulge confidential info but you may be able to relate your experiences and conclusions). I would be interested in your take on the state of certain setups, whether they survived the change in markets, whether you found new ones, what new insights you have today on trading - whether it is still viable to daytrade since one person noted that we are no longer seeing much post gap trending anymore as if all the moves happen pre-market or the first 15 minutes, etc.

FP A distancia said...

Hi again X!

I have been checking your homepage every few days since you stoped posting.

Regarding your doubts: YOUR BLOG HELPS. As far as you are not hard selling anything, you shouldn't be concerned about people not having success, I'm sure you are helping more than hurting.

Anyway, in my humble opinion it would also help that you could change somewhat your focus and also will start showin "bad" trades and/or reporting your unsuccessful ones: this may be will state clearly that this is a "game" where success comes in hand with failure and there is no way to avoid it, even for a "master of the trading" as you are. Just my opinion.

Thank you for writing and exceus my english: here in Spain we are very good playing football-soccer, but not so good speaking english! :-)

Attitude Trader said...

Ditto Jules comment.

Good to hear from you again and know you're well.

-AT

Cam said...

Hello Trader X--It's great to see you back. The questions that Tom T. posed have been on my mind for the past 6 months or so, and I, too, would like to hear your thoughts on them.
Please keep posting; I have gotten much out of your blog. Like others have said, you are not responsible for others' bad decisions, and you have helped many. Regards, Cam

joshua said...

nice to see you back. learning from blogs like yours is indispensable. the trick is for each of us to develop our own style based on what we have learned.