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@tigertrader Can share some stories about the superstitious floor guys? I heard some of them were wild.
Trading futures and options involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. You may lose more than your initial investment. All posts are opinions and do not claim to be facts. Please conduct your own due diligence. Use only Risk capital when trading Futures.
1 800 771 6748 local 561 367 8686 email [email protected]
Platform: "I trade, therefore, I AM!"; Theme Song: "Atomic Dog!"
Trading: EMD, 6J, ZB
Posts: 796 since Oct 2009
ahhhh, yes, that secret box trader,
automated, presumably,
one experience I got from an older trader, was the most profound gem of wisdom I ever heard, actually two:
1) don't worry about taxes, try to pay as much as you can (imagine), because if you focus on taxes you won't focus on earnings, in other words, successful traders watch the earnings...
2) (anything below the level of the very large traders only has a nominal affect) share your method with your circle of friends and use their experience to proof test it, for free.
I had to change the wording because I realized they were said well over xxxxx years ago.
So, futures.io (formerly BMT) exists to share within your circle of friends, have you mentioned your fancy new black box?
Yes Matt, superstition gave rise to a very ritualistic behavior among traders. If a trader suffered a bad day he would look to avoid certain “abstract behavior” or “random physical” items that he had identified or imagined, would have caused or contributed to his bad luck. Conversely, if a trader had a good day, he would look to recapture, repeat and reinforce, the events that led up to his good fortune, and assign significance to certain items he felt contributed to his success, in order to preserve and perpetuate his luck.
If a trader was running late one morning, and neglected to shave and then had a good day, the odds were that he was now growing a beard, and just perhaps his boxers weren’t making it to the laundry hamper for a while. Certainly he wasn’t getting rid of the pen he used to card his trades that day, nor was the tie he wore that day coming off his neck anytime soon. Most likely he was going to park in the exact same spot the next day, follow the same route into the building, and walk into the pit the very same way he did on that lucky day.
But most important of all in this perverse protocol, and the place where the preciseness of your behavior mattered the most, was the veritable “womb” of the CBOT - the members bathroom. It was the trader’s sanctuary, a place where you could get away from it all, and find some peace and quiet, if only for a "fleeting" moment. It was of paramount importance you realized where you sat, on any given trading day. If you had a bad day, the stall you used that day was to be avoided at all cost until further notice. If you were lucky enough to have “killed ‘em” that day, it was imperative that you claimed “squatter's” rights to that stall in perpetuity. If it meant you had to wait for the third stall from the end on the North bank of johns because it was occupied, and you missed your window or the opening bell, then this was the price you were going to have to pay.
@tigertrader you lived through history! Thanks for taking the time to write such elaborate posts ..I always enjoy reading them.
Trading futures and options involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. You may lose more than your initial investment. All posts are opinions and do not claim to be facts. Please conduct your own due diligence. Use only Risk capital when trading Futures.
1 800 771 6748 local 561 367 8686 email [email protected]
Thanks for sharing Tiger. Nice writing skills by the way, very entertaining and well written.
Superstitious behaviour is a funny thing. We are pattern seeking mammals, and all to often confuse correlation and causation. I wonder if the less superstitious (perhaps smarter) traders were more successful?
Everyone knows that superstition is not rational, even the people who exercise it.
But, I think that superstitious people think there is an external force at play and its not only them.
Maybe that avoids arrogance and the "it's only me" factor
Ask any successful person in life and he would tell you that luck was on his side...it's humility, not less smart.
If you reply to this thread within 30 seconds you will have a good week..if not...
Trading futures and options involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. You may lose more than your initial investment. All posts are opinions and do not claim to be facts. Please conduct your own due diligence. Use only Risk capital when trading Futures.
1 800 771 6748 local 561 367 8686 email [email protected]
There is a difference between someone understanding how their chance involvement in happenings out of their control contributed to their success of failure (luck), and someone who acts in a highly superstitious manner, altering their behaviour because of an unfounded belief.
Seeing patterns where there aren't any can be a fairly detrimental trait for a trader. And that is exactly what superstitious behaviour is at it's core. Whether or not a lot of the traders (or anybody) truly beleive wearing their lucky red socks affects the universe in some way, or whether they just want consistency in situations so they as to help them repeat winning behaviors, is the question. Personally I could see people who are inclined to beleive in the former (magical socks) as being logically impaired in a certain respect, which would perhaps not be favourable for their trading.
oh no... I am seeing myself developing similar behaviors. After every exceptionally good or bad day, certain things which I did, saw, heard would be imprinted unto me. If any of these happens again the next morning, I could go as far as avoiding trading that day or taking a much larger position than usual. Or I would try to replicate what I did when I have a huge winning day.
As the inventor of the 30 seconds rule, I make a one time exception for a good spirit shown.
you will have an awesome week.
Trading futures and options involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. You may lose more than your initial investment. All posts are opinions and do not claim to be facts. Please conduct your own due diligence. Use only Risk capital when trading Futures.
1 800 771 6748 local 561 367 8686 email [email protected]