Has anyone tried one of these programs before? Don't want to specify the one I was referred to, but I'm curious about the general opinion of people who have done a "shadow the trader" program, specifically with options...

GapUp764 

Has anyone tried one of these programs before? Don't want to specify the one I was referred to, but I'm curious about the general opinion of people who have done a "shadow the trader" program, specifically with options...

Shadow trading means that you try to follow someone else’s trade signals. That is very difficult if not impossible. You are trying to trade someone else’s belief system, which may not be your belief system. It means that you are focusing on the results (greed) rather than on yourself. Part of trading is finding out who you are.

I often see an analogy with the game of Golf. All the professionals have the same good training, all start out with the same equipment and all walk the same Golf course. Yet, the end result is vastly different because there are so many other variables. For example:

Psychology: do you have confidence in yourself?, are you able to overcome fear?, are your swings consistent?, do you have the discipline to do the same thing over and over again?, do you see yourself as “good enough?”, do you have trust in the “flow of things” or are you trying to be “in control”?, how do you deal with a bad day?, how do you deal with your environment (noise, problems, life events )? How do you deal with success? Are you afraid of success?

Fear in golf is quite interesting. If you put 10 golf players in front of or next to a water feature, many of them will hit the water like it is a magnet. The ball just needs to go into the water; for most of them it seems there is no other choice. Overcoming fear is an important aspect in life. Letting it go gives opportunities that were not thought possible before.

Learn from someone that is better than you at that particular moment in time (which is really very relative), but try to be the best you can be. We all want to learn golf from Tiger Woods but it does not mean that we will be able to play like Tiger Woods. It only means we are possibly able to emulate his techniques and behavior patterns. But we all have our own “natural swing”. It is more important to find your “own natural swing” than to become a copy of somebody else and never find that connection to your inner self.

Build your own system so you are able to trust yourself, knowing that it is a system with a positive expectancy. Knowing when to get in and when to get out and why, realizing your goal of becoming consistently profitable. Not having a problem with drawdowns because you know that you are only right (for example) about 55% of the time and also knowing that if there is a loss, you will limit your loss by having the discipline of getting out of the market in time.

Work on your belief systems. For example, is your belief that you will only be able to make 10% per year? Or is your belief system that it is very well possible to make 100% or more per year, year in year out!? The system will tell you it is almost impossible. But is it really? Be careful with the information you absorb from your environment. Unfortunately the system we live in is built on “make belief” and “ignorance”. Education and becoming consciously aware of your potential will give you a head start in the game.

Know thy market, know thyself.

I am skeptical of the following other's trades. It is almost like front running to me. Your success is correlates to the integrity of the trader you are following.