My last post was about what makes trading so attractive, and so dangerous. It marks a turning point in my own mindset towards trying to be a good trader. What Does a Good Trader Look Like? To me, a good trader is: never exposed to unlimited risk never over-leveraged does not steal from people for their return and, a good trader is someone who can: pay their living expenses with trading alone sustain that living over a 10 year period and can make a personal internal rate of return in excess of the total return of an equity index If you can’t do all of these things, I’m just not interested in how you trade.

I wrote a farewell to the thousand plus hours I spent on trading

I traded futures in my personal account, worked for a small trading firm, and have always been into a rational, scientific look at evidence.

I gave it as good of a try as any retail trader can, and learned a lot. Mostly that it’s a waste of time, because trading is a wicked problem.

This is a plea to others that might get sucked in to run away and touch grass instead.

    • isosphere@beehaw.orgOPEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      Hard agree; I think academics and programmers are especially susceptible to this. It’s an addiction that hooks in intellectual hubris, a condition I have some experience with.