Do You Want To Trade Or Have Someone Tell You When To Trade?

By Author: David Adams
Total Articles: 41
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I get a chance to talk with a lot of traders on a daily basis and they often times find myself confused as to what these traders are actually looking for. My goal, as a trading educator and full time trader, is to teach people to trade in the style I think will most benefit them. I am still a full-time trader, but I do not run a live trading room as I was under the assumption that most people want to learn how to trade. But there is a group of people who would prefer to sit in on a trading room and have the leader of the room call the trades for them.

I don't suppose there is anything wrong with having a third-party call your trades, but I think it would be a mistake to call yourself a trader when, in fact, you are simply following the lead of a room trader. This is very confusing to me, and I can't say I fully understand the thinking behind the room concept.

This is not to say that I am against trading rooms, because they are a perfect place to perfect your trading style if the room leader trades according to the style you are learning. On the other hand, if you are using a room to time your trades, what is the ...
... use in learning a specific trading system?

I spent a portion of this weekend looking at various trading programs and live trading rooms and it would seem the trend is leaning towards live trading rooms. If you found a room with a very capable leader, I would have to believe that a live trading room would be a profitable endeavor. However, many of the reviews of live trading rooms were less than flattering, and the lifespan of a typical live trading room, especially one not associated with a trading program, would seem to be rather short. After all, in the absence of learning to trade you are completely dependent upon the judgment of the trading room leader.

In my world though, I would want to know how to trade. There is no reason for me to be dependent upon another individual to make a living. I prefer to make a living using the skills and knowledge I have developed over a lifetime of trading. This feeling gives me a sense of independence. I am not beholding to another trader to earn my living, and if that particular trader moves on to other employment opportunities, I am still in a good position to earn a great living.

I had to ask myself though, why are people gravitating to trading rooms instead of actually taking the time and effort to learn how to trade effectively? I can only surmise that many people are unwilling or unable to devote the time and effort it takes to become a competent trader and take the easier route of following an already confident trader. This begs the question though, how will a novice trader ever become a full-time trader when he or she is dependent upon the trading calls of a third-party trader? My opinion is that their career would come to a screeching halt. As a matter of fact, there were a whole slew of traders who depended upon a very charismatic trading room leader who, for unknown reasons, seem to experience a sort of meltdown in his trading style. This trader, who was popular in the early 2000's, begin a series of unusual and bizarre actions that cost many traders a large amount of money.

But here is my question; had these traders known how to trade on their own they could have continued trading very profitably without their trader guru at the helm. Apparently in this particular situation millions of dollars were lost, and in my estimation it seems rather unnecessary.

The purpose of this article is not to bash trading rooms, but to use trading rooms to enhance your own trading abilities. I believe it is imperative that anyone who is actively trading have a time-tested system they utilize. Without a system, and without plenty of experience with that system, you are literally at the hands of another individual who you may not know and may not fully understand the methodology he or she is trading. I recommend learning how to trade, then utilizing a trading room if you feel it is necessary. I doubt you can learn a system by starting out with a trading room, you must have a foundation to begin with.

I am a long time retail and institutional trader who now only trades part time, usually in the morning. I enjoy writing informational articles about my style of trading so others may benefit.



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