[TheNegotiator]

This is a question to which the answer is variable. It is however, an important question for anyone who hasn't 'made it' already(and to some who haven't really made it but think they have ).

I think that many have the idea that if they trade for several years, they will become 'experienced'. Some have done this and may actually believe they are 'experience'. But what the bottom line reads is the important qualifying factor here. The proportion of this time which is truly dedicated to understanding the market process and your strategy imho is a far better yard stick of experience. I challenge any trader to sit back and make an honest assessment of the effort they put into their practise of the trading discipline(live or sim).

Let me attempt to illustrate my point in another way. You are about to take a flight and you are allowed to choose your pilot. Pilot A has flying in his blood. He has never actually flown a plane before, but he has for the past 10 years sat next to his Father in the cockpit on every flight which is every day. Pilot B has never actually flown either. He has accrued over 1000 hours in a state of the art simulator, 500 hours of which were under expert instruction. Well you HAVE to take the flight. Lol. I think the choice is clear.

So when if you haven't got a high degree of real experience, what can you do? There's only one session you can realistically trade per day right? Well, you concentrate for a start. You can prepare for what you think you may see and watch for what you do see. You can try to understand the way the market is functioning at the moment and how your trading strategy or style fits in with that. You can replay the market either by reviewing your chart or with many platforms you can now do a market replay at whatever speed you wish to. You can analyse your performance using all sorts of useful metrics.

Profitability comes from understanding comes from experience comes from dedication. Not necessarily from screen time.

[bootstrap]

And what about pilot B.

One who has flown through the storm, the last plane in before they closed the ramp, one who has landed a crippled plane. SIMs are awesome, but there is nothing like the real thing.

you want a guy flying the plane who has simulated crashing, or someone who almost has?

[TheNegotiator]

Originally Posted by TheNegotiator »

Well you HAVE to take the flight. Lol. I think the choice is clear.

I know BUT my point is just sitting in front of a trading screen is not necessarily that useful. You have to learn and study and develop yourself. Use your time wisely so that you stand a better chance of the experience being useful as opposed to just going straight over your head.

[bootstrap]

Originally Posted by TheNegotiator »

I know BUT my point is just sitting in front of a trading screen is not necessarily that useful. You have to learn and study and develop yourself. Use your time wisely so that you stand a better chance of the experience being useful as opposed to just going straight over your head.

i have to agree that you have to learn and study. but to go back to your analogy the best pilots are not those that do well in the sim, but those who have had their butt on the line.

case and point, but not a flying analogy. while this is not life and death, me and a buddy went to idaho this summer. i have fly fished all my life. he has not. he is a much better caster than i. he loves the idea of fly casting/fishing. the first day we caught nothing. he was depressed. i had a beer.

the next day same thing.

next day, he caught nothing and i reeled them in.

what does this mean? just because you are better, does not mean that you are. if you are good and think you are, your mistakes are compounded. if you know you are flawed you except loss and your mistakes are minimal. if you are good and think you are, your success seem great. if you know you are flawed, your success is protected.

back to flying. both fly through the storm. at the end pilot A is shot and cant land. Pilot B is shot but lands anyway.

[TheNegotiator]

Originally Posted by bootstrap »

back to flying. both fly through the storm. at the end pilot A is shot and cant land. Pilot B is shot but lands anyway.

What?! Where did the being shot bit come into it? I know you have to expect the unexpected but the idea is about experience and practise. Pilot B has never even taken the controls. It's like letting your 12 yr old son drive your car because he's sat next to you on lots of journeys and watched what you do. It's not right!! My point was that if you don't properly experience something at all you are far less likely to be proficient at even after considerable time. Perhaps the simulator analogy was chosen poorly.

EDIT: Lol. I was trading and got confused as to which was pilot B! Oh well. Trade was good. Probably shouldn't trade and post at the same time.

[bobcollett]

Dear negoch8tr (zdos idea of a shorter name)
I am very confused by the above
Have you been drinking?
I am still not sure which pilot you have picked
I whould think B.
regards
bobc

[TheNegotiator]

Lol. I would have picked B. I noticed I had reversed the two in my last post which is why I added the Edit in to clarify.

[BlowFish]

You missed pilot C. Over the course of many years has logged thousands of hours flying. The only trouble is periodically (s)he crashes and burns.