Jay's Unofficial BabyPips Book Club

Beginner Questions
63

What I think is really interesting is how most of these traders in the 70’s had no money management. They laid down huge positions pretty regularly. It took some time for them to get schooled on how to make their accounts survive.

Marcus points out how the markets have changed. The original trend strategies of Ed no longer work to the same degree because everyone caught on. So many more independent speculators were coming to the market.

In the beginning he had blown up several accounts and it didn’t deter him one bit. I think he was turned on with the fact that the market was so powerful and that he could just as easily be on the right side of those trades he lost.

64

[B]•What did you find surprising about the facts introduced in this chapter?[/B]
That Marcus considered trading as “a release and hobby”.

Also that he traded $700 into $64,000 in a year was interesting…just that it is doable.

[B]•Has reading this chapter changed your opinion of a certain person or topic?[/B]
No my opinion of the person who thinks that [I][U]“hobby” trading is some sort of a less ambitious “stage” that one needs to take themself beyond [/U](to be successful?),[/I] hasn’t changed…lol. Nice to know it didn’t seem to hinder this “market wizard’s” success!

65

For me, the most intriguing thing of the Marcus interview is the transition from gambler to trader that occured after the near-wipe-out in lumber.
Until then, Marcus had been a gambler, acting on hunches mainly and committing his whole equity on single deals.
Then, after having been bit_ch-slapped by the market for the fifth or sixth time, he decided it might be a good idea to employ money management. The fact that he has taken a 30k account to be worth 80m despite ‘only’ committing a maximum of 5% of his equity to a single trade idea contains a most valuable lesson: ‘Live to trade another day’.

Apart from that, I’d like to comment that the first part of the book, in which Schwager talks about his own career, in essence contains nearly all important points of the whole, long Marcus interview.

These are my first thoughts … another (probably very long, knowing myself) post will follow, once I’ve read the Marcus interview again.
Luckily, teacher gave us until Jan 15 to finish the chapter, if memory serves. :smiley:

Cheers,
O.

66

OK im reading now about first trader and he litteraly pisses me off :slight_smile:
Hes saying that the trend following era is over and that he avoids currencies now because is totaly political situation and central banks allways going against the trend.
Jay is it true, and if it is how ppl like u and other good traders still making money then?

67

Out of this book the highlights for me were in the Marcus, Kovner and top chapter Seykota. These three were the early inspiration from my original plan to hopefully make $1000 extra per month after 2 years and letting it build, WITHOUT compounding! I was so green and very very low expectations… until I read this book. I realized there were a race of Financial Freaks that could command the power of Currency and at a press of a few phone numbers and a 2-3 minute conversation… yea we used to trade by phone if you can believe that… these Trading Giants hauled in yearly salaries that aren’t seen by most even today!

I go back to this book when I get dusty and lose the energy my early days provided me… and now Babypips Community has allowed me to relive those Glory Days as a Mentor and I am having a blast doing it!

[B]GLGT[/B]
Future Jack Interviewee

68

I really liked what Marcus said about spirituality.
"Albert Einstein said that the single most important question is whether the universe is friendly. I think it is important for everybody to come to a point where they feel inside that the universe is friendly."
Personally, Im not there, but getting better.
-cc

69

What impressed me about Marcus was even though he lost all what he did he still came back for more which he eventually mastered which is something not to be underestimated. As well as this i didn’t get the sense of arrogance which was refreshing considering the talents he has.

There are very few traders who have been as successful as you. What do you think makes you
different?

I am very open-minded. I am willing to take in information that is difficult to accept emotionally,
but which I still recognize to be true. For example, I have seen others make money much faster than
I have only to wind up giving everything back, because when they started losing, they couldn’t stop.
When I have had a bad losing streak, I have been able to say to myself, “You just can’t trade
anymore.” When a market moves counter to my expectations, I have always been able to say, “I
had hoped to make a lot of money in this position, but it isn’t working, so I’m getting out.”

70

Ok I have downloaded the ebook and have noticed its been a while since anyone has posted.is this still going? If so what chapter is everyone reading so I can catch up?

71

I am a big fan of Mark Minervini and Ed Seykota.

I will post some stuff up for good reads.

This is easily the best quote in the entire book. My all time favorite. :60:

Ed Seykota Quote.jpg700×438 62.9 KB

72

Today, I was going through Ed Seykota’s section on winning traders vs losing traders.

Very interesting quote that got me thinking.

Ed Seykota Interview.jpg700×525 108 KB

73

How this project is going? Or it was left to be forgotten.

74

Looks like “Jay” scammed a bunch of people on another forum: X-Squared trading with trade copier

I think he’s gone into hiding.

75

Wild. Seemed like he had a handle on how he was trying to trade, but maybe got a little ahead of himself.

76

That’s what I thought too, but then you look at his myfxbook account and he’s down like 30% in 2-3 months with 30-60 trades a day on average. Disappointing because he sounded quite smart and knowledgable about trading.

77

Indeed, his supply and demand trading philosophy was definitely legit. And I have read about many ppl using similar approaches. Maybe he just needed to step it up a timeframe or two and look only for a+ trades. Yah i checked his myfxbook a few weeks back and thought hmm he is down. But 30-60 trades I dont think I could find that many to take in a month.

78

Having a drawdown is normal for any trader but then he must have ways to come out of it soon. Holding enough trading margins seems to be the only protection which can help in such situations.

79

Thing is he talked a big game about being a full time trader making “**** loads” of money. Truth is, he could only make **** loads of trades, without the money part.

80

Sorry to jump in the middle of this guys, but I was just wondering something. I know this WILL sound terribly cheeky, so I apologise unreservedly in advance if it does.

Getting back to the ORIGINAL idea of this thread, I thought it was a great idea, and that it would be a great shame to let that idea go. Now I realise that people have other things to get on with in life and trading, but with that in mind, I would appreciate it Jay could let us know if he IS finished running this thread.

As I say, I think it is a great idea, his idea, but if it is not going to be continued then I think we shoould start another BabyPips Book Club Thread and keep it going. It would be, imho, a shame to see the idea die. It doesn’t bother me who starts it, I’ll do it if no-one else wants to, but as I say, it’s Jays idea so right now it’s his call.

Hope to hear from some-one soon.

HoG

81

Heres some that I suggest: (Sorry if there are repeats, i havent been able to go through the thread yet)

Classic Financial Must read: The Richest Man in Babylon - George S. Clason

[I]Hailed as a modern-day classic, this celebrated bestseller offers an understanding of-and a solution to-personal financial problems. Based on the success secrets of ancient “Babylonian parables”, it is the most inspiring book on wealth ever written.

Hailed as a modern-day classic, this celebrated bestseller offers an understanding of-and a solution to-personal financial problems. Based on the success secrets of ancient “Babylonian parables”, it is the most inspiring book on wealth ever written[/I]

Beat the Forex Dealer: An insider’s look into trading today’s foreign exchange market - Agustin Silvani

[I]Covering the day-to-day mechanics of the FX market and the unsavoury dealings going on, Beat the Forex Dealer offers traders the market-proven trading techniques needed to side-step dealer traps and develop winning trading methods. Learn from an industry insider the truth behind dirty dealer practices including: stop-hunting, price shading, trading against clients and ‘no dealing desk’ realities.

Detailing the dealer-inspired trading techniques developed by MIGFX Inc, consistently ranked among the world’s leading currency trading firms, the book helps turn average traders into winning traders; and in a market with a 90% loss rate winning traders are in fact quite rare! More than just a simple manual, Beat the Forex Dealer brings to life the excitement of the FX market by delivering insights into some of the greatest trading triumphs and highlighting legendary disasters; all written in an easy to read style.[/I]

FUN READ (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)- Rain Fall- Barry Eisler

Honestly the best thriller I have ever read, this is the first book of the series and I couldnt put it down,. I was very depressed for a while when I finished the series, I really wish i spread them out lol. Very well written, 1st person perspective of a modern assassin and the author researched extensively to make the book as realistic as possible.

[I]John Rain kills people. For a living. His specialty: making it seem like death by natural causes. But he won’t kill just anyone. The target must be a principal player. And never a woman. Half American, half Japanese-but out of place in both worlds-Rain is filled with opportunities. John Rain may not be a good man, but he’s good at what he does…

Until he falls for the beautiful daughter of his last kill.[/I]

82

Just as a matter of interest, what exactly did the author do to “resarch to make it as realistic as possible”?

Did he bump somebody off and make it look like pianos really do fall on people’s heads? LOL !!

Actually, I know a couple of people I’d like bumped off if he’s thinking about making a series !!

HoG