c19 JWBT016-Busby October 9, 2008 11:2 Printer: TBD
CHAPTER 19 The Last Word
W
hen I look back over my trading career, I feel somewhat like a
fossil. I am in my mid-fifties, but when it comes to trading, I have
been around a long time. Most traders, especially those who do a
lot of day trading, do not survive for the long haul. It is well known that the
professional life span of floor traders is short and often not so sweet. I have
never been a floor trader, but I have been a broker, a trading educator, and
a professional trader managing my own finances. I am like the bunny on
television that advertises batteries—I just keep on ticking.
My trading history has not always been easy. I have seen my fair share
of hard times and losses. Wall Street has landed a few solid blows. My
darkest days were the ones following Black Monday in 1987. My mistakes
were very costly, and coming to terms with my personal errors as well as
inherent issues with the markets themselves took time. In fact, it took me
a few years to regain my footing and move on to better things. I succeeded
because I did not give up and I educated myself anew and learned more
about trading and about the markets.
If you are looking for a trading system that involves five easy steps,
you will not find it in the pages of this book. In fact, you will not find it
anywhere. Systems do not work because financial markets are always in a
state of flux. A programmed trade that worked on Monday may not work on
Tuesday because the markets are not the same. The markets are constantly
adjusting, adapting, and changing. It is not only prices that move, but the
general economy and the mind-set of traders. The only way to be effective
over the long term is to learn and adapt as things change. There are periods
of time when the average true range (ATR) on the E-mini S&P futures is