| I always get a charge when I read about home-based | | | | floor the New York Stock Exchange. If they had, it |
| day traders who are touting some new "red hot" | | | | would be surprising to me that they would make such |
| system or methodology of trading based on floor | | | | silly comments comparing home-based day trading |
| trading, and belittle the existing competition because | | | | and floor trading. You cannot trade at home in the |
| floor traders do not trade with oscillators or indicators | | | | same manner you would trade on the floor. |
| like most home-based floor traders. As a matter of | | | | And the differences could go on for quite some time. |
| fact, they are right. Floor traders do not use the same | | | | The home day trader is usually trading between 2 and |
| methodology home traders utilize. Yet some traders | | | | 10 contracts on a given trade, and a floor trader is |
| are determined to compare home-based traders and | | | | usually trading thousands, or more, on given trade. No, I |
| floor traders. The general line of thinking of the | | | | really don't see how you can compare day trading |
| promoter of the "red hot" new day trading system is | | | | from your home and trading on the floor the New |
| somehow floor-based traders have a methodology | | | | York Stock Exchange or the Chicago Mercantile |
| that will revolutionize the home trading market. | | | | exchange. It's just a ridiculous statement to make, and I |
| Nothing could be farther from the truth. Floor trading | | | | suppose I am getting tired of hearing it. |
| and trading from your home is like comparing apples | | | | Incidentally, floor traders do use certain kinds of |
| and oranges. Floor traders have a wide variety of real | | | | indicators, but they are usually fairly complicated |
| time news feeds (and usually a plethora of rumors) to | | | | algorithms not available or even desirable for the |
| draw upon, and if they are pit traders they have the | | | | average home day trader. So you can put the rest the |
| benefit of trading with the knowledge of what other pit | | | | notion that floor traders have some sort of sixth sense |
| traders, especially the important ones, are trading and | | | | about when to initiate a trade to buy or sell. Further, he |
| whether they are trading short or long. | | | | usually has a group of supervisors and market |
| Of course, the home-based trader who sits alone at | | | | specialists calling trades for him from a corporate |
| his computer in his house hears none of the humdrum | | | | trading center telling him to buy and sell. No, let's lay this |
| of the market floor, nor can he surmise any other pit | | | | nutty argument about floor traders not using indicators |
| activities, nor does he have access to the | | | | or oscillators to rest for good. These two types of |
| never-ending rumors that circulate endlessly throughout | | | | trading our different animals and bear no resemblance |
| the trading day. No, stay-at-home traders have to rely | | | | to each other. At home day trader is usually alone and |
| upon other cues to initiate their trades. That's why it's | | | | making his own decisions, a floor trader is usually |
| such a hoot to hear the so-called "experts" in | | | | getting direction from a group of advisers telling him |
| explaining that floor traders don't use indicators or | | | | when to trade and not trade, along with using his own |
| other predictive oscillators most home trader use. | | | | judgment as he watches the ongoing trading in |
| How in the heck would they? | | | | whatever pit he or she may be trading. |
| By the time the market has reacted to whatever | | | | Just for the record, there are not many pits left, as |
| news is swirling about the market floor the | | | | most trading has gone the way of electronic trading or |
| home-based trader is blissfully unaware of what is | | | | is in the process of going the way of electronic trading. |
| going on. Granted, some of the volume figures might | | | | This trend reduces your average pay a trader to little |
| be of some help to the home-based trader, but again | | | | more than an errand boy. Which I am sure neither he |
| the home trader is lagging the floor trader by a | | | | nor the rest of his colleagues are very excited about. |
| considerable margin, and I doubt the volume figures | | | | Granted, there are some open outcry pits left, but their |
| would be nearly as helpful at home as they are on the | | | | days are numbered as the markets move forward |
| floor. And you know, all these trading education | | | | into the electronic age. And for the record, in electronic |
| "experts" I hear about who claim "floor traders do this" | | | | age the day traders will be using indicators and |
| and "floor traders do that" give me serious doubts | | | | oscillators because there will be no open outcry cues |
| about whether or not these guys have ever seen the | | | | for the pit trader to read. |