schreef:
Right from the beginning, I was losing money fairly consistently. It was pretty clear I didn't have a clue how to trade from the floor. I watched traders that appeared to me to be making money. I tried to understand what they were doing. I made an effort to try to join different traders at lunch or having coffee.
There was this one "old guy" who was always on the floor, but stood off in the background. I went over to him one day and introduced myself to him. He cut my introduction short and said he tried not to make acquaintances with traders on the floor. He said traders come and go too fast. He said "if your still here a year from now, then we'll talk." Then he turned and walked away. He said it in a kind voice so I didn't find him rude.
Over the course of the following year I found many different ways to lose money. One particularly prominent member offered me some advice one day, and even let me participate in part of one of his trades. The "prominent trader" lost about $800,000, and shrugged it off as a cost of doing business. He just kept on selling "teennies".
One older trader in the pit had a heart attack and died. Several traders were never seen again (obviously put out of business). And two brothers I talked to often, made millions. They had thought something was going on and were long big before the deal. They hadn't let me in on their guess.
Obviously, I didn't want to talk to anyone anymore to find out how they traded to make money. I still had some capital left. I just put my head down and started trading. I became a scalper, just buying and selling every moment trying to make an eight or scratch. I threw out the "annual reports and 10Ks". I stopped reading the newspaper. I had to survive. I didn't want to leave a place were there was the chance to maybe someday make millions like the brothers did.
Somehow, I made it through my first year. I got lucky and caught the 78 October massacre being long a bunch of puts. (The brothers were long everything and nearly went broke in the massacre.)
One day, I was wandering the floor and saw the "old guy". I remembered what he had said to me about if I could survive a year. I was suddenly filled with pride. Sure it had been tough, but I realized I had survived my first year! I was still here! I had seen a lot. I was now "one of the boys". I walked over to the "old guy" thinking I was now gonna be able to talk to him. I started the conversation saying "hey, you were right about how hard it is to make it through the first year."
He cut me short and said "George, if you make it through another year, we'll talk." And he walked away.
Every year times were tough. Every year times were great. Every year something new and unexpected happened, many times over. I know if I saw that "old guy" now twenty years later he would still say "George, if you make it through another year, we'll talk."