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Chapter 4
The Prepared Trader |
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It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark
HOWARD RUFF |
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As is always the case, it was the early adapters who came running. Rumors of exciting, new, electronic ways to trade stocks were being spread everywhere. Here was a chance to get in early and to make a killing. All it took was an account at one of these day trading brokerages, and some luck. |
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They all had stars in their eyesand greed in their hearts, and they all got clobbered! These poor people were simply not prepared to compete against the market professionals. |
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That may be a bit of an exaggeration but, sadly, it's mostly true. From 1992 through 1998, it has been estimated that eight out of every ten people who tried "day trading" lost moneysometimes big money. |
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Isn't that the way it always goes when hopeful humans think they have found a new foolproof way to "make a killing"? Whoever said that there are no free lunches was truly guilty of understatement. |
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When the new online brokers such as E*Trade, Schwab, DLJdirect, and the others, first arrived on the scene, a similar thing happened. |
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