Jan
7
Love Delusion, from R. Sole
January 7, 2009 |
I love trading because I love the game. So far that doesn’t seem to have harmed me, quite the opposite. I don’t love action, study for its own sake, or particular positions. I strive for perfection in trading, and thus my sole concern is to have on the best positions possible at any given time, and I find that I get closer to this by trying to trade well rather than churn, spout analysis or commentary without placing positions, or sit on horrific losers as account equity goes up in smoke.
In relationships, I don’t feel I make up an idealized version of someone. Maybe this is why I’ve never married nor have plans to. In my opinion, only those inexperienced in romance fall for this basic error. As a prevention I recommend dating at least two dozen members of the opposite sex before committing to any kind of serious relationship such as marriage or cohabitation. By this point you will know “love delusions” for what they are — an evolutionary trick designed to tempt you into producing children before it is in your own interest to do so. You’re then more likely to commit for genuine reasons of mutual compatibility and respect, rather than passing hormonal imbalances. In trading and love, as in life, experience is the antidote to delusion and falsehood.
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General George S. Patton perhaps said it best with regards to war and love and, I suspect, trading.
"For in war just as in loving, you must always keep on shoving,
Or you will never get your just reward:
For if you’re dilatory in the search for lust and glory
You are up [s…] creek and that’s the truth, Oh! Lord."
"an evolutionary trick designed to tempt you into producing children before it is in your own interest to do so"… the second part sounds very strange… transactional, to me. as a father of two, i can imagine life without most things but not without my wife and my children. the only thing a random sampling of two dozen members of the opposite sex would do is give one a headache.
Sad…
It would be an interesting exercise to quantify the ratio of married successful speculators to never married successful speculators.
Jeff
“Successful speculator” I think deserves an entire post (regardless of marital status) on this site. It would be interesting to hear who should be considered successful in the art of speculation.
Sample 12 members of the opposite sex? Separately or at once?
My old boss used to preach balance saying it’s a constant fight. He’s written books on his pyramid concept to markets and life but they’re in Swedish. He also used to say we’re all crazy but only call it crazy if outside the excepted boundaries.
I think someone said “unlucky at cards lucky at love” or vice versa. The similarities between poker and trading is astounding. I often wondered why the Chairman with his love for games never played serious poker.
Poker players are a very curious lot. They come in all shapes, sizes, demographics, backgrounds. A truly amazing and diverse group. They all have suffered huge financial swings, bad beats, coolers, miracle suck-outs during their career. They have gone on winning streaks that have lasted weeks and losing streaks that have lasted months. Very few of them, reach elite status or financial security.
They are called grinders, maniacs, gunners, rocks, table captains, bullies, brats, defenders,and plenty of vulgar words.
It takes 15 minutes to learn and a lifetime to master. Poker is an “easy way to make a hard living.”
One thing that they share is an absolute fascination,a love of the game. They just cannot get away from the lure of the beast. I have seen them wiped out on Monday go out and borrow some money and be back at the tables in a few days. Some have retired and un-retired more times than Brett Favre. Some have disappeared from the scene for years and start showing up in the card rooms. And some sadly as in the case of those like Stu Ungar just disappear.
Yes there is much to learn from poker and the speculator would be well served to study it to complement their work in the arena of trading. For the unintiated there are a host of books, websites, TV shows (ESPN has excellent coverage)that expose one to the game. I recommend for those starting out to start out small, take your time and learn the fundamentals before venturing into bigger games. That is where the sharks feed. Be careful.
"In relationships, I don’t feel I make up an idealized version of someone. Maybe this is why I’ve never married nor have plans to. In my opinion, only those inexperienced in romance fall for this basic error."
Marrying is a "basic error"?
Neither my wife nor I are an "idealized version of someone" (whatever that means), but we find the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.