Well DB, from what I've seen there's one strategy you'll need...

Well DB, from what I've seen there's one strategy you'll need above all others to be an ASX trader: an iron cast resolve to talk only about your successes and be in complete denial about your losses.

Obviously some phases of the market are much easier to predict than others and therefore more conducive to shorting etc., but over a longer period of time there will be irrational phases and a whole range of left-field events that turn your position into a spin of the roulette wheel. Yes there are stop losses and other strategies to minimise your losses, but that very same caution limits gains on the winning side too - a bit like betting on red/black on the roulette table insulates you from giant bleeds but will never reward you like straight-up on a number.

Given the boasts I've seen from self-proclaimed traders and chartists - crowing they like to start up as we long-termers watch our SP plunge and climb with slack jaws and heavy hearts - I can only conclude that they're total liars who would never show you their net position over a period of years, would never bear to look at it themselves I suspect.