Sit on the fence

[jago25_98]

A lot of people sit on BTC waiting for it to rise. Some others don't buy it because they think it will fall.
I do neither.
I feel that I can't tell whether it will go up or down. I sit on the fence and any reserve I have is quite small on the basis that it's a useful emergency fund.

But I still use it to pay for things instead of hoarding because I sit on the fence. I feel if you are a bear you are wrong... and if you are a bull you are wrong. Both think they are right. Both think that they are more intelligent than 50% of the market. If you pause for a second and think... can you really out trade the market? Do you have time to monitor MtGox for lag? Do you have time to follow tech analysis and trade accordingly... or program something to trade for you that will work even when your exchange is down?
Probably the answer is no. It's a full time job and the crashes usually revolve around the weekend.
Bear/bull thinking seems to me as a binary thought trap.

Why not sit on the fence? If we do that then it's possible to use BTC for normal transactions. The problem with greed is that it takes all our focus. Instead of getting on with work we're thinking of the price. If we can sit on the fence and forget the price then we can get on with work. Those who are working with BTC are making the real profits. Sure there are fluctuations to mitigate for but in general having a skill is much more valuable than money in any form.

However... it's genuinely addictive. Kick that habit. Post back here the longest amount of time you've gone without checking the price!

[arepo]

A lot of people sit on BTC waiting for it to rise. Some others don't buy it because they think it will fall.
I do neither.
I feel that I can't tell whether it will go up or down. I sit on the fence and any reserve I have is quite small on the basis that it's a useful emergency fund.

But I still use it to pay for things instead of hoarding because I sit on the fence. I feel if you are a bear you are wrong... and if you are a bull you are wrong. Both think they are right. Both think that they are more intelligent than 50% of the market. If you pause for a second and think... can you really out trade the market? Do you have time to monitor MtGox for lag? Do you have time to follow tech analysis and trade accordingly... or program something to trade for you that will work even when your exchange is down?
Probably the answer is no. It's a full time job and the crashes usually revolve around the weekend.
Bear/bull thinking seems to me as a binary thought trap.

Why not sit on the fence? If we do that then it's possible to use BTC for normal transactions. The problem with greed is that it takes all our focus. Instead of getting on with work we're thinking of the price. If we can sit on the fence and forget the price then we can get on with work. Those who are working with BTC are making the real profits. Sure there are fluctuations to mitigate for but in general having a skill is much more valuable than money in any form.

However... it's genuinely addictive. Kick that habit. Post back here the longest amount of time you've gone without checking the price!

+$132.00

[Miz4r]

I don't care either way since I'm a bull long term and believe in bitcoin's success. I just like to play and learn the market a bit, why kick this habit when you're having so much fun? I keep most of my BTC by the way, I just play around with pocket money and made some profit along the way but not as much as others have though. I'd get too nervous and stressed out if I would gamble with most or all my BTC, and that's not good when you don't want your actions being controlled by your emotions.

[jago25_98]

The strongest psychological trick I know is to not check the price or read speculation threads. Hard to resist!
One trick I suppose could work would be to script something to trade at a point you have decided well in advance and not check prices. I say script rather than set orders because I think it's reckless to keep funds on the exchange and no exchange does auto trade on recieve (why??)

I don't care either way since I'm a bull long term and believe in bitcoin's success. I just like to play and learn the market a bit, why kick this habit when you're having so much fun? I keep most of my BTC by the way, I just play around with pocket money and made some profit along the way but not as much as others have though. I'd get too nervous and stressed out if I would gamble with most or all my BTC, and that's not good when you don't want your actions being controlled by your emotions.

[damnek]

The strongest psychological trick I know is to not check the price or read speculation threads. Hard to resist!
One trick I suppose could work would be to script something to trade at a point you have decided well in advance and not check prices. I say script rather than set orders because I think it's reckless to keep funds on the exchange and no exchange does auto trade on recieve (why??)

I don't care either way since I'm a bull long term and believe in bitcoin's success. I just like to play and learn the market a bit, why kick this habit when you're having so much fun? I keep most of my BTC by the way, I just play around with pocket money and made some profit along the way but not as much as others have though. I'd get too nervous and stressed out if I would gamble with most or all my BTC, and that's not good when you don't want your actions being controlled by your emotions.

Mtgox still does it, although they have said that they would disable it.

[jago25_98]

The strongest psychological trick I know is to not check the price or read speculation threads. Hard to resist!
One trick I suppose could work would be to script something to trade at a point you have decided well in advance and not check prices. I say script rather than set orders because I think it's reckless to keep funds on the exchange and no exchange does auto trade on recieve (why??)

I don't care either way since I'm a bull long term and believe in bitcoin's success. I just like to play and learn the market a bit, why kick this habit when you're having so much fun? I keep most of my BTC by the way, I just play around with pocket money and made some profit along the way but not as much as others have though. I'd get too nervous and stressed out if I would gamble with most or all my BTC, and that's not good when you don't want your actions being controlled by your emotions.

Mtgox still does it, although they have said that they would disable it.

How do you do the autotrade on recieve with MtGox? Do you have to use the API? I can't see how to do it. If I try to place an order before any funds are there I get "not enough available funds"

[damnek]

It execute as soon as there are enough funds.

[UltimateReaper]

A lot of people sit on BTC waiting for it to rise. Some others don't buy it because they think it will fall.
I do neither.
I feel that I can't tell whether it will go up or down. I sit on the fence and any reserve I have is quite small on the basis that it's a useful emergency fund.

But I still use it to pay for things instead of hoarding because I sit on the fence. I feel if you are a bear you are wrong... and if you are a bull you are wrong. Both think they are right. Both think that they are more intelligent than 50% of the market. If you pause for a second and think... can you really out trade the market? Do you have time to monitor MtGox for lag? Do you have time to follow tech analysis and trade accordingly... or program something to trade for you that will work even when your exchange is down?
Probably the answer is no. It's a full time job and the crashes usually revolve around the weekend.
Bear/bull thinking seems to me as a binary thought trap.

Why not sit on the fence? If we do that then it's possible to use BTC for normal transactions. The problem with greed is that it takes all our focus. Instead of getting on with work we're thinking of the price. If we can sit on the fence and forget the price then we can get on with work. Those who are working with BTC are making the real profits. Sure there are fluctuations to mitigate for but in general having a skill is much more valuable than money in any form.

However... it's genuinely addictive. Kick that habit. Post back here the longest amount of time you've gone without checking the price!

Because I do have the time.

[RationalSpeculator]

A lot of people sit on BTC waiting for it to rise. Some others don't buy it because they think it will fall.
I do neither.
I feel that I can't tell whether it will go up or down. I sit on the fence and any reserve I have is quite small on the basis that it's a useful emergency fund.

But I still use it to pay for things instead of hoarding because I sit on the fence. I feel if you are a bear you are wrong... and if you are a bull you are wrong. Both think they are right. Both think that they are more intelligent than 50% of the market. If you pause for a second and think... can you really out trade the market? Do you have time to monitor MtGox for lag? Do you have time to follow tech analysis and trade accordingly... or program something to trade for you that will work even when your exchange is down?
Probably the answer is no. It's a full time job and the crashes usually revolve around the weekend.
Bear/bull thinking seems to me as a binary thought trap.

Why not sit on the fence? If we do that then it's possible to use BTC for normal transactions. The problem with greed is that it takes all our focus. Instead of getting on with work we're thinking of the price. If we can sit on the fence and forget the price then we can get on with work. Those who are working with BTC are making the real profits. Sure there are fluctuations to mitigate for but in general having a skill is much more valuable than money in any form.

However... it's genuinely addictive. Kick that habit. Post back here the longest amount of time you've gone without checking the price!

I think you make a very good point. The question for me is how do I achieve that peace of mind?

I'm thinking a simple buy and hold strategy might accomplish that.

But even that strategy depends a lot on when you buy. 

Did you buy all the bitcoins you need?

What's your investment strategy?

[Birdy]

I think you make a very good point. The question for me is how do I achieve that peace of mind?

I'm thinking a simple buy and hold strategy might accomplish that.

But even that strategy depends a lot on when you buy.  

Did you buy all the bitcoins you need?

What's your investment strategy?

In my opinion:
Think about how much money you can afford to lose without getting into problems and add some for unexpected coincidences. Don't touch that money!
The rest depends on how much you trust in Bitcoins, it's still like gambling (but imo with a better chance of a win).
But if Bitcoin will be the huge success some people are dreaming of, a single Bitcoin is probably enough to retire.

[Odalv]

...  a single Bitcoin is probably enough retire.

+1 but ...

[phoenix1]

...  a single Bitcoin is probably enough retire.

+1 but ...

So peace of mind is achieved by only gambling with everything down to your last coin ... cool ... that should help my stress levels a lot