《股票作手回忆录·第十四章·游戏永不变·人性永不变》第8节
I thanked him and went away. He had kept me from making a great deal of money and the office had made a lot in commissions from me. I admit I was a little sore to think that Williamson & Brown didn’t give me a decent stake. I intended to trade conservatively at first. It would make my financial recovery easier and quicker if I could begin with a line a little better than five hundred shares. But, anyhow, I realised that, such as it was, there was my chance to come back. I left Dan Williamson’s office and studied the situation in general and my own problem in particular. It was a bull market. That was as plain to me as it was to thousands of traders. But my stake consisted merely of an offer to carry five hundred shares for me. That is, I had no leeway, limited as I was. I couldn’t afford even a slight setback at the beginning. I must build up my stake with my very first play. That initial purchase of mine of five hundred shares must be profitable. I had to make real money. I knew unless I had sufficient trading capital I would not be able to use good judgment. Without adequate margins it would be impossible to take the cold-blooded, dispassionate attitude toward the game that comes from the ability to afford a few minor losses such as I often incurred in testing the market before putting down the big bet.
注释摘要
这段文字里，利弗莫尔正处在人生最逼仄的关口。我们得先还原一下1915年初他去找丹·威廉森时的市场背景。1914年7月底，第一次世界大战在欧洲爆发，引发全球金融恐慌，纽约证券交易所从7月31日起破天荒地关闭了四个半月，直到12月中旬才重新开放。这在美国金融史上是绝无仅有的事。交易所关闭意味着股票完全没有公开市场，你手里有股票也卖不掉，想买也没地方买。等到重新…