Characteristics of a Successful Trader
- Thread starter EricP
- Start date
It is "bene vixit, bene qui latuit" Ovid, Tristia, III, iv, 25
Translates roughly as "One who lives well, lives well hidden."
Was also in Descartes' correspondence with Mersenne.
The same idea is probably in many places.
Quote from Lawrence Chan:
Traders are not zen masters. Cursing, getting angry over a trade, etc. are simply an expression of one's emotion. The key is to understand who you are and trade with a style that fit your personality to reduce the overall emotional swings.
For discretionary trading, that is especially important because we not only trade our setups, manage the risk of the positions in real-time, we are also subjected to the emotions related to trading. Being able to observe your own emotional state and being able to react to that logically ... I guess that defines a successful state of mind for trading.
e.g. I remember someone who after getting out of a very bad trade, would break the pencils he used to write his order tickets (yes, very long time ago) ... walk away for 5 to 15 mins. Then he look for next trade right after.
Perhaps such outburst allow some traders to blow off their emotions quickly and be ready for the next trade.
I used to do they same in online poker. Take a bad beat, curse the site or the player or whatever. But when playing hundreds of hands per hour, and having to make a playing decision every 2-3 seconds you have to get over it a lot quicker. The best is to be dealt one bad beat and then a great hand on the very next. The other players are still expecting you to be stinging from the last one and underestimate your holding.
Brilliant post.
I've added my own two cents, but the mainstay of the post remains the same.
And for anyone who disagrees, you are simply more used to operating in the "success" result mindset. Believe it or not the "breakeven" and "failure" results are mindsets as well.
Good trading
A successful trader doesn't give a fuck about these psychological BS.
What are you trying to be?
A saint? Join the church rather than a trader if you think all this is true.
What are you trying to be?
A saint? Join the church rather than a trader if you think all this is true.
I dont think trading is something that can only be broken down into what appears to be the obvoius components such as money management, fundamentals, pyschology and/or a few technical indicators....whatever.
Tons of books out there have been written on trading and yet there are some things that just cannot be taught such as "traders intuition" feeling that price movement and getting in the zone.
(for lack of a better term)
I dont consider myself a highly successful trader as of yet but I think your mindset must always be one of success to even have any chance at it. After having gained some insights about trading through hard experience (often the best and only true teacher) ....
My speculation is that the most successful traders are much more in tune with their inner- selves than your average Joe; they are thereby in tune with price as it moves. Whether or not they attained this by trading itself or by expereinces outside of trading or a combination of the both is another issue. Regardless, what is revelant is the "End Result" i.e. your bank account is growing and its probably not a coincidence that you are growing internally as well.
Im not trying to preach any spiritual or new age crap or anything like that ( if it sounds like that) but I'm sure some of you will understand what Im trying to say here. You have to get your act together as a person and look in the mirror ( so to speak) before your act as a trader can have a good chance at success.
Tons of books out there have been written on trading and yet there are some things that just cannot be taught such as "traders intuition" feeling that price movement and getting in the zone.
(for lack of a better term)
I dont consider myself a highly successful trader as of yet but I think your mindset must always be one of success to even have any chance at it. After having gained some insights about trading through hard experience (often the best and only true teacher) ....
My speculation is that the most successful traders are much more in tune with their inner- selves than your average Joe; they are thereby in tune with price as it moves. Whether or not they attained this by trading itself or by expereinces outside of trading or a combination of the both is another issue. Regardless, what is revelant is the "End Result" i.e. your bank account is growing and its probably not a coincidence that you are growing internally as well.
Im not trying to preach any spiritual or new age crap or anything like that ( if it sounds like that) but I'm sure some of you will understand what Im trying to say here. You have to get your act together as a person and look in the mirror ( so to speak) before your act as a trader can have a good chance at success.
Really, then why does Stevie Cohen have Ari Kiev, renowned trading pysch on his staff? http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/Swingtrading/commentary/Interviews/07062005-44178.cfm
Or Brett Steenbarger working at Kingtree in Chicago. http://64.233.169.132/search?q=cach...ree&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&client=firefox-a
Maybe these folks know something you don't?
A supportive environment - more than the traders mentality - most often dictates the outcome.
My personal observation with beginning traders is a supportive/un-supportive girlfriend/spouse more often than not, is the one single key , that dictates success.
One guy has been trading for 4 years and still not making money. He can not pull the trigger because he goes into shock mode when he loses money. Scared of the wife.
The other factor is cost-of-living. I know I'm not wasting my time when a guy moves in with momma, lives in the basement so he can trade all day and then works in a evening/night job.
My personal observation with beginning traders is a supportive/un-supportive girlfriend/spouse more often than not, is the one single key , that dictates success.
One guy has been trading for 4 years and still not making money. He can not pull the trigger because he goes into shock mode when he loses money. Scared of the wife.
The other factor is cost-of-living. I know I'm not wasting my time when a guy moves in with momma, lives in the basement so he can trade all day and then works in a evening/night job.
For marketing purposes. I think I know about them, more than you do....
At least for Kingstree, I know, for a fact, that the traders think Brett's an annoying mofo. I haven't been in touch with their traders for a while but a while back, they used to have a video camera on top of you while the management and Brett studies you like a prison inmate. A lot of the traders' were annoyed and distracted leading to their performances dropping. From what I remember, they got rid of all that prison environment.
As for SAC, it's pure marketing. You've got too many book smart investors who think what they read in books are all but the truth. I know Ari doesn't work / or walk in their trading room and talk to their traders or have any "sessions" with them.