How to become a better Trader? - Sports Analogy.

[ashantt]

To become a good golfer, tennis player or baseball player one needs the repetition of hitting the stroke, to correct ones swing and posture and then go out to the range/field and hit the ball over and over again. Doing this for hours for a number of years your game should improve. Being so its a learnable skill.

But what about trading? Is it a skill as well? Where is the repetition in trading? Is it in trading the same system/trading plan over and over? its just that the trades come less frequently than the baseball pitch or the tennis ball, in these sports you can anticipate the ball coming at you, you can see it, but in trading you have to go with what you think will work, so its harder to become a master by repetition, what do the 10 plus year traders think?

 

[JesseJamesFinn]

Excellent, once upon a time I played tennis, my rating was a A or B+ depending on where I was playing. If I played in the Santa Barbara Open, you had guys drop from Open Level to A so they could play and win. Your game improves if your playing with someone better than you, if your playing someone worse you drop your game and soon goofballs are scoring points they never should have in the first place. I use to allow Sad Sack Sams and Hoodoo to be part of a Skype Group, does not take long for these guys and their capital losses and bad stock picking eyes to drop your Trading Game down to their level. They question your every move, they jump in too late, screw with your mind when you hear them arguing with their wife over the Skype or Yahoo IM. Most of the best traders are solo acts, they do the best when they are alone, they play golf, tennis, box, cycle, single sports are their gifts.





This is the same thing chasing stocks you have no business being in, I focused all my attention on HD, HPQ and EBAY from the Open instead of Apple or TSLA, those stocks are tweaked now and best left for the HFTS guys. Trading stocks that are Open-Level when your a C or B- player ends up making the same darn mistakes time after time. There's a report I heard of about the Weekly Options that are making people win big and lose bigger as time moves down the road. Practice taking the gains you promised you would be happy with. I lost over ten friends who made the same mistake time after time, they refused to accept what the Market was willing to offer. You know what I am talking about, your up $500-$2000 intra-day on a stock and you feel the fade begin, you think you can push the stock for $3000-$5000 only to end up losing $2000 to $5000. The biggest challenge is knowing what the Market is willing to offer you and take it.


Over-trading, trading just because you sold a winner and think that cash need's to be put to work instead of waiting for the next pull-back or set-up. Brokerages love you churning accounting, they love you making 100 to 500 trades a day, I learned the hard way you can make more money waiting for a set up than churning, chasing stupid stocks and accepting what the Market is willing to give. There's nothing wrong with having cash on the sidelines or knowing when your research is right but wrong for the current conditions.

 

[AAAintheBeltway]

To become a good golfer, tennis player or baseball player one needs the repetition of hitting the stroke, to correct ones swing and posture and then go out to the range/field and hit the ball over and over again. Doing this for hours for a number of years your game should improve. Being so its a learnable skill.

But what about trading? Is it a skill as well? Where is the repetition in trading? Is it in trading the same system/trading plan over and over? its just that the trades come less frequently than the baseball pitch or the tennis ball, in these sports you can anticipate the ball coming at you, you can see it, but in trading you have to go with what you think will work, so its harder to become a master by repetition, what do the 10 plus year traders think?

I believe trading is a skill. Like golf, it is a skill with a lot of randomness involved, so it is often hard to distinguish skill or the lack thereof from randomness.

You need an approach or methodology that has been successfully backtested. Then you need the discipline to apply it.

As in sports, too much thinking is counterproductive. If you have to carefully analyze every situation, you will inevitably be late to the party. You have to be able to act proactively. That comes with experience, ie reps.

 

[Redneck]

To become a good golfer, tennis player or baseball player one needs the repetition of hitting the stroke, to correct ones swing and posture and then go out to the range/field and hit the ball over and over again. Doing this for hours for a number of years your game should improve. Being so its a learnable skill.

But what about trading? Is it a skill as well? Where is the repetition in trading? Is it in trading the same system/trading plan over and over? its just that the trades come less frequently than the baseball pitch or the tennis ball, in these sports you can anticipate the ball coming at you, you can see it, but in trading you have to go with what you think will work, so its harder to become a master by repetition, what do the 10 plus year traders think?

My random thoughts;

Every trade we take is an anticipatory act

Successful trading is repetitious trading – rather the repetitious application of a methodology / approach / system – and nothing more

Try getting fancy – one merely gets their ass handed to em


=====================

I think is there are many aspects one must pull together…, understand.., then meld into a workable system / approach/ methodology – workable for them that is


This takes time… and concerted effort


=======================

Also this is trading – the very epitome of uncertainty


One can do everything right – yet still end up with a loser…, even several losers in a row – at some point.., potentially…, one starts second guessing their approach…, even their self

Takes time to become friends with that

=======================


Further – it never pays to go with what you think – I’ve lost more money than I care to recall doing so


Rather go with price…, period (exception being RTM traders – even then at some point price must go in their position’s direction or they’re screwed)



==============


Yes.., trading is a skill…, and yes one can practice it…, and should

Damn sight better than needlessly bleeding money



Now.., one could argue; one can’t learn to trade on sim as money is not involved – be that as it may (and bullshit imo)


I can guarantee this…, if one can’t trade successfully on sim – they damn sure can’t trade for real


Practice makes perfect…, but only if it is perfect practice


Just my random thoughts Sir

RN

 

[ashantt]

My random thoughts;

Every trade we take is an anticipatory act

Successful trading is repetitious trading – rather the repetitious application of a methodology / approach / system – and nothing more

Try getting fancy – one merely gets their ass handed to em


=====================

I think is there are many aspects one must pull together…, understand.., then meld into a workable system / approach/ methodology – workable for them that is


This takes time… and concerted effort


=======================

Also this is trading – the very epitome of uncertainty


One can do everything right – yet still end up with a loser…, even several losers in a row – at some point.., potentially…, one starts second guessing their approach…, even their self

Takes time to become friends with that

=======================


Further – it never pays to go with what you think – I’ve lost more money than I care to recall doing so


Rather go with price…, period (exception being RTM traders – even then at some point price must go in their position’s direction or they’re screwed)



==============


Yes.., trading is a skill…, and yes one can practice it…, and should

Damn sight better than needlessly bleeding money



Now.., one could argue; one can’t learn to trade on sim as money is not involved – be that as it may (and bullshit imo)


I can guarantee this…, if one can’t trade successfully on sim – they damn sure can’t trade for real


Practice makes perfect…, but only if it is perfect practice


Just my random thoughts Sir

RN

Excellent response Redneck, sir!

I do believe it is learnable skill as well but it requires 10 plus years of being well capitalized to get a handle on this craft. It is as simple as following one's methodology without thinking, as in golf or baseball, but us humans have a way of mucking things up by getting our minds involved.

 

[AfterLOS]

To become a good golfer, tennis player or baseball player one needs the repetition of hitting the stroke, to correct ones swing and posture and then go out to the range/field and hit the ball over and over again. Doing this for hours for a number of years your game should improve. Being so its a learnable skill.

But what about trading? Is it a skill as well? Where is the repetition in trading?

Repetition? With trading you always sleep like a baby - you wake up every hour and cry