Is Trading a Team Sport?

mikeriley said:
When Dean Lundell transcribed Sun Tzu's teachings through is book called The Art of War for Traders and Investors, I did not at first enjoy the book. This was at the beginning of my trading journey, and I was under the impression that trading is a team sport. Regardless if it was for profit, or just to make a trader feel good about himself, many traders everywhere were helping other traders learn the business.

It was not until my 3rd reading of his book, that it dawned upon me that Sun Tzu's principles started to make sense. Everything in his treatise explains how to WIN against an opponent. I traded in cognitive dissonance unaware that those who trade the same instrument as I do, at any given time of the day may be trading against me. Therefore by default, that makes them my opponent, and not my friend.

How could I have been so slow to understand in a zero sum game only 1 can win. Sun Tzu helped me to question my values for trading. His book was a slap in the face, that if I continued to show other traders how to take my money, I would not be able to pay my mortgage.

I've no idea why it took me so long to understand that the top 1% to 5% consistently profitable traders are not showing other traders how to take their money, which is absolutely absurd.

Questions I asked my reflection in the mirror..

What's the most important value in trading?

A. Helping other traders take my money.

B. Helping myself learn to take their money.

And yet, sometimes I still give in to the temptation to help other traders who are trading the same instrument. I think I need to read the book again.
More...
IMO, trading it's not a zero sum game (at least not always).
Because not all traders have the same objective, especially with derivatives where they are used to hedge, and not to make money straight from the position.

When we trade, we are not competing with others. It's not who win (make the most money) vs who lose. Our biggest enemies are usually ourselves, not others. Who cares about others? If others lose money, that will not translate to us making money.

The market is like a big ocean (filled with money and other traders instead of fish!).
We just need to use our spoon to extract some money from it. We don't need to use shovel or anything bigger.
 
smallfil said:
The turtles under Richard Dennis was just that. Richard Dennis gave them accounts to trade but, they had to follow his rules. Otherwise, they were booted out of the program since, he was risking his own monies for the turtle traders. I read that Richard Dennis earned $400 million the time he ran the turtle trader program of his.
2] There was a 2nd group of turtle traders too. Majority of the turtles had successful careers in trading after.
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%%
Good points, good %%;
but sorry, most charts dont have turtle channels on them.
2]NOT really a team sport;
even though IBD may have front ran his /55 days with/ 50dma LOL.
I seldom look @ 65dma, but did today, +on old WSJ paper charts
:D:D.......................................
Usually a 65dma = too little\ too late LOL
 
mikeriley said:
When Dean Lundell transcribed Sun Tzu's teachings through is book called The Art of War for Traders and Investors, I did not at first enjoy the book. This was at the beginning of my trading journey, and I was under the impression that trading is a team sport. Regardless if it was for profit, or just to make a trader feel good about himself, many traders everywhere were helping other traders learn the business.

It was not until my 3rd reading of his book, that it dawned upon me that Sun Tzu's principles started to make sense. Everything in his treatise explains how to WIN against an opponent. I traded in cognitive dissonance unaware that those who trade the same instrument as I do, at any given time of the day may be trading against me. Therefore by default, that makes them my opponent, and not my friend.

How could I have been so slow to understand in a zero sum game only 1 can win. Sun Tzu helped me to question my values for trading. His book was a slap in the face, that if I continued to show other traders how to take my money, I would not be able to pay my mortgage.

I've no idea why it took me so long to understand that the top 1% to 5% consistently profitable traders are not showing other traders how to take their money, which is absolutely absurd.

Questions I asked my reflection in the mirror..

What's the most important value in trading?

A. Helping other traders take my money.

B. Helping myself learn to take their money.

And yet, sometimes I still give in to the temptation to help other traders who are trading the same instrument. I think I need to read the book again.
More...

Collaboration is always better than isolation.
 
mikeriley said:
How could I have been so slow to understand in a zero sum game only 1 can win. Sun Tzu helped me to question my values for trading. His book was a slap in the face, that if I continued to show other traders how to take my money, I would not be able to pay my mortgage.
More...
Actually, Sun Tzu isn't about ME vs YOU and all that other nonsense. It's all about psychological warfare and how best to use herd mentality to your advantage.
 
Just because something is a competition that doesn't make it a sport. There is a competition to bring out X as first product to market, but that is still not a sport. There is a competition to mine on the Moon, still not a sport. etc.etc.

Also in business competition there can be more than just one winners, unlike in sport.

And even if trading were a sport, it would be one of the loneliest one, as another poster already said so.
 
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