rss

Three Types of Traders

A trader that performs worst than their trading plan.  These traders often have a weak understanding and belief in their trading plan.  How they feel is more or as important as making money.  They fail to see past the current trade.

A trader that performs the same as their trading plan.  These traders have a strong understanding and belief in their trading plan.  They get a majority of their satisfaction from making money.  They can see past the current trading day.

Those that perform better than their trading plan.  These traders have spent time in the previous two groups so they not only understand and believe their trading plan, they have 100′s or thousands of experiences that “prove” it to them.  The only satisfaction is following their plan and knowing that the money will follow. They can see past the current trading year.  They find areas and times to be aggressive and times to hold back.

The Universal Principles of Successful Trading

A book review for Brent Penfold’s book “The Universal Principles of Successful Trading: Essential Knowledge for All Traders in All Markets”

This book is excellent for traders that are ready to accept its lessons. You need a foundation in trading to understand the importance of what the book is advising and take the principles seriously with an open mind. Once you are through the rainbow and butterfly phase of trading and realize that you will not be a millionaire in a year, this book will help you get focused and get serious about your trading and what really works.

Here are the six universal principles of successful traders:

1). Preparation

Author Brent Penfold is in the minority believing risk management is the #1 priority in trading. Brent believes that once you get your trading system and position size in place you must use the amount you will risk on each trade to determine your risk of ruin. The book shows exactly how to figure this out using Excel. His point is that if your risk of ruin is not zero then you will eventually blow out your account. Risking 1% to 2% of your capital in any one trade usually gives you a zero percent risk of ruin but it also depends on your systems win/loss ratio. But the point is to test any system with a minimum of 30 trades first then determine your risk of ruin. I would advise a larger sample size in multiple market environments a trend following system that looks brilliant in a trending market may result in a 50% draw down in a choppy or range bound market. (more…)

Paul Tudor Jones’ 22 Trading Principles

  1. It is possible to see that a market is dramatically overbought and prepare for, and then capture, huge gains after the sell off.
  2. Risk small amounts to make big profits.
  3. Bet against times when numerous leaders must agree.
  4. Long hours and a strong work ethic are keys to being a successful trader.
  5. While it is good to trade any market that will turn a profit, specializing in a market can lead to great success.
  6. The markets go down faster than they go up.
  7. If the market will not go down during bad news, it will likely go higher.
  8. The stock market moves in patterns and in cycles. Past price patterns repeat themselves due to human emotions.
  9. Many times traders think a big position order size means that a whale knows something, most times they do not. 
  10. It is okay to skip a trade if you can’t get your entry price.
  11. A momentum move does not just stop, it takes time to roll over.
  12. It is possible to trade successfully by gaming the actions of other traders.
  13. Be aggressive at high probability moments.
  14. Always stay in control of your trading and manage risk.
  15. Focus on risk management as the #1 priority in trading.
  16. Having the right mindset during a big loss that it is just temporary, is the key to coming back and being successful.
  17. Letting profits run is sometimes a great plan.
  18. Being long at all time highs in the indexes is a great strategy.
  19. Great money managers trade with passion.
  20. Even Market Wizards have doubts about winning when entering a trade. 
  21. When the top in a market is reached,  there is a lot of money to be  made shorting as panic selling sets in. 
  22. Guys from Tennessee can trade!
Go to top