Archives of “January 13, 2019” day

rss

Quote from Victor Sperandeo

  
  Education
#  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #

Trader Vic- Methods of a Wall Street Master

In his book Trader Vic: Methods of a Wall Street Master, Victor Sperandeo mentioned:

As an aside, I want to point out that although this period of intensive study helped me immeasurably in my ability to call the markets, it cost me substantially in my personal life. My daughter, Jennifer, was at a crucial formative age (3 to 5), and I spent almost no time with her. I would get home from the office, eat, and go straight back to work in my study. When she came into my office, I would shoo her away impatiently, totally ignoring the fact that she needed her father’s attention and love. It was a bad mistake that both of us are paying for today. If I had to do again, I would draw out the study period and give Jennifer more time.

After reading this paragraph, I have been doing a lot of thinking. I’m not sure if this is a common mistake among traders, I, sometimes, make the similar mistake. We know this business requires a lot of time, effort, attention, but our loved ones require more.

Just being a little bit emotional. Anyway, this book is really a good read. If you haven’t done so, go and get one.

Understanding Yourself

  
  Education
#  #


  • Understanding yourself is as important as understanding the markets.

  • Stick with what you know and are good at and leave the rest.

  • There are many ways to trade, find what works for you.

  • I am not smarter than the market.

  • To succeed, you must be mentally strong.

  • Learning to letting profits run is has proven far more difficult than I realize.

  • The emotional part of trading can be a deal breaker.

  • To be honest, I am a terrible trader. But that’s is because I don’t work hard enough.

  • Patience is a virtue in lazy portfolio investing.

Losing is Part of the Game

  
  Education
#  #

The great traders realize that losing is an intrinsic element in the game of trading. This attitude is linked to confidence. Because exceptional traders are confident that they will win over the long run, individual trades no longer seem horrible; they simply appear inevitable.

There is no more certain recipe for losing than having a fear of losing. If you cant stand taking losses, you will either end up taking large losses or missing great trading opportunities – either flaw is sufficient to sink any chance for success.

If You Aren’t in Over Your Head

  
  Education

“If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” -T.S. Eliot

“Many people never connect with their real talents and fail to attain their potential because they don’t push what they do to excess” -Rod Junkins in “The Art of Creative Thinking”.

Though it is quite prudent to compromise and maybe aspire for a success which is realistically feasible, failure proof, and safe, risk and loss aversion do not allow you to fully achieve your potential. Each time you grab the crumbs that market banqueters leave under the table.

The emini yesterday moved steadily down gradually forcing dip buyers to give in and therefore driving prices even lower in a 4 consecutive down days streak, which occurred last time at the end of March. Mean reversion would start at some point and it would likely be triggered at some point approaching the close of the last day of the week.

I counted previous similar situations and 90% of the time, prices moved up from 1500 to the close with a stunning profit factor and a reasonable number of events. Eventually the trade ended up with a very amateurish scalp that brought very little improvement to the P&L as prices moved up 9 points during the last hour of trading. (I have a good excuse as I was at home with screaming and fighting kids around me). (more…)

Go to top