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Ego and Fear

But of course “ego” in trading reveals itself in subtler ways. I came to realize that after watching any chart for a while I would form an confident opinion about where the price was headed. “Okay, that’s a bottom there.” “Now the price is going to reverse and test that last support level.” Thinking I could predict the market was clearly egotistical.

 

So one big change has been to no longer guess where the price is going. I wait for trends where ANYBODY can see the price is going somewhere, and trade that trend. Makes for a lot more quiet periods of no trades but more successful trades when they do occur.

 

“Fear” is another big issue for traders and for me the issue is “not having enough of it”. I’ve been willing to bet the bank on a hunch and have been working to change that. Now when I enter a trade I use mental imagery to escalate my fears so that I trade more responsibly. Have you seen the iMax films “Everest” or “The Alps”. Currently I imagine I am high up the sheer face of a rock cliff and the only thing keeping me alive is my attention to the security of the pitons and the condition of the ropes. This helps me be more selective in my entries and in placing my stops.

How do fear and ego enter into your trading? Are you still trying to guess where price is going? Are you imagining yourself on the edge of a cliff, or are you already spending the profits you haven’t yet banked? 

Waste Not, Want Not-VIDEO

Many recognize problems with market economies. The political right and left have different interpretations of what those problems are, and propose different reforms that would address the problem. Rarely do candidates running for office defend the status quo. Every one promises change and reform.
I see through a different lens. The most intractable problems do not come from capitalism’s weaknesses. After all it has shown an amazing ability to change, adopt, assimilate and appropriate. Instead, my work finds that the most profound problem emanates from capitalism’s strengths. Its strength lies in unleashing our productive powers like no other socio-economic system ever. We can produce goods and in volumes than prior generations could hardly even have fathomed. Indeed, we can produce more stuff than we can consume.

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Thoughts on Deception

Here are some thoughts on deception in the stock market:

deception1. It is a known signal that when the broker gets an odd number of shares to buy or sell, it is the last part of the order. Why not start with the odd number instead?

2. So as not to signal panic, always cover the short going against you with a limit order, not a market order.

3. Don’t always ask why xyz stock is up ( or down) just because the position is going against you.

4. When you meet the management of the stock you’re short, play extra nice to charm them and commend them on all their accomplishments.

5. Pretend you do not know anything about the stock when speaking to the analyst. This way you will find out what he/she really knows about the company.

6. Emphasize your losses and hide your winnings when talking to people outside your firm.

7. When meeting your broker tell him or her that you haven’t been active in his or her region lately but that you’re about to enter it shortly. Then continue to use dma.

8. Call the analysts with the opposite recommendation of your position first to find out their story.

 

DISCIPLINE & PASSION

Discipline – Majority of traders are not disciplined in their approach, else they would not be failing. These failed traders simply hate to hear the word Discipline! As Jack Schwager points out in his book, ‘The New Market Wizards’, “Discipline was probably the most frequent word used by the exceptional traders that I interviewed. Often it was mentioned in an almost apologetic tone: ‘I know you’ve heard this a million times before, but believe me, it’s really important’.”
Discipline allows you to more effectively plan your work (trades) and work (trade) your plan. Discipline – “Habit of Obedience” – yes the keyword being habit, i.e. have a Trading Plan and make a habit of following it. The golden rule should be No Signal – No Trade.
Passion – We may spend a third of our life working, so you deserve to feel fulfilled in what you do, you do it because you love to do it! – Yes the monetary rewards are the by-product of your success in doing things you love to do.
How can you be naturally successful at something, continue to fine-tune your trading skills, seek the services of a mentor, and stomach the ups and downs of the business and if you don’t know WHY you’re doing it? As Michael Jordan once said, “If you have a love for the game, your talent will eventually catch up to you.” So if you do not have the love for trading, will you succeed?
To sum-up this Mental skill set PAIR (Discipline / Passion): You must be disciplined AND remain emotionally detached from the market.

Trading Wisdoms

“I absolutely believe that price movement patterns are being repeated; they are recurring patterns that appear over and over. This is because the stocks were being driven by humans- and human nature never changes”.

-Jesse Livermore (Considered by many to be the greatest stock market operator ever. Made 100 million dollars in 1929 stock market crash. Made several other multi-million dollar fortunes in his trading career).
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“You have to cut your losses fast. The secret for winning in the stock market does not include being right all the time. The key is to lose the least amount possible when you are wrong”.

-William J. O’Neil (In my opinion, the best stock market operator in the world today. Has made an incredible fortune trading the stock market. O’Neil is the founder of Investors Business Daily. Much of my stock market education and training has been from William J. O’Neil).
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“Whatever method you use to enter a trade, the most critical thing is that if there is a major trend, your approach should assure that you get in that trend”.
-Richard Dennis (Turned 400 dollars into a fortune of at least 200 million dollars by using his remarkable trading skills).
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“I am primarily a trend trader. In order of importance to me are: (1) the long-term trend, (2) the current chart pattern, and (3) picking a good spot to buy or sell”.
-Ed Seykota (One of the greatest traders of all time. Turned 5000 dollars into an incredible 15 million dollars or more).
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“The most important rule of trading is to play great defense”.

-Paul Tudor Jones (An amazingly consistent and successful trader. In 2006, earned a whopping 750 million dollars).
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“Being right 3 or 4 times out of 10 should yield a person a fortune if he has the sense to cut his losses quickly on the ventures where he has been wrong”.
-Bernard Baruch (Fantastic trader who earned ten’s of millions of dollars in the first part of the 20th century).
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“The greatest safety lies in putting all your eggs in one basket and watching that basket”.

-Gerald M. Loeb (Amassed many millions in the stock market during his long career).
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“I am looking for the strongest stocks in the market, in terms of both earnings and the technical picture”
-David Ryan (Multiple time winner in the stock division of the U.S. Investing Championships).
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“Most of my success has been due to my hanging on while my profits mounted. There is the big secret”.
-Arthur W. Cutten (Gained wealth and prominence, early in the 20th century, as a commodity trader, mostly in the wheat market.
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“I think the secret is cutting down the number of trades you make. The best trades are the ones in which you have all three things going for you: fundamentals, technicals, and market tone”.

– Michael Marcus (In a ten-year period, he multipled his company account by an incredible 2500 times). 
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“Whenever I enter a position, I have a predetermined stop. I know where I’m getting out before I get in”.
-Bruce Kovner (One of the world’s largest traders in the 1980’s. Made profits of over 300 million trading for himself). 
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“I try to assemble facts and decide what kind of scenario I think will unfold”.

-Bill Lipschutz (One of the most successful currency traders ever).
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“Virtually every successful trader I know ultimately ended up with a trading style suited to his personality”.

-Randy McKay (Turned $2000 into $70,000 his first year of trading. Went on to double digit million dollar gains).
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“The biggest misconception is the widespread belief that it is easy to make a living trading in the stock market”.
-Stuart Walton (Fantastic stock trading track record in the 1990’s).
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“If you decide to trade for a living, you have to treat it just like any other business endeavor and go into it with a plan”.

-Mark D. Cook (Great annual returns trading the markets).

‘A simple Idea to improve your trading’

idea-I feel certain that my discipline in executing each and every trade according to my trading methodology is the secret to my success. If you want to improve your trading, what you need to do is very simple. Before you enter any trade, imagine that you will have to explain this trade to a panel of your peers, by explaining to them the reason for your entry, your money, trade, and risk management guidelines, and why you exited the trade. Imagine having to explain why you chose this particular market and this particular time frame, along with how you set objectives for the trade, and how you determined where your initial protection would be. If you can truly do this, I strongly believe that you can be successful.