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Wisdom from Worthy Individuals

“I measure what’s going on, and I adapt to it. I try to get my ego out of the way. The market is smarter than I am so I bend.” – Martin Zweig

“To be a money master, you must first be a self-master” – J. P. Morgan

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius

“Buy that which is showing strength – sell that which is showing weakness.” – Richard Rhodes

“The rule of survival is not to “buy low, sell high”, but to “buy higher and sell higher.” – Richard Rhodes

“Be patient. Once a trade is put on, allow it time to develop and give it time to create the profits you expected.” – Richard Rhodes

“Be impatient. As always, small loses and quick losses are the best losses.” – Richard Rhodes (more…)

Characteristic of losing trader

Losing traders spend a great deal of time forecasting where the market will be tomorrow. Winning traders spend most of their time thinking about how traders will react to what the market is doing now, and they plan their strategy accordingly.

CONCLUSION:

Success of a trade is much more likely to occur if a trader can predict what type of crowd reaction a particular market event will incur. Being able to respond to irrational buying or selling with a rational and well thought out plan of attack will always increase your probability of success. It can also be concluded that being a successful trader is easier than being a successful analyst since analysts must in effect forecast ultimate outcome and project ultimate profit. If one were to ask a successful trader where he thought a particular market was going to be tomorrow, the most likely response would be a shrug of the shoulders and a simple comment that he would follow the market wherever it wanted to go. By the time we have reached the end of our observations and conclusions, what may have seemed like a rather inane response may be reconsidered as a very prescient view of the market.

Losing traders focus on winning trades and high percentages of winners. Winning traders focus on losing trades, solid returns and good risk to reward ratios.

CONCLUSION:

The observation implies that it is much more important to focus on overall risk versus overall profit, rather than “wins” or “losses”. The successful trader focuses on possible money gained versus possible money lost, and cares little about the mental highs and lows associated with being “right” or “wrong”.

Conviction

convictionConviction implies a settled state of opinion and the inertia of a decision already made; this simply leads to a kind of prejudice towards one market direction or another. But let’s face it: assumption is always the path of least effort. And when has the market ever rewarded the followers of that path? It’s far better to strive to be continually skeptical and yet boldly decisive when the moment requires. The difference may seem limited to semantics, but I think the interaction between our perceptions and the market should be a continually active process, and that includes methodically denying ourselves the allure of false comforts that accompany an unyielding sentiment.

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