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8 Trading Psychology Quotes

Your biggest enemy, when trading, is within yourself. Success will only come when you learn to control your emotions. Edwin Lefevre’s Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (1923) offers advice that still applies today.

  1. CautionExcitement (and fear of missing an opportunity) often persuade us to enter the market before it is safe to do so. After a down-trend a number of rallies may fail before one eventually carries through. Likewise, the emotional high of a profitable trade may blind us to signs that the trend is reversing.
  2. PatienceWait for the right market conditions before trading. There are times when it is wise to stay out of the market and observe from the sidelines.
  3. ConvictionHave the courage of your convictions: Take steps to protect your profits when you see that a trend is weakening, but sit tight and don’t let fear of losing part of your profit cloud your judgment. There is a good chance that the trend will resume its upward climb. (more…)

Control Your Emotions

1. Caution.

Excitement (and fear of missing an opportunity) often persuade us to enter the market before it is safe to do so. After a down-trend a number of rallies may fail before one eventually carries through. Likewise, the emotional high of a profitable trade may blind us to signs that the trend is reversing.

2. Patience.

Wait for the right market conditions before trading. There are times when it is wise to stay out of the market and observe from the sidelines.

3. Conviction.

Have the courage of your convictions: Take steps to protect your profits when you see that a trend is weakening, but sit tight and don’t let fear of losing part of your profit cloud your judgment. There is a good chance that the trend will resume its upward climb.

4. Detachment.

Concentrate on the technical aspects rather than on the money. If your trades are technically correct, the profits will follow.

Stay emotionally detached from the market. Avoid getting caught up in the short-term excitement. Screen-watching is a tell-tale sign: if you continually check prices or stare at charts for hours it is a sign that you are unsure of your strategy and are likely to suffer losses.

5. Focus

Focus on the longer time frames and do not try to catch every short-term fluctuation. The most profitable trades are in catching the large trends. (more…)

The 14 Stages Of Trader

1. OPTIMISM – It all starts with a hunch or a positive outlook leading us to buy a stock.

2. EXCITEMENT – Things start moving our way and we get giddy inside. We start to anticipate and hope that a possible success story is in the making.

3. THRILL – The market continues to be favorable and we just can’t help but start to feel a little “Smart.” At this point we have complete confidence in our trading system.

4. EUPHORIA – This marks the point of maximum financial risk but also maximum financial gain. Our investments turn into quick and easy profits, so we begin to ignore the basic concept of risk. We now start trading anything that we can get our hands on to make a buck.

5. ANXIETY – Oh no – it’s turning around! The markets start to show their first signs of taking your “hard earned” gains back. But having never seen this happen, we still remain ultra greedy and think the long-term trend is higher.

6. DENIAL – The markets don’t turn as quickly as we had hoped. There must be something wrong we think to ourselves. Our “long-term” view now shortens to a near-term hope of an improvement.

7. FEAR – Reality sets in that we are not as smart as we once thought. Instead of being confident in our trading we become confused. At this point we should get out with a small profit and move on but we don’t for some stupid reason.

8. DESPERATION – All gains have been lost at this point. We had our chance to profit and missed it. Not knowing how to act, we attempt to do anything that will bring our positions back into the black.

9. PANIC – The most emotional period by far. We are clueless and helpless. At this stage we feel like we are at the mercy of the market and have absolutely no control.

10. CAPITULATION – We have reached our breaking point and sell our positions at any price. So long as we can get out of the market to avoid bigger losses we are content.

11. DESPONDENCY – After exiting the markets we do not want to buy stocks ever again. The markets are not for us and should be avoided like the plague. However, this rare point marks thepoint of maximum financial opportunity.

12. DEPRESSION – We drink, cry and/or pray. How could we have been so dumb we think to ourselves. Some start to correctly look back and analyze what went wrong. Real traders are born here, learning from past mistakes.

13. HOPE – We can still do this! Eventually we return come to the realization the market actually does have cycles (shocking). We begin to start analyzing new opportunities.

14. RELIEF – The markets are turning positive again and we see our prior investment come back around. We regain our faith (although small) in our ability to invest our money. The cycle start all over again!

Traders needs Patience , Decisiveness & Gratitude

1. Patience
 
“The waiting is the hardest part” – Tom Petty
 
“Patience pays. Wait. Let the hand of God work for you. One who has created you let Him create all the environments, circumstances, and facilities & faculties” – Yogi bhajan
 
I don’t know about you but I trade to put food on the table for my family. In the long run if f I don’t make money – we don’t eat. A lot of trading is waiting. Waiting for the best trade to come to you, waiting for your scales to be hit, waiting for final target to be hit, etc. If you are impatient you lack the ability to wait for these things. If you are trading for excitement or thrills then you will find yourself taking stupid trades out of a need for action and in return you will not experience the results you desire. Much better to head to Vegas or go bungee jumping. Before I put ONE DOLLAR at risk I want to be sure that the odds are stacked in my favor. You won’t find me trading out of boredom, or taking a low odds trade because I feel the need to do “something”. I am fine being flat. You should learn to love the waiting – the waiting is what enables you to make the money.
 
2. Decisiveness.
 
“It’s better to be boldly decisive and risk being wrong than to agonize at length and be right too late” – Anonymous
 
“Procrastination in the name of reducing risk actually increases risk” – Colin Powell
 
“Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in” – Napoleon Bonaparte
 
“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing” – Theodore Roosevelt (more…)

10 Keys to become Consistent Trader and increase your Profitability

  1. Think of trading as a business and have a trading plan.
  2. Make sure that the strategies you select, match your personality so you can follow them.
  3. Have a realistic expectation of what your returns are. Include all the costs associated with your trading business.
  4. Have an idea for your risk/reward ratio. Don’t confuse trading with gambling. If you are increasing your position, make sure that your strategy warrants it.
  5. Have trading rules and follow them. Think about them as contingency plans. Because when your emotions are very high, the tendency is that you make very poor decisions that can cost you your account!
  6. Be flexible to the market conditions. When you see the market as it is, you have a much better chance of managing your portfolio and increasing your profits.
  7. Take responsibility for your results. Taking responsibility does not mean that you have control of everything that happens. It means that you have a choice of how to react to the things that happen.
  8. Find out why you are in the trading business. If it is for the excitement of it, find other hobbies or activities that you can get your excitement from.
  9. Keep track of your performance. This is a way of objectively looking at how you are doing, what you did right and what you learned. Be gentle with yourself.
  10. One of the most important things that people don’t handle is their Emotional Risk. When emotions run high, the quality of decisions goes down. It is very important to learn how to react to your emotions and thus increase your profits.

Ed Seykota – “Everybody Gets What They Want From The Markets”

When Jack Schwagger interviewed legendary trend following trader Ed Seykota for his book “Market Wizards” in 1989, it’s clear he was not ready for the answers that Ed Seykota gave.  Not many people are.

But by far the greatest and most provocative answer that Ed gave was that of “Everybody gets what they want out of the market”.  Not only did it incite an almost angry response from Schwagger, it has confused and enlightened an entire generation of traders since.

The Famous Ed Seykota Interview

Jack Schwagger asks his interviewee: “Don’t all traders want to win?”

And Ed replies with: “Win or lose, everybody gets what they want out of the market.

“I know one trader who seems to get in near the start of every substantial bull move and works his $10 thousand up to about a quarter of a million in a couple of months.  Then he changes his personality and loses it all back again.  This process repeats like clockwork.  Once I traded with him, but got out when his personality changed.  I doubled my money, while he got wiped out as usual.  I told him what I was doing, and even paid him a management fee.  He just couldn’t help himself.  I don’t think he can do it any differently.  He wouldn’t want to.

  • “He gets a lot of excitement, he gets to be a martyr, he gets sympathy from his friends, and he gets to be the centre of attention.  Also, possibly, he may be more comfortable relating to people if he is on their financial plane. 

“On some level, I think he is really getting what he wants.”

Does This Sound Like Someone You Know?  Maybe Someone You Know… Intimately?

Even back then, Ed Seykota had a fantastic grasp on the dangerous psychology pitfalls that almost every trader has to work through before they become a success in the markets. 

So you need to ask yourself: (more…)

40 TRADING TIPS

1. Trading is simple, but it is not easy.

2.  When you get into a trade watch for the signs that you might be wrong.

3.  Trading should be boring.

4.  Amateur traders turn into professional traders once they stop looking for the “next great indicator.”

5.  You are trading other traders, not stocks or futures contracts.

6.  Be very aware of your own emotions.

7.  Watch yourself for too much excitement.

8.  Don’t overtrade.

9.  If you come into trading with the idea of making big money you are doomed.

10.  Don’t focus on the money.

11.  Do not impose your will on the market.

12.  The best way to minimize risk is to not trade when it is not time to trade. 

13.  There is no need to trade five days a week.  

14.  Refuse to damage your capital.

15.  Stay relaxed.

16.  Never let a day trade turn into an overnight trade.

17.  Keep winners as long as they are moving your way.

18.  Don’t overweight your trades.

19.  There is no logical reason to hesitate in taking a stop.

20.  Professional traders take losses because they trust themselves to do what is right.

21.  Once you take a loss, forget about it and move on.

22.  Find out what loss parameters work best for your setup and adjust them accordingly.

23.  Get a feel for market direction by “drilling down” (looking at multiple time frames).

24.  Develop confidence by knowing and executing your trade setups the same way every time.

25.  Don’t be ridiculous and stupid by adding to losers.

26.  Try to enter a full size position right away.

27.  Ring the register and scale out of your position.

28.  Adrenaline is a sign that your ego and your emotions have reached a point where they are clouding your judgment.

29.  You want to own the stock before it breaks out and sell when amateurs are getting in after the move.

30.  Embracing your opinion leads to financial ruin.

31.  Discipline is not learned until you wipe out a trading account.

32.  Siphon off your trading profits each month and stick them in a money market account.

33.  Professional traders risk a small amount of money on their equity on one trade.

34.  Professional traders focus on limiting risk and protecting capital.

35.  In the financial markets heroes get crushed.

36.  Stick to your trading rules and you will never blow up your trading account.

37.  The market can reinforce bad habits.

38.  Take personal responsibility for each trade.

39.  Amateur traders think about how much money they can make on each trade.  Professional traders think about how much money they can lose.

40.  At some point all traders realize that no one can tell them exactly what is going to happen next in the market.

15 Types of Traders-Challenges Specific to Each one

1)Strategic Trader :This type of trader has a great chance of success but is (a ) likely not to recognize emotional mistakes ,(b ) lean toward perfectionism  ,and (c ) have a strong desire to be right

2)Planning Trader :Again ,this type of trader has an excellent chance of success.Your major challenge is the desire for excitement and the need to be right.You easily could become bored with trading and do things to lessen the boredom and thus limit your profits.

3)Detailed Trader :The detailed trader has a good chance of success,but you could be so into details of what you are doing that your miss the big profits.

4)Administrative Trader :You may be overly critical of yourself but not recognize mistakes that are right in front of your eyes.Furthermore ,under stress your may question your commitment to trading because your don’t find it satisfying.An administrative trader also has a good chance of success.

5)Facilitative Trader :This kind of trader has an above average chance of success.However ,you could have a problem with logic and ideas because you are always finding something new.Furthermore ,you may need external confirmation of your ideas ,beliefs ,and systems.

6)Innovative Trader :You have an above -average chance of success.However ,you probably want external confirmation for everything you do and have a strong need for a mentor.Furthermore ,you may  tend to abandon a good system prematurely if it goes against you because of your emotional reactions.

7 )Value-driven Trader :You have an above -average chance of success in trading but find that you must do things your way.In addition ,discipline ,follow -through ,and attention to details will always be a problem for you.You also may find trading boring and do things to fulfill your need for excitement.

8)Independent Trader :You are driven by logic and could easily reject systems that work well because you don’t understand them logically.Furthermore ,your trading could dominate your time and leave you socially isolated.That said ,you have a good chance of success if you apply yourself.

The remaning 7 types have a much more difficult time becoming successful in trading arena. (more…)

Just follow these Trading Rules

  followtherules

 Stops – a stop price must be in place at all times for all positions.

 Balance – this one is the hardest of all to define, but because it is impossible to know with certainty the future direction of the market, a balance between bullish and bearish positions is the most prudent. In addition, if you are heavily weighted either bullish or bearish, and if the market moves strongly in your favor intraday, you should consider taking on a large opposite day-trade position for “insurance” profits in case that intraday move reverses. 

Freshness – positions should be regularly refreshed for the sake of updated stops. This is especially important when the market has moved in your direction a meaningful amount so that you can lock in some profits with tighter stops.

Emotional Awareness – use emotional awareness to your advantage, understanding fear often accompanies reversals in your favor and hubris often accompanies reversals against your positions.

Exits – the only acceptable exit is either being stopped out of a position or reaching a target price which has a clear technical rationale, and even in cases of the latter, partial exits are preferable to outright closes. (more…)

‘A Trader’s Self-Evaluation Checklist’?

Are trading losses often followed by further trading losses? Do you end up losing money in ‘revenge trading’ just to regain money lost? Do you finish trading prematurely when you’re up money, failing to exploit a good day?

Do you cut winning trades short because, deep inside, you don’t think you’ll be able to make large profits? Do you become stubborn in positions, turning small losers into large ones?

Is trading making you happy, proud, fulfilled, and content, or does it more often leave you feeling unhappy, guilty, frustrated, and dissatisfied? Are you having fun trading even when it’s hard work?

Are you making trades because the market is giving you opportunity, or are you placing trades to fulfill needs — for excitement, self-esteem, recognition, etc. — that are not being met in the rest of your life?