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Applying Sun Tzu's Art of War to Trading

Sun Tzu’s Art of War is a classic piece of work that is widely read and applied to many fields, due to it’s fundamental nature that is highly adaptable to many areas of our lives. In this post, I extracted parts of the work and applied to trading and in doing so, hope to introduce the important trading concepts to you. I have also group and categorize them for easy understanding.

To put it in the context of trading, I have rationalised the following terms:
– General = You, the trader
– Battle = Trading the market/making a trade
– Men, Soldiers = Your capital, dollars!

ON WINNING IN THE MARKET

“Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.”

Calculations are to be made prior to any trade. What is the risk-reward ratio? What is the stop loss level and the amount that I am willing to lose? What is the size of position to take? How much leverage can I take? If the price moves to $XXX, what action should I take? What is my price objective? What is the proabability of winning? These are just questions that need to be answered and determined BEFORE a trade is made. THE BATTLE/TRADE IS WON BEFORE IT IS FOUGHT/MADE.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” (more…)

Sun Tzu's Art of War to Trading

Sun Tzu’s Art of War is a classic piece of work that is widely read and applied to many fields, due to it’s fundamental nature that is highly adaptable to many areas of our lives. In this post, I extracted parts of the work and applied to trading and in doing so, hope to introduce the important trading concepts to you. I have also group and categorize them for easy understanding.

To put it in the context of trading, I have rationalised the following terms:
– General = You, the trader
– Battle = Trading the market/making a trade
– Men, Soldiers = Your capital, dollars!

ON WINNING IN THE MARKET

“Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.”

Calculations are to be made prior to any trade. What is the risk-reward ratio? What is the stop loss level and the amount that I am willing to lose? What is the size of position to take? How much leverage can I take? If the price moves to $XXX, what action should I take? What is my price objective? What is the proabability of winning? These are just questions that need to be answered and determined BEFORE a trade is made. THE BATTLE/TRADE IS WON BEFORE IT IS FOUGHT/MADE.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” (more…)

Take A Punch

“Everyone has a plan ’til they get punched in the mouth.”

That’s one of the central challenges of trading. We set out with plans, then we get punched in the mouth with adverse movement.

One way to think of risk management is as a framework that allows you to be aggressive enough to occasionally get hit in the mouth, but not so wild that you’ll get knocked out. Learning how to take a punch is key to boxing success, and it’s also an important trading skill.

Take A Punch

“Everyone has a plan ’til they get punched in the mouth.”

That’s one of the central challenges of trading. We set out with plans, then we get punched in the mouth with adverse movement.

—One way to think of risk management is as a framework that allows you to be aggressive enough to occasionally get hit in the mouth, but not so wild that you’ll get knocked out. Learning how to take a punch is key to boxing success, and it’s also an important trading skill.

The 20 Rules of Trading

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  1. Never, under any circumstance add to a losing position…. ever! Nothing more need be said; to do otherwise will eventually and absolutely lead to ruin!
  2. Trade like a mercenary guerrilla. We must fight on the winning side and be willing to change sides readily when one side has gained the upper hand. (more…)

How George Soros Knows What He Knows

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I wonder if George Soros can really attribute his financial success to his theoretical framework that he calls the “Theory of Refexivity.” Or perhaps he just simply listens to the clues that his bodily instincts provide him with before making important trading decisions. Hmmm . . . Here’s what his son Robert has to say:
“My father will sit down and give you theories to explain why he does this or that. But I remember seeing it as a kid and thinking, Jesus Christ, at least half of this is bullshit. I mean, you know the reason he changes his position on the market or whatever is because his back starts killing him. It has nothing to do with reason. He literally goes into a spasm, and it’s this early warning sign.”

Greed and Fear Are Two Sides of the Same Coin

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines greed as simply “… a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed.” Greed is often referenced as one of the main contributors to trading loss. Greed mangles the mind by distracting the trader from what matters most in the trade, which is quite frankly to protect your capital by prudent planning and following rules. It also distorts your judgment regarding high probability strategies and effective follow-through.  Additionally, it is the other side of the fear coin; that is, greed can arguably be thought of as a fear of not having “enough.”  Of course, having enough is a purely subjective notion, but for the reasonable person, someone who wants more, more, more as in getting every cent in a move, or wanting more than one’s share, is considered “greedy.”  Whether we’re talking about the fear of loss or the fear of not having enough, either way it is a very difficult emotional challenge to getting the trading results that you want.  Now, the question is what do you do about those bouts with fear/greed that takes your trading effectiveness south?  The important thing of course, is to manage your fear/greed one trade and one incident at a time.

Managing errant emotions is one of the most important trading skills that you can develop. Emotions are an inextricable part of being human and cannot be totally taken out of the trading equation.   However, you wouldn’t “want” to take emotions out of your trading even if you could. Yes, negative emotions throw a monkey wrench into your process; for instance, anxiety, fear, greed, guilt, self-doubt, impatience, apathy, to name a few are what mangle your thinking.  (more…)