Individual Traders
I did an interview a week or so ago with Abraham Thomas, one of the co-founders of Quandl. I love doing interviews because a thoughtful interviewer makes me ask questions and think about things in a new way. (Stay tuned for some more insights from that interview, and I'
Individual Traders
You have to be disciplined to trade successfully; we all know that, and it's one of the few pieces of trading advice that might apply universally. No matter what your trading style, market, timeframe, risk profile--whatever you do, you have to do it consistently and with discipline. It&
Individual Traders
This week, I'm writing a series of short posts on very practical, applied things that you can add to your trading toolkit. I'm trying to select these so that they work for a wide range of trading styles, timeframes, approaches, and instruments, but think carefully about
General Comments
I want to share a simple rule that has worked well for me over the years. I'll explain the how and why, and then wrap up with some thoughts about when this rule might not be appropriate. So, imagine you are in a position, and then, for whatever
Individual Traders
The idea of "trading for a living" has, no doubt, motivated an army of new and developing traders over the years. Perhaps people look at their current jobs, and think that trading would be less work. Perhaps it is simply love of the markets and trading, and the
Individual Traders
A reader sent me a question this week on how to develop mental toughness in discretionary trading, noting that his own toughness seemed to be getting less tough as he went through the learning process. I thought it was a good question, and I spent a whole podcast answering it.
Individual Traders
I've been in this business for about two decades, and I've seen some... let's say... "stuff". One of the most interesting things is that everyone, in developing their process or system, tends to focus attention on the wrong things; part of the
Individual Traders
So, I write and talk a lot about the tasks of trading, finding an edge, maintaining that edge, and having the discipline to apply it. Probably and statistics are important tools, and I try to help my readers work toward intuition. I spend a lot of time debunking some of
Individual Traders
In a recent blog post, I made the statement (borrowed from Jack Schwager), that you must have an edge to be successful in the marketplace, and, if you don't know what your edge is, you don't have one. This, of course, prompted the logical question from
Individual Traders
We live in a "quick fix" world in which everyone is looking for "hacks" to solve and shortcut problems. The internet is filled with "you're doing it wrong" posts that purport to show you how to do everything from tying your shoes
Individual Traders
I received a lengthy question for a reader who has put in a lot of time learning to trade, and has not yet left the trading simulator. I thought his questions were insightful, and they mesh well with a topic I'm considering covering in some depth: how to
Individual Traders
There are a few practices that consistently separate winning traders from the losers. True, there is an incredible diversity of winning strategies, approaches, and personalities, and winning traders do and act in very different ways. However, we when look at and talk to consistently profitable traders, we start to see