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Non-Tech : MB TRADING -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mr.mark who wrote (3340)	1/14/1999 8:35:00 PM
From: funk	Respond to of 7382

mark, didn't you say something the other day about having the rest of your life to trade? :) Yes, I like to approach trading that way. I am convinced that personal psychology has much more to do with winning than any other single factor. The reason I really enjoyed the two Market Wizard books by Dr. Jack Schwager, is that all the interviews affirmed the idea that many different approaches can succeed, if put to work with the proper mental attitude. I have spoken on the phone several times with a nice guy, who sounds like he is in a very similar boat to the one I was in not very long ago. Intellectually, he seems to have the right ideas in mind. But he complained about still feeling hesitant and still not really making too much head way. We talked through a trade today. I was stunned by how jumpy he was. Really really jumpy. I kept telling him to be calm, take a deep breath and another. I can tell he needs to come quite a distance, emotionally, before he can meet with success. I am repeating this, not to pick on someone, or sound like a big shot, because I'm not. I am mentioning this for a simple reason. I was floored at just how skillful this "trader" was at talking about how to trade, as opposed to actually possessing the ability to trade. In other words, here is a guy, who most certainly has the ideas down. But when faced with the actual task of entering and exiting a trade, yikes ! It was impressive how much pressure he was placing upon himself. Way too much pressure! I believe with 100% certainty that above all other variables, your inner peace is an absolute prerequisite to trading and winning. I want to make a list of things that tend to make us lose our cool. By listing all the possible causes, we can be better able to confront them and get back to feeling comfortable more quickly. Simply put, I don't think anyone can trade well if they are upset. What things can upset a trader? Here is a list of general categories. If it seems worthwhile we could break the categories down into specific items. I did break a few down a little bit: Lack of knowledge and experience. Insufficient market and stock indicators. Playing a position size that is way too big. An under-developed or incomplete trading system or approach. Chatter from IRC chat rooms or CNBC or SI or another trader on the phone or at your trade desk. Technical trouble with computer / internet connection / broker Trading "errors" cutting a winner way too short or letting a win become a loss. Feeling rushed, "Oh the bull market is over now I will never reach my goals" something to that effect There are plenty of things that can get us off our game. This topic could and should be talked about at great length, imo. I would welcome any meaningful discussion on the subject. I plan to post more myself. If traders could speculate and win 70 years ago, then I would submit that with the tools we have our hands on now, much more than one out of ten traders could find success. Maybe I am wrong. funk