Jakew

Zen and the Art of Poker is one of the best books on trading. It was a pleasure to read this collection of thoughts - I'll add one minor quatations from the book but isn't original and potentially thousands saving? And remember to play your game right also when upset and out of Zen calmness because there is no reason a player can't be upset and yet at the same time play right

You are a Strategic Trader! You probably live in a world of ideas and strategic planning. This is because you value intelligence, knowledge, and being competent. These are great qualities for a trader/investor. In fact, you have the three core qualities that are essential to being a great trader (i.e. you have the ability to see the big picture, new possibilities and connections between things. You make decisions based on logic and analysis and you are decisive, orderly and do things sequentially). You have an original mind and a great drive to implement your ideas and achieve your goals. Thus, if trading success is important to you, you'll probably find a way to achieve it... One of your Trading Strengths Originality and drive; willingness to follow your ideas through to completion. One of your Trading Challenges Probably so logical that you don't recognize when emotions are causing you to self-destruct. Thanx for the opportunity to test myself.

Yes, his interview in MW is one of the very best. I would take an issue with one of the statements though, especially that also Ed Seykota among others advocates choosing a method that feels good to a particular trader. Once in a trade don't do what feels good - I would suggest, but by all means choose a method of trading that feels good to you. "If you're playing for emotional satisfaction, you're bound to lose, because what feels good is often the wrong thing to do. Richard Dennis used to say, somewhat facetiously, "If it feels good, don't do it." In fact, one rule we taught the Turtles was: When all the criteria are in balance, do the thing you least want to do. You have to decide early on whether you're playing for the fun or for the success. Whether you measure it in money or in some other way, to win at trading you have to be playing for the success." - William Eckhardt

Excellent insight from James. Drucker wrote a quite fameous "The Effective Executive", that says among other things: - Executive is, first of all, expected to get the right things done. Brilliant men are often strikingly ineffective - they never learned that intelligence becomes effectiveness only through systematic work. Intelligence and knowledge are essential resources but only effcetiveness converts them into results. Business writings of Drucker, Slywotzky (on profits), Collins (Good to Great - excelent trading book:) have - in my view - direct application in trading. For those who want to treat trading like business. Cheers

This is a serious psychologist or even psychiatrist, I read his first book which I believe has not been reviewed yet in here. Yes, pulls no punches - it is not uplifting experience to read him. Worthwile, professional, though remember - no one knows exactly how the mind works - it's minds hypothesising about the mind.

Some consider it the no. 1 problem in trading

The doors to consistency were hidden behind an unrealistic pre-conception of mine that if I only watch it long enough through experience I will get the ability to enter and exit right on the money. Once I realized that this is not possible (or perhaps it is but only if I will keep losing for 10 years or so:) I resigned myself to the wisdom of Douglas, Livermore etc. and the doors to consistency got opened. Getting tired is an effective educational device in the markets.

I admire the variety of setups and their not quite mechanical nature - and so to get the all important reproduction-abilty one needs...Ronin.

I don't scale out. Psychologically this technique can be comfortable for some traders ("I secured some profit and now can go for a home run with the rest of contracts") and uncomfortable for others ("Why did I cut my size down, I would have earned so much more"). Mathematically, for lack of anything effective coming from my own research, I would opt for Tharp's standpoint which is "full position from start to finish, otherwise you cut your profits short". It is so much simpler... But there are top traders who do scale out so I quess they do not do that for psychic comfort only...

For my short term (intraday) trades I finally, after much anguish, came up with a hybrid profit exit solution. The exit is a target (always 30 points or about 0,4 of daily ATR - I mean I may adjust the 30 points to say 25 or 35 if daily volatility conditions change a lot, which did not happen over the last 2 years), but... once the target is reached I do not actually exit but apply a very very tight stop leaving it to the luck to either give me my target or continue with that position till the end of the trading day. Still far from perfect but easier on me than a plain target, a trailing stop or a time stop (end of day).

...you divide your method's Kelly fraction by the number of markets you trade, so if your method's Kelly is say 20% and you trade 10 markets with that method - you allocate 2% risk per position = per market

Reaver; A quote that has stuck with me: "When you relate to things in your life as though your life were at stake, you will experience a sense of certainty, calmness, freedom and peace of mind IN THE FACE OF chaos, no security and no guarantees in life! Life becomes rich." Yes, and we all love it. As far as years...there are Mozarts of trading, of course

The Kelly is an absolute classic. However, because: a/ the payoffs in trading cannot be precisely assessed b/ the psychological factors will interfere in a trader's execution of "otherwise winning strategy" - i.e. he will capitulate under a severe drawdown pressure half Kelly or less is advised Kelly is better for trading multiple - and uncorrelated - markets, then you just divide Kelly ...

Thank you MCichocki Reaver you are still missing the point, but no problem. As far as experience is concerned, I suppose up to 3 years is the begining in trading, not necessarily the scalping technique (when - by the way - most challengers will quit), and above 10 years is the time when you reap really rich rewards. Between 3 and 10 there is - more often than not - the so called consistent profitability.

Reaver, belive me not every trader is as lucky as you to start and end the search for his timeframe in the proper timeframe, e.g. the scalping one:))