T2W Trading Community

Trading - The Tools (Brokers & Systems)

Which brokers do you use and why?
Deal4Free spreadbet. Mainly because I haven't got £25,000 to open a IB share trading account, and the costs are pretty small to trade.

What software do you use and why?
I use ESignal as my charting package, and I use it to manually search for good trading opportunities

Do you have an opinion about trading systems sold to the public?
I'm very suspicious of anything that is sold to the public, and I see trading systems as "get rich quick" schemes that don't work.

Do you feel a good system can compete with a good trader?
A good trader will always be better than a system, mainly because a good trader will be ahead of the system.

Trading Experiences

In your trading experience, is there one particular trade that stands out as the most dramatic?
I had shares in Manchester United before a bid by BSkyB came out. The stock jumped 30+% in one morning and I made £200 just by going to school.

What is the most prominent fallacy in the public’s perception about trading?
Most people see it as gambling for rich people - it definitely isn't. It's a job that requires discipline far and above that of any other industry.

How much of a role does luck play in trading success?
Trading is calculated luck. You do need a bit of luck, but it is mainly skill.

How important is gut feel?
Gut feeling has been the enemy in my trading over the years. As I get more experience though, it has become less of a factor, which is something I have had to work hard on over the years to combat

Success & Failure

How do you judge success in your trades?
An individual trade is judged on how well I followed my plan and how I executed my trades. A collection of trades are judged on the average amount lost versus the average amount won and also the percentage of winning trades. This allows me to see at a glance how well the strategy is working and if it needs to be amended in any way.

What are the most important elements to becoming a successful trader?
A passion for trading, an approach that is based on sound money management and most importantly discipline.

Is the joy of winning as intense as the pain of losing?
There is no longer any joy or pain in my trading. I'm fortunate that I've managed to eliminate emotions from my trading. This allows me to look at trading from a more mathematical view point as opposed to the emotional rollercoaster that it used to be.

Why do most traders lose?
Poor money management. Trading is a journey of learning and development. Along the way, you pick up more knowledge and turn from a losing or inconsistent trader to a winning or consistent trader. Without good money management from the beginning, new traders have their trading accounts wiped out and don't then purse trader further.

When you do hit a losing streak, how do you handle it?
I take a complete break from the markets. I've taken weeks off to relax and get back the passion for trading. After all I can't lose money if I'm not trading.

Is the ability to accept losses a characteristic of a winning trader?
Yes. If you can accept that you will be wrong most of the time, then handling losses becomes a lot easier.

What was your worst time trading? What went wrong?
There's been quite a few. Most of the time it is mental tiredness. The one that stands out was a time when all my discipline went out the window, I was placing wild overnight trades and the market in it's wisdom gapped all over the place for 3 days in a row. This hit me hard, but it gave me a big wake-up call to just how important money management is.

Can you describe any specific trading mistakes that you learned from?
Over the years I have made a lot of mistakes, I am tempted to say all the possible mistakes I could have, but I'm sure there are others. Looking back, what I do take comfort in is that the majority of my mistakes I've been able to learn from and move on without too many problems.