Michael Patak

Michael Grew up on a farm in Nebraska and moved to Chicago after completing college. He started trading in 1997 on a level 2 screen and moved to Chicago shortly afterwards and started trading mini-dow a month after the product was introduced. Once he had traded with the prop house for about a year he moved to the floor into the DOW futures pit and started trading his own account as a local and has continued doing this to the present day.Michael understands the issues traders face as he blew-out of a couple trading accounts early in his career mostly due to ego and lack of patience and discipline. He would hold on to losers and wait for them to come back which they rarely did. He would also hold on to winners and turn winners into losers by thinking he knew where the market had to go. Fortunately that is all in the past and he considers himself a "feel" type trader. He likes to get in-tune with the market and look to capitalize on the momentum and volatility and focuses on a stick and move approach. He does not "marry" to a position and always looks to stay agile in the market as he wants to float with the market not stand in its way.