characteristics of successful traders

JULIEROSE

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Successful traders have absolute control over their emotions, they never get too elated over a win and too depressed over a loss.

Successful traders seldom think of prices too high or low.

Successful traders do not panic, they make adjustments rather than revolutionary changes to their trading style.

Successful traders do not flinch at making the decision to take a loss, they never let loses ride and never add to loosing trades.
(One old trader told me he thought his positions like stock in a store. If something sells it's making you money and you add to that line, if something does not sell it is losing you money so you discount and unload it).

Successful traders treat trading as a business not a hobby.

Successful traders stay physically fit.

Successful traders are prepared for all eventualities on any given trading day. they come to work with a plan that includes many contingencies and not what they just hope will happen.

In your trading program you should therefore have answers to the following what if:
prices open sharply higher or lower?
the market is quiet?
the market is very volatile?
themarket makes new highs?
the market makes new lows?
the market goes up early then reverses later?
the market goes down early then reverses later?

the successful trader only trades with money he/she can afford to loose.

Trading can result in substational looses. It is also exciting, exhilarating and can be very ADDICTIVE. The more you are emotionally involved in your money, the harder it will be to make objective decisions about market entry and exit.

Successful traders spend as much time focussing on money management as they do on trading methods.

YOU DO NOT HAVE THE PROFILE OF A SUCCESFUL TRADER IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AT LEAST SOME OF THE ABOVE TRAITS.

Successful traders keep a low profile.

Successful traders listen to the markets. Unsuccesful traders try to impose thier will on the market.

taken from a little book I just read just thought I would share.
 
Yes, it's very important to know how to deal with loosing and your loses.

:LOL:
 
Successful traders have absolute control over their emotions

They may have learnt to not let emotional input affect their buy and sell orders but to state anyone has absolute control over their emotions is to take the human out of being human.
 
the book was by Michael D. Archer & Jim L. Bickford called Getting started in currency trading .
 
Tuffty said:
They may have learnt to not let emotional input affect their buy and sell orders but to state anyone has absolute control over their emotions is to take the human out of being human.

Yes it is hard not to be human.
 
*

Book recommendation:

'Trading in the Zone' Michael Douglas.
'The Art of War'Sun Tzu

Both will provide you with useful insight on the psychology of trading.

Any trader will tell you that you'll feel a huge number of conflicting emotions every single day. It's just part of it. Be displicined.

STH.
 
Hi all,

Human emotion is always present in trading. I think that the key is learning how to deal with the emotions because you will never remove them.

Vendors of certain trading software claim that automating your trading is the only way to completely remove emotions, but even when your system is automated you still have to look at your account balance now and then and psychologically deal with any drawdowns that have occurred.

In my opinion, people's minds effect their trading more than they ever realise.


Thanks

Damian
 
According to Brett Steenbarger, there are certain talents for high performance traders

""..following convention by referring to skills as acquired competencies and talents as inborn abilities. Examples of talents would be artistic, athletic, or mathematical ability that show up very early in life. It is certainly possible to develop skills in these areas even when lacking a high degree of inborn talent, but the research tells us that very high levels of performance occur when skills build upon talents. Among traders, talents include analytical ability, speed of mental processing, and capacity of working memory. """

" a "passionate" mindset cannot *substitute* for those skills and talents. I could be passionate about succeeding as an athlete or as a musician, but if I do not possess requisite talents, I will be a passionate mediocrity, not an elite performer. "

Do yo have them?
 
srusli said:
According to Brett Steenbarger, there are certain talents for high performance traders

""..following convention by referring to skills as acquired competencies and talents as inborn abilities. Examples of talents would be artistic, athletic, or mathematical ability that show up very early in life. It is certainly possible to develop skills in these areas even when lacking a high degree of inborn talent, but the research tells us that very high levels of performance occur when skills build upon talents. Among traders, talents include analytical ability, speed of mental processing, and capacity of working memory. """

" a "passionate" mindset cannot *substitute* for those skills and talents. I could be passionate about succeeding as an athlete or as a musician, but if I do not possess requisite talents, I will be a passionate mediocrity, not an elite performer. "

Do yo have them?

Probably not, but I'll have to get along without them. The ability of an athlete, writer or trader to have the ability to take advantage of unexpected situations, due to quick thinking, is one of the marks that makes him talented, in addition to knowing, practically, everything there is to know on the subject. Most of us cannot aspire to that.

Was Bill Gate's ability to become the world's richest man based on being a great programmer, or as a businessman? Both, I suppose. Alan Sugar has admitted that he knows nothing about computers but he got rich by making and selling them. Plenty of us know our subjects. The ability to take advantage of them when the opportunity arises is what puts them above the rest of us. Lady Luck has an influence, of course, but I've been very lucky in life, why am I not rich and famous?

Split
 
"The ability to take advantage of them when the opportunity arises is what puts them above the rest of us"
should be tatooed in my forehead

thank u
 
srusli said:
"The ability to take advantage of them when the opportunity arises is what puts them above the rest of us"
should be tatooed in my forehead

thank u

:LOL: Join the club!
 
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