successful trading...summed up

[bbmac]

THis is a quote lifted from the blog of the U.s trader/psychologist Brett Steenbarger. It sums up well what it all comes down to;

'.....You do need to have an edge; you need the consistency to replicate that edge; you need the drive to continually adapt to changing market conditions; and you need enough capital. I have never met a successful trader who makes money by doubling his or her money every year. The successful traders start with meaningful capital and earn a respectable, but reasonable return upon it. Their success is measured in their consistency, not in their ability to make occasional big scores. The small trader who tries to make millions is forced to take undue risk by trading imprudent size. When the inevitable strings of losing trades occur--as they do for the greats--the account cannot weather such drawdowns......'

 

[Captain Currency]

Hello bbmac,

I have never met a successful trader who makes money by doubling his or her money every year.

Surley if you doubled your money every year you could'nt but make money! -Maybe Brett ment something different :-0

Although Brett's statement can offer hope, I cant help but think his statement is too broad, "The successful traders start with meaningful capital and earn a respectable, but reasonable return upon it"

Meaningful
Respectable
Reasonable return

Can he be a bit more precise in his meaning of these words in a trading context? probably not as every trader has a different view of what they mean to them.
Statements and views of others may not help you in your quest for trading success. One size does not fit all.

Fxscalpers post on "Aggressive Traders" offers some good points if you dare to think a bit differently!

Brett says: "Their success is measured in their consistency, not in their ability to make occasional big scores". Dont knock big wins Brett, they can be the difference between a good year and a great year.

 

[Rhody Trader]

Brett says: "Their success is measured in their consistency, not in their ability to make occasional big scores". Dont knock big wins Brett, they can be the difference between a good year and a great year.

He's not knocking big wins. I'm sure Brett recognizes that many trading systems are based on catching bigger winners. His point is that successful traders apply their system/method/approach consistently whereas non-successful ones tend to do so haphazardly.

 

[Crap Buddist]

Sounds a bit like Brett has given up or settled for Mediocrity. Still the industry needs that type of feed to feed the market.....

Maybe theres a deeper level with his Trader Feed, Feed Me headlines, only i dont think he can see how beautiful it is.

What I sense especially with a professionally trained psychologist , or mind doctor, is
the lack of screaming about the psych in the market..... I would of expected a psychologist to answer those questions as a chemist would about drugs...... only its very lacking. This is even more scary considering he surrounds himself with traders every day........

Im not knocking the bloke as we are all human, but come on, psychology ,is his game........

Brett should be p!ssing trebbles every year? Not as the aim, but as a noted by product..... surely?

whats going wrong?

 

[Crap Buddist]

Brett Steenbarger Trading Psychology

come on have a look everyone, lets make some progress...... good points bad points...... let it out in this thread....

but he has got to be taking the p!ss with the trader feed ,feed me slogan.... ? I dont know what to make of it... lol... (at self) ..

help, help..... ??

 

[Captain Currency]

Hello Rhody Trader,

He's not knocking big wins. I'm sure Brett recognizes that many trading systems are based on catching bigger winners. His point is that successful traders apply their system/method/approach consistently whereas non-successful ones tend to do so haphazardly.

Would it be fair to say that Brett is just stating something obvious here? He has'nt just released some ground breaking information in his statement, has he?

See the issues I have with trading sayings like the one Brett wrote is its too broad, it could mean one thing to one person and another thing to another person and so on.

Surley if Brett is in contact with successful traders in his line of work, he may be able to part with some better info, help and ideas.

 

[Rhody Trader]

Would it be fair to say that Brett is just stating something obvious here? He has'nt just released some ground breaking information in his statement, has he?

See the issues I have with trading sayings like the one Brett wrote is its too broad, it could mean one thing to one person and another thing to another person and so on.

Surley if Brett is in contact with successful traders in his line of work, he may be able to part with some better info, help and ideas.

I think you need to look at the wider view of what Brett is about. He really focuses alot on the trader development process and comes at it from a perspective that we don't see a lot. I've had the chance to communicate with him on several occassions (he was instrumental in helping me get my own book published and even wrote the forward). I don't necessarily agree with him on every point but having been involved in athletic coaching (volleyball) and trading education, I can tell you a lot of what he says really hits the nail on the head.

I do think, though, that he sometimes speaks from the perspective of a very short-term trader. The traders he works with at the shops where he consults are predominantly (if not exclusively) short-term day trader types. He also focuses on that timeframe in his own trading. It seems to me that sometimes when he is making statements they reflect that focus and as such can sometimes conflict what longer-term traders might think.