Archive for March, 2010

Trader Personality Types

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

(Watch the Video Online: Market coach Doug Hirschhorn, PhD, discusses different trader personality types and how you can take advantage of them.)

Is there an ideal trader personality? In my opinion, no.

Actually, it’s more important to develop your own style based on your own personality. For example, if you’re analytically minded, you should have a trading style that focuses more on data, technicals or fundamentals, and less on price action.

If you’re an “intuitive” person, you should establish a style that has shorter holding times and a go with your gut type of approach.

If you are an introvert, you should avoid chat rooms and instead, set up your own game plans and stick to them.

And if you are an extrovert, you should increase your social interaction and look to pick out the “best ideas” you uncover from others.

So once you determine your personality type, how do you figure out how to put the right size on for the right trade?

Many traders fail to do this is because they’re distracted by the dollars involved in the trade. Get rid of this performance barrier by taking time to identify what you consider to be you’re A, B and C trades.

“A” trades are the ones that have highest conviction, while “C” trades have lowest conviction in, but are still worth doing.

Then write down what size trade you should do if it is an “A” idea, “B” idea or “C” idea. This is determined by how much capital you have to risk and what you’ve established as your daily loss limit.

Then all you have to do is match them up, meaning if you have an “A” trade then do “A” size. If you have a “B” trade, do “B” size, etc.

Traders generally get themselve into trouble when they have “A” conviction but only put on “C” size, or have “C” conviction and put on “A” size.

The Difference: Mediocrity vs. Greatness

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

In Trading, the STATISTICS show that smarts, experience, etc. are not the differentiating factor.
The BEST (most successful guys I know and work with) have winning %’s of less than 50%.. actually, the average is between 45-55% but the point is, basically, winning percentages don’t matter – so they might as well be a random event.

So, what does make a difference?

  • CONVICTION in ideas
  • INTERNAL CONFIDENCE
  • TRUSTING YOURSELF
  • GETTING BIG IN TRADES you believe in
  • LETTING WINNERS RUN
  • CUTTING LOSERS QUICKLY
  • SWITCHING DIRECTIONS QUICKLY

These are many of the factors that allow some people to become monster traders over time. It’s not my opinion, just my observations.

Trade Well,
Dr Doug