Trading Psychology: The 16 Truths about Great Trading

By Dr. Doug Hirschhorn

1) 45-55% (Average winning % of any given trader)

2) Traders do not mind losing money, they mind losing money doing stupid things

3) You can lose money on a Great trade

4) Focus on the Trade, Not the Money

5) Trading is a game of Probabilities, not Perfection

6) Trade to make money, not to be right

7) Nicht Spielen Zum Spass (if it doesn’t make sense, don’t do it)

The market does not know how much you are up or down, so don’t trade that way (Think: “If I had no trade on right now, what would I do”)

9) Learn to endure the pain of your gains

10) There is no ideal trader personality type

11) Fear and Fear drive the markets, not fear and greed

12) Keep it simple: Up-Down-Sideways

13) Make sure the size of your bet matches the level conviction you have in it (No Edge, No Trade; Small Edge, Small Trade; Big Edge, Big Trade)

14) Making money is easy, keeping it is hard

15) H + W + P = E

a. (Hoping + Wishing + Praying = Exit the Trade!)

16) Trading is NOT like sports

a. Before an athlete takes a shot, he or she is NOT supposed to think, “What if I mess up this shot?” ; In trading that is called “risk management”

b. In sports, when you miss a shot, you don’t lose points

c. In sports, the opponent adjusts to what YOU do; In trading, the market does not know or care about YOU

d. In sports, you focus on improving weaknesses; In trading, your strengths are your weaknesses and vice-versa

e. In sports if you get poor results, you need to practice harder, put in more effort; In trading, effort is not positively correlated to improved performance