Posts Tagged ‘trader coaching’

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Trading Psychology Coach: Should traders take regular vacations?

Monday, July 25th, 2011

Question: Do you think traders should take routine vacations away from trading?

Dr. Doug Hirschhorn:

Yes, and I think they should take vacations whenever they feel “burnt” - that could be one day a week, one week every quarter or several months each year. Whatever you need - you should do.

I often tell clients that the market is not going anywhere. It has been around long before you started trading and it will be here long after you are done so don’t worry, it will still be there when you get back from vacation. It is hard enough to make money trading so you need to be fully focused when you are in the game. A trader should view vacation as part of the cost of trading for a living. It is essential to success.

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Trading Psychology Coach: Q & A

Monday, July 25th, 2011

Question: If someone expresses the desire to become a full-time trader, what steps do you recommend for them to take?

Dr. Doug Hirschhorn:

I would advise against it - especially if they had to “earn a steady paycheck to live.”

Trading is hard enough, but when a person has to make a regular paycheck to pay their bills or support a family, then the odds of them succeeding in trading dramatically decreases because they will be pressing to try to make money (and do things like holding losing trades too long, cutting winners short), rather than just making high quality trades and letting the money take care of itself.

That  being said, if they were passionate about trading the markets and wanted to do it, then I would suggest that they get a real job after market hours so they can have some positive cash flow coming in the door and not rely on trading as their only way to earn a steady pay check.

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Interview of a Trader Psychology Coach: From The Kirk Report (Part 1)

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

Question: Was there anyone who served as a helpful mentor to you?

Dr. Doug Hirschhorn:

Shane Murphy. He is among the most well-known sport psychologists in the country. When I was doing my masters degree, I met him and basically asked him if he ever needed an assistant to please keep me in mind. He called me up one day and asked me if I would teach his college level sport psychology class while he was traveling doing some consulting. For a split second, I thought to myself, “I am not qualified to do that” and then I thought, “Wait a second, if HE thinks I am, then why shouldn’t I think I am?” So I said, “Yes.” That was a HUGE turning point in my life and career.

Another key mentor to me is Robbie Vorhaus. He used to run his own major PR firm in New York  city and is now a top crises communications expert. I met him through a mutual friend because he liked trading and had read some of my articles from Trader Monthly Magazine. When I started to get calls to do media appearances, Robbie was there to coach me through the process. I consider him to be like my brother and, aside from my wife and family, I know he is one of the few people in this world who truly cares about what is best for me.

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Trading Psychology: The 16 Truths About Great Trading

Sunday, April 3rd, 2011

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)

8) 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

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Posted in Investment Psychology, Peak Performance, Trading Psychology, trading psychology coach | 5 Comments »

Women and Wall Street

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

Women may actually be “hardwired” to be better traders than men, according to Dr. Doug Hirschhorn. Recent gender discrimination law suits may soon put this to the test.

Do men or women make a better trader or investor? Recent lawsuits, like those against Goldman Sachs and Citi have raised questions about gender discrimination on Wall Street and what it means for the women who work there.

What I don’t understand is why gender equity is so important to have on Wall Street. After all, the Street is all about one thing—making money. It shouldn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman in charge, because I’m 100 percent certain that the market doesn’t care.

Now brace yourself for what I’m about to say: I truly believe women are hardwired to be better traders than men. As a trading psychology coach, my applied work has repeatedly shown that in order to get traders to perform at higher levels, I frequently have to deconstruct the ego and male-mindedness and teach more female-minded skills such as self-awareness, observation, and patience.

If you’re convinced men are better traders than women, then my response is simply, “show me the data.”

The problem is you can’t, because it doesn’t exist. For that reason alone, it’s bad research to assume men are better traders just because that’s the way it’s always been.

The key takeaway for this trader coaching session is that it’s time for a change in the financial markets. Not because of gender equity, but because those who could be some of the most talented people in this game are not even given a chance to play.

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