Train To Be Clutch

Denise Shull Market Mind Games - Psychological Leverage

Asch Conformity Experiment

Daniel Goldstein: The battle between your present and future self

Kobe Bryant's Lesson for Traders

Patrick Willis' 'Homegrown' Workout

You might be bigger than me, you might be faster than me but you won't out work me. 

Rogue hormones - Bad trade? Blame the adrenal cortex

This article originally appeared in the Economist here: 

IF THE losses at UBS that surfaced this month were caused by a “rogue” trader, would that make his colleagues stable? Not if research being undertaken by John Coates, a neuroscientist at Cambridge University and a former derivatives trader, is anything to go by. His work suggests that hormones drive investment decisions to a far greater extent than economists or bank executives realise. When traders are on a winning streak, their testosterone levels surge, sparking such euphoria that they underestimate risk. When they are acutely stressed, the adrenal cortex produces a flood of cortisol, a hormone that can make them overly fearful and risk-averse.

Weekend Watch: How to Complain by Author Guy Winch

Skills For Gaining Control

 This is a follow up post to "Getting to Know Your Intersections"


Skills for Gaining Control


When you're trading with a green light consistantly keep doing what you're doing or think about sizing up or trading more markets.  But I'm not writing about that now.  Today I want to focus on what to do when you're trading with a yellow light or even worse a red light.   When you've lost control or are about to lose control its imparitive to your wealth and mental capital you get back to your green light.  The following ideas I've taken from athletes like Michael Jordan, coaches like Phil Jackson, various articles I've read over the years on performing at a high level, and various traders I respect. 

Steps for Managing Emotions When Trading the Markets

Getting to Know Your Intersections

This is a follow up post to: The Process of Trading One Trade at a Time: Step 1 Self Control 

One of my trading mentors taught me this exercise and I've used it ever since to train other traders.  "Know in advance the intersections of your trading."  These are the times you ought to check your internal traffic light.  You have to know when adjustments are needed before they happen not after its to late.  Its one thing to tell yourself you have an internal traffic light but its another when you spell out your internal traffic light in your trading plan.

The Process of Trading One Trade at a Time: Step 1 Self Control

As a follow up to my post The Process of Trading One Trade at a Time here is the first step: Self Control.


Step 1: Self Control- Staying Calm In Any High Pressure Situation


You are the only thing in trading you can control. Therefore, in order to control your performance you must control yourself.  "Am I in control of myself?" ought to be the first question you ask yourself before each trade.  In order to answer that question you must be objective and give yourself feedback. Are you in the zone? Relaxed? Focused? Following your trading plan? Confident in your trading? Disciplined?  Asking yourself these questions, thoroughly checking in on yourself, and giving yourself objective grades on how you are performing gives you a higher level of awareness that you need in order to properly analyze your trading.  Master traders recognize when adjustments are needed and what adjustments to make. 

The Process of Trading One Trade at a Time

When you trade well, you focus totally on each trade.  You are in control of yourself, think clearly about what to do next, and only when under control can you give up control and go to trust.  But it doesn't just happen magically.  You have to work the process, perform at a high level and repeat to improve. 

Playing the Game One Trade at a Time

Today I want to talk a little bit about the mental side of trading.  A few recent events triggered my memory of a trader I used to train.  For the first few months he looked like he had very promising future.  He could scalp quickly, he showed up early/stayed late, studied hard, managed his risk, didn't speculate and was consistently profitable for his first three months.


Then the frist day of month four... WACK!  His first real big down day. In the red for over 10k... and the market just opened.  He priced some options incorrectly in the morning and paid a really high vol for some worthless options.  Instead of collecting himself and getting right back in to his ryhthm, he rapidly begins to lose control and starts bleeding money.

Five Techniques to prevent Short Sighted Decision Making

In trading it's extremely important to have a plan AND then execute the plan.  One problem I find while training new traders is that they make short sighted decisions in the heat of the moment. 


If you've been trading for a while I'm sure you can relate trading to the article below. Taken from the PSY BLOG: 

Ron Gutman: The hidden power of smiling

Martin Seligman: Why is psychology good, not good, & not good enough?

Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity and managing emotional risk

Awesome talk by Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity and managing emotional risk.  Not only do I relate her views to trading but also to life.  The longer I live and trade I realize that people/traders who can manage their emotions and their mind are the most successful and happy.  Olay! Enjoy :)

Dr Steenbarger speaks at SMB University

Back from 11/2009 but still applicable today. 

E:60 Evan Longoria and Mental Training

Great video on mental training.  This is very important for traders. 

Here are a couple great quotes: 

"The ability to be in the present moment"

"Being comfortable while being uncomfortable"

"Failure is unavoidable so don't dwell on it"