I received this email from an SMB trader after the close today:
After watching some of the VCU v. Drexel college basketball game last night I wanted to
take the VCU head coach’s mantra of “Aggressive, Confident, Loose” to trading. I was more
aggressive than usual with my size in the plays I was involved in. However, I was doing so at
the wrong time of day and as you can see from my chop tracker I got killed between 11 and 1
during midday trading. It’s becoming a lot easier for me to pull the trigger to get bigger in plays
which I think overall as purely overcoming a psychological block in my trading is really great
thing. However, when it comes from emotions and not convictions than what follows aggression
is not confident and loose but rather panic and tightness. I’m starting to get a good feel for howmy body and mind act in certain situations and it becomes very clear to me very quickly whether
it was right to add in a play or not. Just need to work on not succumbing to temptations of quick
money with big size if I can’t give it the real stop.
Bella
Well it is hard to ignore college basketball these days. I have plans for a Madison Square Garden visit on Thursday myself. I hope UConn survives until then to face the Cuse. Though I am not sure that game doesn’t end in UConn sent packing.
Sports can teach us so much about how to prepare for trading. But the one thing that an athlete can do that a trader cannot is make things happen. As a trader you must sit, wait for your set up and then execute. There is nothing equivalent to rebounding the basketball, taking it down the court and banging in a three. Well there is. And we call that forcing trades.
Mostly in sports however athletes are taught to let the game come to them. So the idea of grabbing a rebound and then taking it all the way to the whole is forcing the play. LeBron got crucified the other night for hitting an open man for the last shot of the game instead of shooting himself. He got his teammate a better shot. That is how you play the game. That was One Good Possession.
You alone cannot move the market. You alone cannot move a stock. Trying to do so will facilitate a massive rejection from Mother Market.
So sit back and enjoy March Madness. And understand it is true trading madness to think you wanting to do well, you forcing the action in a trade, will bring your desired result.
Bella
