One great tool that is used on our desk is a screen recorder that allows us to record our trading in real time for later review and critique. This is a lot like game-time (or practice) films that any athlete is familiar with. The quote was always “the films don’t lie” as your were captured in slow motion missing that important block or tackle and essentially screwing up enough to mess up an possession, quarter, or game.

Watching my trading videos is a lot like watching my wrestling videos from any point in my wrestling career (when I was good enough to make the film cut). A nice shot or excellent takedown that I thought was textbook and flawless was never as nice nor excellent as I saw the truth in…slow motion. Half the time a foot was out of place or I did something wrong which someone better than me would of exploited and defended well enough to thwart my attack. Or my defense came to slow, as someone would get in on my legs like I was out there balancing my empty bank account instead of focusing on my opponent opposite me.

Trades that I think are textbook, seamless examples of how to make money usually are not; so much so that when I notice how much money I left on the table or how over aggressive I was I am ashamed rather than astounded to show them to anyone else. When it comes down to it, though the trade may have been profitable it was filled with enough mistakes to make it look amateur, and lucky, even, which is not constantly profitable (if repeated), nor example I want to flaunt about how I trade. Just like leg defenses and bad shots in wrestling, bids and offers are entered too late, and like a missed tackle or slipped block in football, the chance to exploit the trade to the fullest and make it a touchdown instead of a “nice run” happens quickly without my understanding at that time of why I did not derive the best profit from the trade.

Now that I notice these things I am scouring film for more examples to learn from. I am noticing times when a bid should of been bigger or closer, or when I hit out of a trade too aggressively because of a little flash of an offer that wouldn’t bother a seasoned eye. Essentially I am learning as much as I can from my mistakes in an effort of not only to repeat them but notice them early and profit from the other side, like someone is doing.

And I am running those good trades back in slow motion with sound, yelling “chips b*#%^es” as I watch my P&L rise like the price of oil….