Learn patience -part 1 :Trade Like a Sniper…Not a Machine Gunner

      Impatience has become the basic character of the generation(me too). We need everything to be instant

like Instant messaging, instant information, and of course instant food. We want everything and we want it now.
    
      We have no time to learn the method. We have no time to wait for good setups and we have no time to wait for the trade to play out.  impatience is a derivative of fear and greed, the cardinal sins of trading.

      We jump on to a mediocre trade and lose. Then hesitate to take the next best opportunity. Fear of missing out sets in and   impatiently  enters another trade and get stopped out. This cycle goes on.....

       A sniper in the military has an edge over his or her enemy; their edge is unwavering patience, mastery of their weapon, and the ability to remain consciously in control of their mind and body for long periods of time in high-stress situations. We can apply these same concepts to trading and life.

       Now, trading is as war, but it still requires conscious control of mind and body.
 
       Those traders who learn to pick and choose their trades wisely, trading like a  “sniper”, are typically the ones who succeed long-term, whereas those traders who act like machine-gun traders by shooting at everything they see (trading too much), tend to run out of ammo (money) very quickly and fail to accomplish their goals in the market.
   
       A sniper will train for years to sharpen and perfect his or her shooting skills, and a sniper knows exactly what their target looks like and pulls the trigger without hesitation.Similarly, you will need to “train” with the particular trading strategy you choose to employ in the markets so that you know exactly what you are looking for every time you open your charts. However, you will need to do more than that;  you will need to truly master the trading strategy that you choose, because if you don’t master it, you will never achieve your full potential as a trading sniper.
   
      Sometimes we may need to wait for long time without a trade opporthunity as per our method, if you are not losing money by not taking up trade as per your method then logically,
 "Not losing money is gaining money".

Crocodiles are a trader’s best role model:  (continued in Learn patience part 2)

    

Learn patience - part 2 : Crocodiles are a trader’s best role model:

     Crocodiles are opportunistic predators, they’ve been known to learn the behavior of their prey and lie in wait for long periods of time almost to the point of starving, and then when the time is right they snatch their prey with confidence and precision.

 1.  Croc's are designed and have evolved to be patient “sniper” hunters -- many little meals do not interest   them as much as a big juicy nourishing meal does. By trading less… our aim is to make a nice large “meaty” size trade that sustains us until our next trade. we need to lose less ,win more.

“All good things come to those who wait” being patient, possibly frugal, disciplined and well planned.

2 . Croc's have a high strike-rate -- they wait and wait and control themselves with precision until their   prey almost walks into their mouth…then they feed. As traders, waiting and being patient can increase your strike rate. Controlling ourselves is really all we can do as traders…This is how you get a high strike rate as trader, not by trading a hundred times a week in some futile effort to “scalp” the markets.

3.  Croc's are good at avoiding risky situations; they learn fast -- As traders, we need to learn from our mistakes, and fast, because money is on the line. Our version of “avoiding risky situations” is not over-trading and not risking too much per trade.
 
4.  Conserving energy for the next kill  -- The crocodile waits for the big meal because it makes more sense to wait and conserve energy by eating a large chunk of protein less often.

5 . Crocodiles are highly adaptable  -- Crocodiles learn quickly and adapt to changes in their situation. This is a large part of how and why they have survived for millions of years whilst many other animals have become extinct during that same time. crocodile researchers often have to change their capture techniques because it’s very hard to catch them [crocs] with the same trick twice. As traders, we have to adapt to changing market conditions

  

 “One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life” — Chinese Proverb. (courtesy : Nail Fuller).

Trading vs gambling - part 2

  
Some basic traits of a professional trader:

• Mastered an effective trading strategy.
• Has a  trading plan and uses it.
• Has a  trading journal and uses it.
• Focuses on risk management and on controlling risk on every trade.
• Not overly-focused on profits and rewards.
• Trades only when their trading edge is present.
• Does not become emotional over a win or a loss.
• Treats their trading like a business. etc...

  

    if ur committing money on truly random outcome, then its a gamble, example buying lottery ticket.
if one can influence the outcome with his own skill or can reduce the adverse effect controlling his own action is not a gamble, its a skill. 
 
  Finally it all depends on the mindset. what i do in market may be totally insane for some others.

  Gamble is a risky action in the hope of a desired result. world is progressing because a few dare to dream and gamble.
Every product is a gamble
Every bussiness is a gamble
Every research is a gamble
Every idea is a gamble.
Every crop grown by a farmer is a gamble(dont know the future price )
Every human life is a gamble(dont know what happens the next minute)
 
Gambling is not a dirty word. proud to be a gambler

Trading vs gambling - part 1

Is Trading Gambling?

  

      i'm not here to decide is trading gambling?, yes or no. im here to present my views on views of those who claim trading as gambling and those who claim its not.

      

     Any business like trading where you are your own boss and  there are basically no rules except the ones you make can be addictive and induce gambling qualities.you can think you are trading against other market participants,but in realty you are trading against yourself .In markets you are the one who determines whether you make or lose money.

   

     My point is that when you put  a human being in this unbounded trading environment, they have nearly unlimited temptation to gamble with their money. so we have to devise a plan to combat this temptation.

     Many traders think they are ‘trading’ when in reality they are behaving exactly like someone with a gambling problem.
Since it’s so easy to fall into a cycle of gambling as a  trader without even really being aware of it,  it’s important that we go over some of the basic traits of both a gambler and a professional trader so that you can determine which best defines you:

Some basic traits of a gambling  trader:

• Has no trading edge or effective trading strategy.
• Doesn’t have or use a trading plan.
• Doesn’t have or use a trading journal.
• Pays little or no attention to risk management.
• Spends most of their time focused on profits and rewards.
• Often feels intense emotional ups and downs while trading.
• Often holds trades in blind hope of unrealistic profit targets.
• Trades far more often than they should.  etc...

Basic traits of a professional trader:  ..........continued in trading vs gambling - part 2