PopDoc Trader - Latest Comments

Re: Altering Beliefs Is Not So Easy

cosmo pinciotti — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 22:01:36 -0000

"approach the emotion as information" – I'm intrigued.
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Re: Talking About Intuition

Andrew Menaker PhD — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 14:27:11 -0000

I'll try to remember to post something about it after the the talk, which is next Tuesday.

Intuition is misunderstood. BF research pointing the finger at system 1 thinking as being mostly problematic has added to the misunderstanding.

Re: Talking About Intuition

Igor Marinkovic — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 13:52:30 -0000

I hope will get bit of snapshot from talk?

Re: Altering Beliefs Is Not So Easy

Andrew Menaker PhD — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 20:30:34 -0000

Luke,

A path that includes developing self and emotional awareness. That's what my work - course and coaching - is all about. Working with deep rooted beliefs means you also have to understand the source of your emotions. Although logic drives our thinking, emotion is the fuel for action. Humans are emotional creatures, attempts to remove emotion in trading will not work. Better to approach the emotion as information.

Re: Altering Beliefs Is Not So Easy

Luke Spargitus — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 04:04:07 -0000

Thank you for your post. So which is the path of inner development in order to approach deep rooted beliefs, according to your materials?

Re: How Mistakes Can Become Baggage

Andrew Menaker PhD — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 10:43:49 -0000

Robert - Thanks for your comment, I think you're describing something pretty common. And here's a suggestion.

Because you know that you feel better at EOD if you followed your process regardless of the outcome, try asking yourself (aloud or write it down, not just in your head), "how will I feel at the end of the day if do this now?"

Andrew

Re: How Mistakes Can Become Baggage

Robert Baker — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 08:34:57 -0000

I particularly like the statement " P&L is an expression of how well you control your emotions, not how well you analyze charts". I need to continually remind myself throughout the trading day that my sole job is to execute my setups and not think "is this smart, or is this going to work? That is the only way my actual daily P&L will match my system's P&L The "thing" that permits me to do this is to go into the day realizing that I will ONLY feel good at the end of the day if I have managed to follow my system and not second guess REGARDLESS of the outcome. I feel better on losing days that I followed my plan than I do on winning days where I deviated from it. Thanks for your blog entries. They help.

Re: Context is King For the Discretionary Trader

Andrew Menaker PhD — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 17:43:49 -0000

The link to Dalton's article is not working, its likely that since I posted the link he may have removed the article or changed the location of it. Sorry, but I don't have any control over that. Perhaps you can find by exploring his web site.

Re: Context is King For the Discretionary Trader

Iwan Ismail — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 07:20:33 -0000

Hi Andrew,

The article is no longer available at the link you provided. Do you know how I can get that article? Another great blog entry by you by the way!

Thank you.

Regards,
Iwan

Re: How high is too high?

Andrew Menaker PhD — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:29:41 -0000

Sean,

Exactly.

Re: How high is too high?

Sean Quinn — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:53:30 -0000

Great post Andrew. Always helps to visualize what other people are feeling and/or doing. When looking at the charts, you can almost feel the FOMO in the market, really at all levels (daily and intraday).

Also in a world of information overload, this is a good reminder to turn off the distractions.

Re: Being Comfortable With The Alternative

Andrew Menaker PhD — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:04:01 -0000

When you enter or exit a trade, how much of the decision is based on concerns about P&L? For example, someone deciding to hold a loser past their stop might be more concerned about realizing a loss and decide to hold it until 'it comes back'. Another example, impulse trades are often an example of on one level a concerns about making money NOW, and on a deeper level the impulse trade is often an attempt to at least temporarily feel better - "I can't make any money if I'm not in a trade".

In reality, a lot of what happens in trading is a response to discomfort.

Re: Being Comfortable With The Alternative

Iwan Ismail — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:57:36 -0000

Hi Andrew,

If it's the latter, which is I trade to make money, how isn't this trading my P&L? Great blog by the way! Thanks!

Re: The Tick by Tick Assault on Your Judgement

Andrew Menaker PhD — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:18:19 -0000

Jake,

Sounds like you have developed a nice psychology process for yourself. I especially like the part where you focus on resiliency, and being prepared to deal with whatever comes your way.

Andrew

Re: The Tick by Tick Assault on Your Judgement

jake — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 07:27:30 -0000

Hi.
I love this topic cause its at the heart of what trading is. I find the whole subject of trading psychology much more interesting and mentally engaging than trading methodology, strategy, risk management, and other assorted trading pot potpourri. In fact, once you've got your trading method down pat, your risk management under control, and your plan mapped out, well, all that is left to focus on are your actions. The other parts of trading are rather mundane and become habitual after many years. But the psychology of the trade is dynamic and seems to be ever changing. The way your mind wraps around the trading process is always in need of tweaking and is never complete unlike the more "hard" processes.

OK, here is what I do to manage my "trading mind."

I am a great believer in preparing my mind state prior to a performance. I actually practice the many emotions I will go through during the trading day before the open. I visualize and feel the fear, worry, anxiety, joy, excitement and boredom. I force myself to feel these emotions. I visualize opening my account prior to the open and all my open positions are down 20% (don't laugh, its happened). I see the red ink, I feel my heart sink into my stomach. My throat tightens. Then, I practice what I will do. I will get into what I call "go time" mode. I very methodically and without hesitation sell everything at the market. I breathe deeply and turn off the computer for a few hours to digest my loss. I then repeat my mantra: "In a hundred years from now all this won't matter." My new focus now is on relaxing and finding out if what just happened is due to my error in analysis or bad luck/black swan event. By the way, I believe keeping my position size smaller than I "want to" is the best way remedy for worry. Keep the size so small that if the worst happens, I can shrug your shoulders and get back in the saddle fairly soon.

I also have a resiliency plan mapped out in advance on how I will bounce back from frustration and/or disappointment. In addition, when things go better than expected, I allow myself to gloat and feel highly competent. Good times. I have a beer and take the day off. I am my best boss. Nothing wrong with doing the jig in your underwear.

90% of successful trading (for me) has been in preparing my mind for whatever might happen before it happens. And when bad things happen..., I've seen it before, been there, done that, its no big deal.

Re: Do You Really Need Rules?

Andrew Menaker PhD — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 15:32:37 -0000

That's a nice analogy.

Keep doing what works for you!

Re: Do You Really Need Rules?

jake — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 20:05:12 -0000

Hi
For me trading the markets feels more like how it feels to catch a football than like solving a math problem. If I explained to you how I catch a football, the best I can say is that I stop thinking about catching the ball, and just catch the ball. The more I think about catching it, the more likely I won't catch it. The best way to catch a ball is simply to relax, allow the body to position itself, be coordinated, set the eyes on the ball, and catch it when it arrives within reach. I do not need to know the wind velocity, the air temperature, the speed of the ball, the gps coordinates, or any other math, Is it instinct that catches the ball? Maybe, but more likely its the result of endless practice.

I remember as a child my coach would "teach" me how to catch a ball. He gave me a set of rules to follow. But it wasn't long before I simply "let go" of the rules he gave me and just caught the ball. Trading is the same. Feel the trade, execute, let go, and enjoy.

Re: I See The Writing on the Wall

Andrew Menaker PhD — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:51:07 -0000

Thanks for sharing your experience. It may or may not make you feel better about your situation, but at least you should know there are many, many traders who've had a similar experience as you describe.

Andrew

Re: I See The Writing on the Wall

traderintraining — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:38:59 -0000

I am looking forward to your book with great anticipation. Your posts get right to the core of what for me is the challenge in trading. That is the ability to recognize when the emotional and inner thrusts are driving my trading rather than the rational thinking. I have read many books, including those of Steenbarger and Elder and done all the things they recommend but still I lose it and get way out of the zone. After eliminating all possible problems such as, tools, information, trading rooms etc. I was left with only one possible source of my trading problems. ME. When I started out I would say, trading is at least 50% psychology. Now I would say it is more like 99%. As I grow in knowing myself, my confidence to manage trades both favorable and less favorable grows.

Re: The Secret That’s Behind The ‘Need To Be Right’

Andrew Menaker PhD — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 22:39:57 -0000

Jon, thanks for clarifying what I meant. Perhaps next time I write about this, I'll put 'need' in italics......

Andrew

Re: The Secret That’s Behind The ‘Need To Be Right’

Jon Symons — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:59:38 -0000

As I understand the key word in Andrew's article is "right" it is "need." Someone tossing a coin will be right ~50% of the time, but if they "need" to be right more than the probabilities suggest, that is a problem and will cause them to take self destructive actions in order to FEEL right more often the the circumstances allow.

Re: I See The Writing on the Wall

Andrew Menaker PhD — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:39:11 -0000

I'm discovering that a book takes longer than I thought, with some things beyond my control. The writing probably won't be finished for another 6 months, and then it takes a few months for final editing and for the publisher to print and distribute it.

Re: I See The Writing on the Wall

Stanislav Bernuhov — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 01:43:46 -0000

Thanks, Doc! Waiting for signal from Amazon to purchase it.

Re: The Secret That’s Behind The ‘Need To Be Right’

Andrew Menaker PhD — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:29:41 -0000

In your example, yes. I can't argue with that.

The problem with writing a blog is that it is short and often doesn't explain the context of the idea. What I really meant is that so many traders have a hard time being wrong in terms of taking a loss, or missing out on a move and they often like to say that their problem is they have a strong need to be right, so they double down on losers, etc.

Re: The Secret That’s Behind The ‘Need To Be Right’

W at Off-Road Finance — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:34:14 -0000

I've always found this one rather funny. Assuming bets with fairly constant terms (say, win $X or lose $X/4) then the trader does indeed need to be right if they want to profit. In this case, at least one time in five. The righter you are, the richer you get.