Original Traders Corner

Original Trader's Corner      
                                                               

 

By Sam Shenker, Professional Trader

 

samshenker@gmail.com

 

Meditations of a Trader
:

 

I'm
a trader, that what defines me as me. In order to become a trader, a
person must identify him or herself as a trader. In order to be a
trader one must become one with the market, with the price, with one's
self. As I meditate on the price there is nothing else, no time, no
distractions, and no world outside of the purity of the price. As I
mediate on the direction of the price and ask market for guidance, I
remain humble and thankful for every lesson the market is willing to
teach me for I'm a willing student, a trader and myself. As I become
one with the price and seek the future path, I'm a trader and
understand that there is no direct route where I want to get, but I'm
not lost because I follow the price. Only the price knows where it
wants to go, it speaks and I listen, and if I listen correctly I will
be rewarded and if I make a mistake I will be punished, but I remain a
patient and willing student, a trader and myself. And I thank the
market for every lesson that I learned, continue to learn and will
learn in the future, for I'm a trader and that is my true self.

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Popularity: 3%

Complete Trader’s Corner

I post Steve Shenker’s commentary now and again from his Trader’s Corner column because it’s pretty good.  His latest trader’s corner contains the entire series that has been appearing on the front page of DailyFX.com’s Daily Technicals report.  It’s 14 pages in length but is worth a full read or a skim.  Some subjects he touches upon are:

Don’t blame the market for your mistakes, blame yourself
Never trade without the stop loss
Never  trade just to be in the market
Never think that you are better than you actually are, nobody is that good, no one, not me, not you, no one

These are just a couple and it isn’t just a list.  He elaborates on everything he states.

Complete Trader’s Corner

Popularity: 2%

Steve Shenker’s Trading Corner

It's actually Sam Shenker's Trading Corner and it can be found here:

http://www.forexproject.com/Blog/Investing_and_Trading/Original_Traders_Corner/

Popularity: 2%

Don’t Move Your Stops

Here is a quick lesson from Sam Shenker about moving stops which I’m sure we have all been guilty of.

As a trader one of the lessons I learned the hard way is to never move my stops against the position. One of the most common mistakes made by the novice traders is to move the stop against the position once the trade start going against him or her. As the trade keeps going against the trader and once again approaches the stop, what do most of traders do, they move the stop again, thus increasing an unrealized loss, but unrealized loss is still a loss and a real one at that. In order to become successful, a trader must learn that the initial stop most of the time is a correct stop, because if the stop is triggered it usually means that the trader is on the wrong side of the market and by moving the stop he or she only increases the loss. The reason why traders move stops is hope that the market turns around and goes in the direction of the trade, but hope has no place in the market, protective stops do. Remember:  NEVER MOVE THE STOP AGAINST THE POSITION, BECAUSE BY MOVING STOPS AGAINST YOUR POSITION YOU ONLY INCREASE THE SIZE OF YOUR LOSS.

Popularity: 4%

Forex Trading Lesson

This is an excerpt from a comment made by Sam Shenker at http://www.dailyfx.com.

As a trader one of the lessons I learned the hard way is to never to be eager to enter the market. Eagerness tends to lead to excitement and in turn it tends to cloud rational thinking, which can lead to a loss or a series of losses.  The trader did not allow him or herself enough time to assess the market for potential trades and just entered the market because it’s moving.  The trader does not want to be left behind. Its ok to miss a trade.  In order to be successful, a trader must learn how to control his or her emotions, never be eager to establish positions and never enter the market on a whim, just because it’s moving. Trader’s strongest asset is patience to wait for a high probability setup to materialize, because if the trader is not patient, he or she will not be trading for very long. If you feel the urge to trade just because you are bored, get a cheaper hobby. Be patient and listen to the market and you will be successful. PATIENCE IS A CORNERSTONE OF SUCCESS FOR A TRADER. 

I tend to get a bit excited when the market gets moving.  The advice above is valuable especially the advice to get a cheaper hobby if you trade due to boredom.

Popularity: 1%