Mind over Markets
by k1 - April 7th, 2008 1:49 pm
PSW member Mark says:
Probably the most important thing to think about when trading (who’s playing the space and at what times?). very good knowledge to have. I’ve said this in past posts many times buy I HIGHLY suggest everyone read this book: Mind over Markets (by James F. Dalton).
Not a holy grail or system trading, just a methodical approach to understanding the players in the market and when they’re in it. Even if you don’t use the CBOE Market Profile, you’ll learn a lot about who’s in the market when with this book.
As a useful add-on to the book, member Alfred Toy adds:
Mind over Markets. If you are really interested in studing Market Profile. See Cisco-Futures
Also Dr Brett has an article on Market profile and some good links to reading material. (In addition) notice Jim Dalton now has a website with free pdf and video on Anatomy of Market Profile.
The Three Vices of Trading
by Phil - January 30th, 2007 7:03 am

Do you have one of The Three Vices of Trading?
Dr. Brett Steenbarger (psychiatrist) who wrote "The Psychology of Trading" (which is a book club selection)list’s just 3 (although I can think of a few more) "negative behavioral patterns" that get in the way off good trading. I very much agree with his statement:
"Remember, observing and interrupting your patterns are the first steps in altering them! Your patterns lose control over you as you become better at not identifying with them. When you become an observer to your patterns, you are separating yourself from them. What great progress that is!"
Perfectionism: Perfectionism is often the chief culprit when the pain of losing exceeds the pleasure of winning. Even when there’s a profit on a trade, perfectionists will look for the portion of the move that they did not participate in. If they caught most the move, they will reprove themselves for not trading a larger position. By focusing on the portion of their performance that doesn’t match their ideals, perfectionists transform successes into defeats, losses into failures.
“Beating myself up” is how many perfectionists describe their self-talk. The way to beat perfectionism is to make a concerted effort to talk to yourself the way you would talk to a good friend in a situation where things went wrong.
Ego: When traders invest their feelings about themselves in their trading, they are operating with maximum emotional leverage. It inevitably affects decisions about cutting losses, letting profits run, and entering and exiting in a timely fashion. The successful trader wants their trades to work out; the ego-involved trader needs them to be profitable.
If trading has us truly depressed, we know that it’s not just our trading account that’s hurting. Market success can be the frosting on the cake of your successful life, rarely can it substitute to the cake itself.
Overconfidence: Because they’re so eager to make money – and so sure they can make it – overconfident traders generally trade impulsively. They won’t wait for the setup to form; they’ll jump the gun – and get whipsawed in the process. Instead of being patient and waiting for short-term patterns to align with longer-term patterns, they will take every trade, enriching their brokers in the process.
Overconfident traders overtrade. They fear missing opportunities more than they fear…

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Philip R. Davis is a founder Phil's Stock World, a stock and options trading site that teaches the art of options trading to newcomers and devises advanced strategies for expert traders...
Ilene is editor and affiliate program
coordinator for PSW. She manages the Favorites backup site
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