The quotes below are provided by John F. Carter, master day trader; pulled directly from his new book Mastering the Trade.
This may be the best quote of all:
“The financial markets are naturally set up to take advantage of and prey upon human nature. As a result, markets initiate major intraday and swing moves with as few traders participating as possible. A trader who does not understand how this works is destined to lose money”
“The financial markets are truly the most democratic places on earth. It doesn’t matter if a trader is male or female, white or black, American or Iraqi, Republican or Democrat. It’s all based on skill.”
“A trader, once in a position, can deceive himself or herself into believing anything that helps reinforce the notion that he or she is right”
“…professional traders understand this all too well, and they set up their trade parameters to take advantage of these situations, specifically preying on the traders who haven’t figured out why they lose”
“…markets don’t move because they want to. They move because they have to.”
“After all, the money doesn’t just disappear. It simply flows into another account – an account that utilizes setups that specifically take advantage of human nature.”
“As soon as Wall Street announces a special vehicle for trading a particular market or strategy, then that market or strategy is done for.”
“Remember, the markets are set up to naturally take advantage of and prey upon human nature, moving sharply only when enough people get trapped on the wrong side of a trade.”
“In casinos, as in trading, it takes only one stupid bet to blow the whole wad”
“Casino owners know this, and this is why they sell the strategy books right there on the property, prominently displayed in their own gift shops”
“This is the biggest poker game on the planet, and the money flowing into your account isn’t appearing as if by magic. It’s coming from someone who is still learning how the markets work, and who most likely followed his or her gut and got suckered into taking the wrong side of the trade.”
“The problem is that tactics an individual uses to achieve his or her goals in everyday life do not work in trading, and in fact are one of the main reasons for failure.”
“The determination, positive thinking, and stubbornness that made people a success in one area of their life simply sets them up for slaughter in the markets”
“The markets thrive on taking the rules and ideals that govern general society, wadding them up into a ball, lighting them on fire, and then shoving them down a new trader’s throat.”
And Finally
“The only people who understand traders are other traders”
The book is full of excellent quotes such as these but it goes even deeper into how to trade like a professional and why the markets prey upon human nature. It was an excellent read and I will be going through it several more times to pick up everything I missed on the first go-around!
Piranha
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