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Thursday, April 9, 2015

Dirk Vandycke: Telling the Truth about Trading

INSIGHTS INTO THE MINDSET OF SUPER TRADERS – Part 2

“All predictions are about the future. And, a lot of stuff can happen between now and then.” – Dave Landry

Name: Dirk Vandycke
Country: Belgium
Profession: Trader, lecturer and software developer
Website: Chartmill.com

Career
Dirk Vandycke has been a trader and market researcher since the year 1995. He specializes on market dynamics, chart analysis and behavioral finance. He’s a prolific writer (having written numerous insightful and helpful articles about trading) and a software developer. He also teaches software development and statistics at a Belgian University. Some of his though-provoking articles about trading can be found at: http://chartmill.com/documentation.php?a=catPress&orderby=date&order=DESC

Insights:
  1. According to one writer, illusions are something very pleasant; the only disadvantage is that they tend to burst like a bubble. It’s only illusion that makes us think that the secret to our success lies in trading strategies. Lies don’t help people, otherwise the vast majority of traders wouldn’t be losing. The truth about trading is blatant, yet that’s what can help you. Many vendors tend to give you the impression that trading is easy. It isn’t easy: you’ll have to work hard before you reach a stage where you find it easier to make money.

  1. When you get hold of a good strategy that has proven to be effective in the past, don’t abandon it because of a losing streak. There’s nothing in this world that isn’t temporary – including losing streaks. Why would you abandon a great strategy when it’s about to experience a winning streak again? If you abandon a good system because of a losing streak, the newly found system will also experience a losing streak sooner or later (or right away). You can’t find lasting success by moving from one strategy to another. You can only find success by getting a positive expectancy system and sticking to it. You don’t have any control over the movement of price, but you’ve control over your risk. You should lose as little as possible during a losing streak and maximize your gains during a winning streak. By controlling your winners and losers, you’ll end up being victorious and getting rewarded.

  1. Software can really help in market analyses, thereby enabling us to make informed trading decisions. The software can help us scan the markets and filter out bogus setups, leaving us with great setups to choose from. This doesn’t guarantee that the market will move in our favor. Nevertheless the Golden Rule of trading will help us become triumphant. The Golden Rule has to do with cutting losses, running profits, managing money in a prudent way and rock-solid discipline.

  1. Surprisingly, easy trading systems can generate better results when compare to intricate systems. Intricate systems aren’t the Holy Grail, they just give more headaches when used to analyze the market.

Conclusion: There’s no certainty in life. Why should you expect such in the markets? If there were certainty, then there would be no market. There’s no guarantee that a person can’t be sick. There’s no guarantee that a person can still be alive by next month. There’s no guarantee that a marriage can last for the next ten years. There’s no guarantee that a person can retain her/his job for the next ten years. There’s no guarantee that a student will get a good job immediately upon graduation. There’s no guarantee that unforeseen times and events can’t befall anybody, though it is OK that we keep our chin in the air. Why should we look for guarantees in trading? The uncertainty and the unpredictability that bring headaches, frustration and losses to some are the same factors that bring peace of mind, emotional and financial freedom to us. The unpredictability and uncertainty in the markets have become our friend. They’re our ally, just as super traders have made them their ally.

This piece ends with a quote from Dirk:

“Don't focus on strategy, focus on the things we can control: cutting losses and riding (adding to) winners!”



What Super Traders Don’t Want You To Know: Super Traders


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