Thread by @KiritManral

Think about y u really want to trade. If u want 2 trade for
d excitement, u might b better off riding a roller coaster r taking up hang gliding. If u r drawn 2 trading because u think it is an easy way to make a lot of money, the markets r likely to disabuse u of that assumption.

Trading success is not about finding the one true method but rather about finding the one method that is right for you. It is critical to choose a method that is consistent with your own personality and comfort level.

“Virtually every successful trader I know ultimately ended up with a trading style suited to his
personality.”
-Randy McKay

You can’t win without an edge, even with the world’s greatest discipline and money management skills.

If you don’t have an edge, all that money management and discipline will do for you is to guarantee that you will bleed to death gradually.
Incidentally, if you don’t know what your edge is, you don’t have one.

To have an edge, you must have a method. The type of method is irrelevant.

Trade within your comfort zone.
If a position is too large you will be prone to exit good trades on inconsequential corrections because fear will dominate the decision process.

Trying to win in the markets without a trading plan is like trying to build a house without blueprints—costly (and avoidable) mistakes are virtually inevitable. A trading
plan simply requires combining a personal trading method with specific money management
& trade entry rules.

Whether you win or lose, you are responsible for your own results. Even if you lost on your broker’s tip, an advisory service recommendation, or
a bad signal from the system you bought, you are responsible because you made the decision to
listen and act.

“You need to follow your own
light. If you combine two traders, you will get the worst of each.”
- Michael Marcus.

“It never bothered me to lose because I always knew I would make it right back.”
-Linda Raschke

“If you ever find yourself tempted to seek out someone else’s opinion on a trade, that’s usually a sure sign that you should get out of your position.”
-Linda Raschke

“There is the plain fool who does the wrong thing at all times anywhere, but there is the Wall Street fool who thinks he must trade all the time.”
-Jesse Livermore.

“Although the cheetah is the fastest animal in the world and can catch any animal on the plains, it will wait until it is absolutely sure it can catch its prey. It may hide in the bush for a week, waiting for just the right moment. 1/2..

2/2..It will wait for a baby antelope, and not just any baby antelope, but preferably one that is also sick or lame. Only then, when there is no chance it can lose its prey, does it attack. That, to me, is the epitome of professional trading.”
-Mark Weinstein

“One common adage . . .
that is completely wrongheaded is: You can’t go broke taking profits. That’s precisely how many
traders do go broke. While amateurs go broke by taking large losses, professionals go broke by
taking small profits.”
-Bill Eckhardt

“The way to build [superior] long-term returns is through preservation of capital and home runs. . . . When you have tremendous conviction
on a trade, you have to go for the jugular. It takes courage to be a pig.”
-Stanley Druckenmiller

Being right is more important than being a genius.
One reason why so many
people try to pick tops and bottoms is that they want to prove to the world how smart they are.

“The success rate of trades is the least important performance statistic and may even be inversely related to performance.”
-Eckhardt

“The basic concept that applies to both poker and option trading is that the primary object is not winning the most hands, but rather maximizing your gains.”
-Jeff Yass

Loyalty may be a virtue in family, friends, and pets, but it is a fatal flaw for a trader. Never have loyalty to a position.

The novice trader will have lots of loyalty to his original position. He will ignore signs that he is on the wrong side of the market, riding his
trade into a large loss while hoping for the best.

The more experienced trader, having learned the importance of money management, will exit quickly once it is apparent he has made a bad trade.

However, the truly skilled trader will be able to do a 180-degree turn, reversing his position
at a loss if market behavior points to such a course of action.

Hope is a dirty word for a trader, not only in regards to procrastinating in a losing position, hoping the market will come back, but also in terms of hoping
for a reaction that will allow for a better entry in a missed trade.

“Scared money never
wins.”

“I don’t trade for excitement; I trade to win.”
-Larry Hite.