Gregor’s guide to trading success

Insights from a long-term member

Premium member and ten-year trader Gregor Porzel (he was actually our very first member over 4 years ago) recently posted a thought-provoking and excellent piece in the Traders Mastermind community.

I read it and immediately asked him if he would be happy with me sharing this via email.

It was such a good perspective on things I felt it had to be shared…

He agreed… so here it is, word for word. Enjoy.

What’s the secret sauce?

To the newer traders and members:

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how difficult it is, what we’re trying to do here. If you knew nothing about trading, and someone would come to you and say…

“You could have a business that has no customers, no boss, no employees (if you wish so), no travel requirements, virtually no physical assets, but one that is scalable in a way that you could earn executive-level salaries & beyond at less than half the tax-rate, working from anywhere in the world, with as many hours in the day as you please, at a time of day or month of your choosing. And the task could be your passion.”

If you knew nothing about trading, you’d be saying that this comes close to a jackpot lottery win. Isn’t it?

Then, the person would say “Do you think this sort of thing will come easy to you, it will just fall into your lap so to speak?”

It’s the single-hardest-thing in the world psychologically.

No business smoothing-skill you’ve learnt in corporations will prepare you for it.

No common-sense skill you’ve learnt in school or vocational training and no actual useful skill in the workplace or craftsmanship would ever come close to suffice.

Here is my summary secret sauce from 10 years of chipping away.

I believe these hold true somehow whether you’re a swing-trader, day-trader, currency/commodity/index – trader or whatever. Happy to debate.

In your chosen timeframe, if the market goes up, go long. If the market goes down, go short.

Or at least don’t go against it.

Same holds true for counter-trend traders (“your chosen time-horizon”).

Don’t f-ck around trying to be smart.

Do the 20-trades exercise, where you stick to whatever you are doing, including your initial position-size, for at least 20 trades.

Mark Douglas presented a similar exercise a long time ago.

See YouTube. Here we go:

A) Got a profit at the end of it?

Congrats. You’re a trader, now size-up at your pace with a sizing-plan.

B) Got a loss? Keep finding your edge. Repeat.

Remember, you’ll never know what happens next, no matter how careful your technical analysis.

Embrace uncertainty and the fact that it might take you 20-30 (or more) trades to break-even. Keep at it.

Can’t wait for sizing-up your position slowly like in A)?

Want to add size to a trade? —> Don’t size-in unless you’re in a winner already.

If you use profit-stops or break-even stops or nothing is up to you.

Just don’t do that thing where you add to losers.

Tom H preaches it, but it’s just common-sense.

Want to be 10 Euros or Pounds or Dollars (or CFDs) a point in a 600 Dow-drop? Go short small. Move your stop. Add a position. Repeat.

Before you know it you’re in 10 pounds a point and it goes another 300.

Congrats.

DONT ADD TO ANY LOSING TRADE and NEVER GO BEYOND INITIAL SIZE per your sizing plan!

Forget the idea of taking profits perfectly.

Whether you use targets or trend-following like me, it doesn’t matter. You made 10 points a day on average adjusted for size?

Congrats. Nothing more needed.

World’s your Oyster. Just keep improving. Don’t be greedy.

Despite this, learn everything you can about markets.

I went to Frankfurt to talk to the Xetra people to learn about iceberg-orders and how orders get routed, and spoke to Stuttgart EUWAX to learn how an order-book works.

I soaked-up information like a sponge.

Read every book that appeals to you and watch each YouTube video you find interesting or relevant about trading, even if it’s about f-cking South Korean pottery for Kimchi.

The principles are the same.

It’ll move the needle too to take you to the level of excellence.

Then, when you get the “Trading doesn’t work anyway.” comment from anyone, you shall smile and say “Yes it doesn’t. And it never will. For you.”

Welcome to MM.

Well said Gregor, well said.