You started trading, aged 12, on Habbo Hotel? Tell us about that…

In the beginning, I spent most of my time in the casinos acting as escrow, holding funds for bettors. I made a good amount of in-game currency in tips and used that to start trading.

I quickly noticed the trending furniture and made sure to buy these below market value whenever I could. I had my own store where I sold the same things above market value. Buying below market took time, and people were usually willing to pay for the convenience of easy access.

I was profitable, and I started selling in-game currency for real-world cash. I quickly realised the same game of buying cheap and selling for more also worked here, and I started buying gold bars from others to resell for more.

Then my account got banned, and the entire thing came crashing down. However, it taught me a lot about "business" and how money works.

What led you to start trading with real money?

Boredom, mostly. Before, I was in crypto and other markets, but when the world went into lockdown, "just investing" didn't cut it for me. I wanted to be a little more active.

I decided I’d look more into technical analysis, and trading flowed from there.

How long have you been trading?

Since April 2020. I had been passively investing in crypto & some stocks since 2017 but only became an active participant after the lockdowns hit.

I had been saving up for quite some time, as I planned to move to Vancouver to finish my studies. The pandemic killed those plans and left me with a decent stack to push into markets while they were down.

I put most of those funds into Ether and Bitcoin but quickly got bored as life lost its charm in lockdown. I found CT not much later, started posting some ideas, and quickly got sucked into TA, active trading and shitposting. The next thing I knew, I spent most of my time in the charts, learning a ton.

How long did it take you to become profitable?

A few months, 2-3 maybe. Partially because I had previous experience with markets, but primarily because of the environment. I started getting profitable when the strong uptrend started, genius season.

How were you trading back then?

Back in those days, I drew trendlines all over the place and painted the classic babypips patterns whenever I saw them.

Since then, I’ve overcomplicated my system and dumbed it back down to supply & demand, moving averages and the almighty RSI.

I think we all go through learning a thousand things and wanting to use it all, and almost everyone comes out of it to conclude the simplest method often works best.

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“ALMOST EVERYONE COMES OUT OF IT TO CONCLUDE THE SIMPLEST METHOD OFTEN WORKS BEST. ”

— CRYPTOJELLENL

What does an average day look like for Jelle?

It varies. I have a part-time job at a start-up, so I spend about half of the traditional working week scaling that business and strategising. Though I would be fine without the pay from the job, I recommend environments like that to any young trader.

Being only 22 years of age, you know nothing. I work my job knowing I learn more about myself and what moves people every day while also adding skills to my toolkit to match my entrepreneurial spirit.

Outside of that, I’m doing one of a thousand things. I took on a lot of challenges during the pandemic to keep busy, and that workload has stuck around. Outside of Twitter, I create content for a few clients and explore various other ventures that take up quite some time.

I also like to research anything I find interesting - from human psychology and history to craftsmanship and self-reliant living.

How has all that impacted your trading?

I have reduced my active trading to a minimum, as my social life suffered due to the stresses of business, work and trading. That kind of stress also affects your trading.

This year I’ve managed to start travelling again and reconnect with friends. I have been paying attention to my diet more, and working out is a regular thing these days.

It is a funny circle because focusing on basic needs and improving my mental and physical health has significantly benefited my trading and business.

What's the worst thing about trading?

Trading is addictive and highly challenging. The game's competitive nature makes you yearn for more and always leaves you dissatisfied if you aren’t careful.

Having an active presence on CT makes the game especially tricky, as seeing others succeed where you struggle adds to the mental pressure.

I have recently flipped a switch in my head (don’t ask me where it is, I still don’t know) that shifted my perspective significantly. I no longer look at the performance of others and am much more satisfied with my overall success.

Come to think of it, perhaps looking back at where I was a year ago rather than what others are doing helped a lot.

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Would you share with us your most memorable trade?

Buying XRP at $2.11 and selling it at $0.15 always comes to mind; I had nailed the 2017 run and exited near the top, then bought XRP on the deadcat and lost it all. It made me into the trader I am today.

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“BOUGHT XRP ON THE DEADCAT AND LOST IT ALL. IT MADE ME INTO THE TRADER I AM TODAY. ”

— CRYPTOJELLENL

What’s the best trading advice you’ve been given?

Be patient. I’m quite impatient by nature, but experience has taught me that rushing things never works out the way you hope.

Also, trust your fucking plan. I still screw this up way too often. Even when trading a back-tested system, I tend to exit early or not take the trade at all.

Gotta work on keeping them pesky emotions in check.

TRADING:

What's the most important quality in a trader?

Patience and the ability to cut out your emotions. I believe my experience will continue to help me master my emotions. I am much better at it than a year ago, and I expect this to continue.

Why do you think you have success trading?

I stopped giving a shit about things a few months ago and have never looked back. Now, I just do what I'm good at and accept that there are people making higher returns. It’s just me against the market; I don't compete with other speculators.

Do you disagree that the market is inherently PVP?

Nah, it definitely is. I just don’t need the largest piece of the pie. Other traders can eat better than me, that's fine.  

What does making it look like for you?

I reject the idea that ‘making it’ is directly associated with monetary goals and status. I come from a simple but happy family who taught me about what really matters.

I’d much rather move into nature, raise a family and a bunch of animals than work my way to extreme monetary wealth. Even though traders “live on their own terms”, I still feel like you’re caught in a rat race, just slightly different from the corporate one.

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“I’D MUCH RATHER MOVE INTO NATURE, RAISE A FAMILY AND A BUNCH OF ANIMALS THAN WORK MY WAY TO EXTREME MONETARY WEALTH.”

— CRYPTOJELLENL

What's something you've learned in the last six months that has made you a better trader?

Options trading. I'm still super new to it, but man, it has opened a whole new toolbox. Using chop to your benefit or hedging for volatility without any clue as to direction was difficult to do before.

I’m currently working on trading breakouts with options, but the market isn’t exactly breakout-rich right now. I will just have to remain patient.

What's the mistake you find hardest to avoid when trading?

Following my system, or the lack thereof. This is a big challenge for me, and I hoped backtesting more would fix it, but it so far hasn’t.

Another challenge for me is how easily I get complacent. I miss many opportunities because "I'll do it tomorrow".

Especially after having developed 4-5 different sources of income, the pressure to make money is simply less intense than when I had nothing.

I combat this by finding new challenges, such as options trading, something I have yet to master. “I don’t know this stuff” works as an excellent motivator for me, as I generally like to know about anything and everything.

If you could give someone starting trading tomorrow one piece of advice what would it be?

Be patient, and work hard. Play the long game; life doesn't happen on the 15-minute charts.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t trade them, but I would focus most of your funds on a long term direction. (Hint: in most markets outside of crypto, that direction is almost always up).

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Fill in the blanks

• Most traders would be better off not trading at all.

• What separates the pros from the rest is obsession.

• A good trader should never blindly follow the rules.

• The biggest misconception about trading is that it’s easy money and that anyone can do it.

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