What attracted you to trading?

At first, I saw it as a hobby that could potentially earn extra cash. As time went on I realised that the freedom and flexibility it offers is the best perk. People may sit in front of eight monitors but really, all you need is a mobile phone and an internet connection.

How long have you been trading?

I started learning how to trade in September 2018 after getting into crypto earlier that year. I spent the first 6 months in crypto getting a grasp of what was going on in the space and then started to learn technical analysis as that was what interested me the most. From that point onwards, I fell down the rabbit hole!

How long did it take you to become profitable?

Two years. Market conditions definitely helped but also knowing when to trade when the market was favourable to my style was key. Also, I acknowledged that I was shit at the beginning so I ensured my trading account was a small amount. Understanding trends and trading the markets both ways was also a key contribution to profitability.

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Do you have a daily routine?

As a swing trader, I check the charts in the AM and manage any new/existing positions. Automating as much as possible and checking the charts every now and then throughout the day. I have other stuff going on like my startup so I keep things simple and this is exactly why I am not a low timeframe day trader.

How long do you tend to hold a position?

My typical positions could be open from a few days to a few weeks. It really depends on the specific trade. One example is if I immediately find a position in good profit, I’ll look to take partial profit at least, adjust stops and generally manage the position accordingly which impacts the length of time that the trade is open. Many factors such as market conditions and other open positions can also play a factor in this.

What's the worst thing about trading?

For me personally, it is the uncertainty of income. If you don’t deal with uncertainty well, maybe a consistent salary is best for you and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. This is why I work on other stuff as well as trading as it helps me make better decisions, be more patient and carefully choose when I actively trade. If you are forcing trades to pay the bills, that’s not a good idea.

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“IF YOU ARE FORCING TRADES TO PAY THE BILLS, THAT’S NOT A GOOD IDEA.”

— POSTYXBT

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Tell us about your most memorable trade?

Buying ETH sub $100. This was back in the early days and being completely honest, there was no particular thinking behind that trade. There was a huge discount and I saw it as a macro opportunity. Still holding some now. Some could call it an investment more than a trade, but it’s the one that sticks out in my mind.

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

Don’t force trades. FOMO definitely got the best of me in the early days. If you don’t get filled, there will always be another trade.

TRADING:

What's the most important quality in a trader?

Executing risk management. The stuff that isn’t pretty but is most important.

I think having a set of rules and sticking to them definitely helps when it comes to risk management. If you don’t have your checklist on paper, it’s very easy to lose the discipline that is very much needed.

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

Not spreading bids wide enough. I’m quite lazy with this a lot of the time.

Why do you think that’s important?

It depends on the size you’re trading. Whales will have no choice but to scale bids to ensure entering a full position but for me, it’s more about using an area as an entry rather than a specific price. Support or resistance can often be drawn as a line for convenience but more often than not, it should be treated as a zone.

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Why do you think you have success trading?

I'm naturally a very organised and disciplined person so being able to bring this into trading helped me a lot and was relatively effortless which was a blessing. I can execute a set of rules without my mind telling me to do otherwise which a lot of people struggle with.

How much of your trading is rule-based? Is there any room for discretion?

I think you have to have a level of flexibility to trading when you’re in a fast-paced industry like crypto. You have to be able to adapt and sometimes the adaptation doesn’t always agree with my rules but I think this is where capital allocation management helps. Having numerous portfolios within crypto for different areas such as trading, low cap speculative plays, NFT’s and so on can make life easier here.

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What's something you've learned in the last 6 months that has made you a better trader?

Trade when market conditions are easy. Gainzy tweets a lot about this but it’s so true. Why force trades in shit conditions? Just double down with conviction when conditions make trading easy.

How can you tell when conditions are easy?

This depends on your style of trading but for me, it's when we see a clear trending market (in either direction). Trading pullbacks and S/R flips seems so obvious at times, but just remember that it won’t last forever. Take advantage of it whilst you can. However, someone who is naturally better at trading ranges may wait for different market conditions.

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

Be patient. You’re going to take a lot of L’s before things get better. Learn from them. You learn much less from your W’s. Ignore your ego if you do win a few trades.

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What drives you to keep trading?

The inner gambler in me if I’m being completely honest. I’ve always been partial to some sports betting or a game of poker and I feel like trading scratches that itch for me but in a more controlled and professional way. With genuine risk management behind it, trading crypto is something that I genuinely enjoy being involved in.

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What does ‘making it’ look like to you?

For me personally, it’s being able to trade when I want, where I want. Having that flexibility that my full-time job never used to allow me to have is a blessing.

Fill in the blanks

• Most traders would be better off starting in a bear market.

• What separates the pros from the rest is risk management.

• A good trader should never force trades.

• The biggest misconception about trading is that it’s all about technical analysis.