What attracted you to trading?

I like the aspect of hunting for my food daily. It is a liberating feeling knowing I am my own boss and the custodian of my destiny. The game theory aspect also attracted me. Someone stands to lose while you stand to win - Hawk vs dove strategies. I like to think the best traders are sharks in a sea of minnows.

‍

How long have you been trading?

I’ve been trading for over 6 years now, but this is my first year going full-time.

‍

How long did it take you to become profitable?

Like many, I’ve blown up a few accounts, but after feeling the pain of taking an account up in value to see it depreciate to nothing, I started implementing some structural changes to create a  robust system. I was profitable after about 2 years of trial and error. The key difference was how I took profits and mitigated risk. I will say, I had a job during this time and had access to stable and consistent cash flow. This certainly helps as being capitally deprived is probably the worst thing for an aspiring trader in my opinion.

‍

“BEING CAPITALLY DEPRIVED IS PROBABLY THE WORST THING FOR AN ASPIRING TRADER.”

— TIMELESS_CRYPTO

‍

Do you have a daily routine you'd be willing to share?

Nothing I can share per se, other than I run through my higher time frame zones of interest and work my way down to the minutia. Asking questions such as where is the market attempting to go and is it doing an efficient job at getting there?

I also am a big proponent of exercise and eating healthy as I like to think of us as soldiers going to war against other participants in the market. Only the fittest will survive. Mental and physical prowess helps in my opinion.

‍

‍

‍What's the worst thing about trading?

It can be a long lonely road. There is no team, there is no feeling of belonging to a group of others working towards a goal. I worked in an office for many years and I must say I do miss the communal aspect of my job when I was at it, but being a trader is to be alone. You are accountable to yourself at the end of the day. You either made money or you lost and you have nothing but yourself to fall back on. Once you get this, it is liberating but scary. Not for everyone.

Would you share with us your most memorable trade? (good or bad)

Longing the bottom at 30k in July was epic, but calling the intermittent bottom in September and swing longing 40k to 60k was a real thrill and a crazy ride. There was a lot of uncertainty in September in traditional markets, but I laid out chips to play it long and it worked out phenomenally.

WHAT’S THE BEST TRADING ADVICE YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN?

One bad trade shouldn’t destroy you and one good trade shouldn’t make you. This is an iterative process of trial and error. Only those that grind will make it. Hard work, screentime, conviction and self-restraint are ingredients to make it. My mentor who came from an FX background instilled this work ethic in me.

‍

TRADING:

‍

What's the most important quality in a trader?

Discipline and patience. Knowing when to shoot is crucial. Impatient, overzealous and impulsive individuals will be crucified by the market.

‍

‍

Why do you think you have success trading?

I have an obsessive-compulsive personality. It is either all out or nothing in my case. I love this game, so I play to win. I work very hard and I put in hours that most are not willing to do. I also sacrificed many facets of my personal life to be in the position I am today.

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

Having conviction in a cause is a brilliant weapon of mine, but can also be a point of weakness. Knowing when to back down is underrated. Staying stubborn will kill your account. I have learned to back off a lot better this year when things start to go against the initial thesis.

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

Like I said, I can be married to my idea sometimes and I used to double down when things got tight against the grain. I no longer do this. It’s a personal trait of mine to not back down. That said, the market doesn’t care about me, so best to back down when things do not go to plan. Opinions are irrelevant, the chart is everything.

‍

“IT’S A PERSONAL TRAIT OF MINE TO NOT BACK DOWN.”

— TIMELESS_CRYPTO

‍

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

Hard because I wouldn’t recommend trading in the manner in which I do it, but if you do embark on this path full time, make sure you have insurance and capital to last a year or more in case things go south. When things go bad (which is inevitable for everyone starting out), you need to have a nest egg to fall back on. Being capitally sufficient is something many do not think about, but is crucial to play this game.  

FILL IN THE BLANKS

• Most traders would be better off investing.

• A good trader should never risk his entire stack on one trade. It is a game of longevity, not a one-shot trick to get rich.

• The biggest misconception about trading is that it is easy money.

‍