What attracted you to trading?

As I grew up, I tried a variety of different jobs, beginning in accounting and finance and then eventually in sales and recruitment. While I was successful in all my career pursuits there was one common denominator that I didn’t enjoy, having a boss. Deeper than that, what I desired was freedom. The idea of having to show up and leave at a specific time, having a set number of days I could take off, my salary being set in stone (obviously not fully the case with commission) and generally having to take orders from someone or some entity wasn’t for me. What I didn’t know yet was that the market could be the worst, and sometimes best, boss of them all.

So I began my foray into entrepreneurship, trying a variety of different avenues to try and make money on my terms. After many failed attempts, amazon stores, affiliate marketing etc, I stumbled upon trading. Having always had an affinity for numbers and statistics and with the promise of being able to “print” money from my computer, I was hooked.

I then began my dive into the rabbit hole that is trading. Watching YouTube videos, paying for courses from Gurus and of course trial by fire.

Did you have any hard lessons when you were starting out?

When I first learned the very basics of trading, it almost seemed easy, buy support, sell resistance, rinse repeat. So after a few days of “success” on a paper trading account, I figured now would be a good time to load up a futures account and try and trade the E-Mini Futures of the SP500. Probably one of the most difficult instruments to trade, battling directly against HFT algos and the most elite institutional traders in the world. I promptly blew up my $20k account in a single day.

There are too many things to name, but bag-holding every single altcoin I bought in 2012/2013 only to sell them all after they fully retraced 90-99% in 2014 is up there as well.

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‍Tell us a bit about your mentors.

My first two main mentors are both considered controversial in the space. While there were questions about their legitimacy I learned a lot from both of them. I have had both good and bad experiences with gurus. A lot of the stuff I use daily in my trading I learned through some form of paid service, so I have no issue with them. Ultimately it will come down to you to put together a trading system. How you go about getting the information and tools to do so is also up to you. I do believe there is enough free material available out there to make a profitable system, however, I also believe there are good paid resources out there that can help you save time by aggregating information and presenting it succinctly.

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“I WOULDN’T CONSIDER MY FIRST FEW YEARS IN THE BUSINESS TRADING, MORE SO, A LOT OF “LESSONS” RESULTING IN FINANCIAL AND MENTAL DESTRUCTION”

— TRADERMAYNE

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How long have you been trading and what markets have you traded over your career?

I’ve been trading since 2013, however, I wouldn’t consider my first few years in the business trading, more so, a lot of “lessons” resulting in financial and mental destruction before I even really understood what I was doing.

I initially got introduced to trading through Forex and I unsuccessfully participated in the 2013/2014 BTC bull run.

Since then I’ve traded almost everything, crypto, stocks, options, futures, forex and commodities. My main focus these days is crypto, forex and the occasional options plays.

How long did it take you to become profitable? Were there any major milestones where things just started to click?

I’d say 2-3 years. I had experienced periods of profitability, where for a moment I thought I knew what I was doing. But it turned out I was just a bull in a bull market and when things turned around a lot of the holes in my skill set became apparent.

When things really started to click was when I finally nailed down a system, based on Price Action, that worked for me. I had rules, I journaled, I backtested, forward tested and finally was seeing consistent and repeatable results.

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“IT TURNED OUT I WAS JUST A BULL IN A BULL MARKET AND WHEN THINGS TURNED AROUND A LOT OF THE HOLES IN MY SKILL SET BECAME APPARENT.”

— TRADERMAYNE

Did you ever demo trade or just go straight into real money?

Started with demo - went to real money then back to demo after getting wrecked. I’d suggest if you do start with a demo, start with a realistic amount of money. If you are going to be trading with a 10k account, it doesn't make sense to use a 1M demo account beforehand.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Depends on the day, to be honest. This is also something that has changed over time. Earlier in my career, it was 12-14+ hours a day on screen. Now that I’ve become successful, I can be more selective with my attention, only locking in when I want to or when the market calls for it.

With how the market is right now, and based on where I live, on days I am actively trading I am usually up late at night watching the market as it goes into the New York session. I’ll then crash after the initial volatility slows down. Sleep, go to the gym, get outside, hang with friends and read or watch TV.

What's the worst thing about trading and why?

The addiction. It’s a black hole, it’s like a really good video game, except you can make money playing. It’s so easy to lose hours in the charts, on Twitter and Discord without realising it. It’s really important to set boundaries and ensure you have a healthy work-life balance.

You mention Discord - how important do you think it is to socialise with other traders?

Extremely important, while trading is a single-player sport, it doesn’t mean you can’t find some edge in a good community. Beyond the sharing of information, tips, strategies etc having people who understand the psychological battle that is trading, and with whom you can commiserate is super important.

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

Trade less and make more money. It sounds counterintuitive but as you improve as a trader you learn to be more selective with the setups you take. Make sure a trade fits all of your criteria before entering. Taking fewer bad trades will result in you making more money.

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What is your most memorable trade?

After failing miserably in the 2013 bull run and doing OK in the 2017 bull run I was confident in my ability to capitalise on the next one. When Bitcoin dropped from $6k to $3k and formed that long bottom range in 2018 I sent out an email to friends and family with my plan to go all-in on Bitcoin and Ethereum. I maxed out my line of credit, drained all my savings and even used credit cards to buy. I don’t really ever suggest risking more than you are willing to lose but I was confident we were at or near the bottom. I was right.

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“ I MAXED OUT MY LINE OF CREDIT, DRAINED ALL MY SAVINGS AND EVEN USED CREDIT CARDS TO BUY BITCOIN AND ETHEREUM.”

— TRADERMAYNE

Did your friends and family listen?

My Mom and Dad both had me buy 1 BTC for each of them. No one else listened at the time, and when the people in that email did start to reach out about getting involved I knew the top was near.

TRADING:

What's the most important quality in a trader and why?

Patience - I’m an extremely impatient person by nature. This is something I still struggle with today. I’ve been rekt countless times by acting impulsively, whether it be entering a trade early or exiting one too early. Too many situations to name. The time between your analysis and execution is often the hardest part to manage.

Why do you think you have success trading?

I put in the work, plain and simple. I sacrificed in other areas of my life to succeed in trading, I was determined to make it work and I did.

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

Being emotional. When you are emotional you make mistakes. Fomo, tilt, revenge trading, all of these are emotional states that lead to mistakes. If you are feeling emotional after missing a trade, getting stopped out etc, take a step back. Get off-screen, go outside, or to the gym, and get back to your center before making any decisions.

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What drives you to keep trading? What does ‘making it’ look like to you?

I genuinely enjoy it, they say do what you love, I love to trade. Making it to me was having enough that if I wanted to stop I could and I’d have enough money to retire and take care of my current and future family.

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

I stopped trading with my entire stack and instead set aside a portion of my funds for active trading and the rest into long term positional holds. This reduced my stress levels, helped me sleep better and ultimately my trading results improved.

What’s the plan with long term positional holds during a prolonged downturn? Are they untouched or do you have complete risk-off criteria?

Outside of my suicide bags of Ethereum and BTC I am almost 100% in stables and have been for a long time. I hedge my ETH and BTC holdings by looking to short lower highs for swing trades to the downside.

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

Don’t rush it. It takes time before you see results, could be months or years. You have to be willing to put in that time and build up good habits and tendencies. No different than a basketball player who takes 100 free throws a day for years just so they are ready to take 2 when in a game.

Another one - absolutely do not quit school or your job to trade until you’ve built up enough capital to live off of without having to withdraw from your trading stack and have a system that you’ve proven to be profitable over at least a six-month period. You can trade part-time. Don’t go full-time until you know what you are doing.

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FILL IN THE BLANKS

• Most traders would be better off taking fewer trades.

• What separates the pros from the rest is patience, discipline and risk management.

• A good trader should never wipe out their account.

• The biggest misconception about trading is it’s easy.