JWBK169-Lien July 3, 2007 13:56
Man Versus Machineno idea what I was doing. I thought I knew, but I didn’t, and I
didn’t approach breakeven for about five months where every day
I would come home depressed. I’d lay on the couch and think, “I
can’t figure this out.” After five months I was down$20,000. And
then in the sixth month, I made$20,000 and that was it. At the
beginning it was very hard because I couldn’t figure it out. You’d
feel a sense of failure, why can’t I figure it out? And then it just
clicked. I tell people that after six months you either get it or you
won’t. Most people don’t get it. If you don’t get it after six months,
it’s time to do something else.Q: What skills would you say a person needs in order to do the
kind of trading you do?A: I would say someone who is disciplined, someone who can
follow a plan, someone who is risk averse, but not so risk averse that
they are afraid to trade. I’ve had people whom I’ve trained who
would make or lose$50 every day for a year. They were just afraid
to trade. As soon as they got a winner they would try to get out.Q: In general, I would say, someone doesn’t have to be book
smart, but someone who is a good poker player, a chess player,
somebody who understands how to read a situation. Someone like
a quarterback who comes up to the line of scrimmage and looks
at the defense and knows probability-wise what will work with this
formation. Just like I look at Level 2 and I put on a trade and, sure, it
may not work all of the time, but it will work 8 out of 10 times based
on what I’ve seen before. So, in short, the ability to read a situation
and process that information as things are going on at a fast pace
and stay cool under pressure. I always thought that guys who were
good quarterbacks in the NFL would make good day traders.Q: How many people have you trained?
A: About 20.