The Coolest Guy in the RoomQ: Is there a monetary limit where you’ll say, “You know, I just
dropped$50,000, that’s it. I’m not staying in this trade anymore”? Is
there an absolute uncle point for you? Or are you always assessing
the dynamic of the market?
A: Yes. Days I quit trading are the days where I just don’t have a
good feel for what’s going on. It’s like a pitcher having a bad day.
You have to walk away and come back the next day with a zero on
my P&L and start over.
Q: When you first started doing that, obviously you would have
many, many successful days and then you would have some very
bad, big hits to your equity. How did you deal with that psycholog-
ically?
A: I think that’s the key to being a survivor in this business versus
some people who are still sitting on the sidelines now. Oftentimes
people ask how did you do today after the markets closed, and I
usually know. Every once in a while I can’t remember. It’s just a
game, and I get to start over again tomorrow and do the best I can.
I don’t have to worry about yesterday.
Q: You basically come in everyday with a clean slate?
A: Absolutely.
Q: It’s like having no memory, and that helps you to have no
emotion because you’re not carrying all those scars around with
you?
A: Absolutely. And if people looked at me without looking at
my P&L they could not tell from my actions, activity, or emotions
whether I’m up or down.