Millions By The Minute

Two-part BBC documentary series which goes inside the fast and fiercely competitive world of financial traders to meet the men and women who play the markets in London, New York, Chicago and Amsterdam. The film offers a rare, personal portrait of what life is like for the people who do this lucrative but relentless job, against a backdrop of non-stop news, globalised markets and the rise of ultra-fast computers capable of placing millions of trades at a time.

London day traders Will and Piers use their expertise to train others in the art of making money from tiny moves in the markets. But they warn their new trainees it is going to be far harder to master the psychological and emotional skills needed for trading than the technicalities. Manhattan hedge fund manager Karen believes that money is power and making it is fun, as she juggles two sets of twins, a busy social calendar and her $200-million fund. Bob has spent more than three decades yelling out his trades and jostling for position on Chicago's cattle futures trading floor, but now he thinks it may be time wean himself off his trading addiction. Ultimately, it is a story of money, desire and emotion.

The new breed of trader, the British men and women who play the financial markets from their kitchens, sofas and bedrooms. Thanks to online trading technology, anyone with an internet connection and some cash to spare can attempt to reap the rich rewards that can come from trading. This documentary charts the real-time trading ups and downs, dreams and disappointments of a handful of Britain's 'retail traders'.

Mother-of-three Jane could hardly be less like the archetypal professional City trader. She squeezes currency trading in between the school run and her work as a nurse. Justyn and Akil are ambitious young men from Birmingham, who are convinced that trading will be their ticket to lavish lifestyles. Rene gave up a successful career as an antiques dealer for a new existence as a trader, and he is undeterred despite seven years of struggling to break even.

The home traders are united by a desire to take control of their lives and their own financial destinies. But the odds are stacked against them, 90% of retail traders will not make a consistent profit.

Floored: The Pit

Enter a world where pandemonium reigns and reckless ambition rules: the trading floors in the financial canyons of downtown Chicago. Here, men use strange hand signals to buy and sell everything from pork belly to soybeans while wearing the weight of our complex economy on their shoulders - along with their neon jackets.

It's a physical, bruising place, one where a slight gain creates heroes, rich beyond what their high school educations should ever afford. But the wrong move on the wrong day can ruin lives. At a time when millions have lost fortunes in the fickle stock market and fear abounds about the faltering financial system, "Floored" is an honest look behind the curtain of the trading floor that few have ever seen.

Floored captured this sea change that turned the world upside down for many who had been extremely successful on the floor but couldn’t, or just didn’t want to, make the move to computerized trading. No doubt there are many success stories, but this is not their story.

For the most part, the movie tells the tale of a group of floor traders who describe in their own words how their world got smaller. In a business where Darwinism is a basic tenet, this movie shows the stark reality of what happened to those who couldn’t adapt.

Many younger traders, of course, are hip to the new technology, but “Floored” isn’t interested in them; it’s the old-schoolers on the way out who are its focus. The stories of this dying breed are fascinating.

Among them is that of Mike Walsh, a foulmouthed, barrel-chested floor trader with a big house and a taste for hunting big game in Africa; Kenny Ford, a gruff 51-year-old vigorously but vainly opposed to e-trading; and Jeff Ansani, who took a colossal loss in one trade in 1994 and is now a mere clerk and divorced father encouraging a son to enter the market but to learn computers too.

These are brawny, profane, beer-drinking, cigar-smoking men, some prosperous, others breaking or broken. Their turf, like Chicago, is tough and passionate: a trading floor, fast vanishing under their feet.

Golf & Trading

If you play golf, probably you read great books written by Dr. Bob Rotella like “Golf is Not a Game of Perfect”. The thoughts and ideals in this books could change your whole perspective on golf and into other areas of your life.

As you mature as a trader you will understand that trading too, like golf, is “not a game of perfect”. It is a game of ifs, buts, nearly’s, maybes. Trading is a probability based endeavor. You cannot be perfect! Trading is a business and you should treat it as such.

You can’t imagine that everything you have ever done in your business career is perfect. Don’t let your drive to be perfect keep you from enjoying and prospering in the “game” you love. You must develop this mindset! Like Dr. Rotella explains, “pick small targets” and focus like a laser on them.

Think about this. You could practice flipping a coin to come up heads every time until your hands bleed but of course you realize that you will never achieve that result. You can absolutely be the best “coin flipper” in the world and your outcome will still be 50/50 if you have a statistically significant sample size.

This analogy of course seems ridiculous but it applies to probability based trading which is the methodology that pro-traders use every single day in the selection and execution of their trades.

You can probably think for yourself about times when you have gotten out of that trade too early only to see it rocket to and perhaps beyond your profit target, or that time you got out of the market for a loss only to see it come back and go your way or maybe the time you didn’t take the trade because the set-up wasn’t quite right, or it wasn’t quite at your level, only to see it go on to be a winner.

Likewise maybe there have been times when fortune has favoured you in similar situations. The nature of markets and the nature of humans creates an environment of imperfection. Perfectionism is an admirable quality to some degree, but can often be destructive and is likely to hinder you as a trader.

Want to be the best in the world? Watch Jason Day tell his amazing life story and how he overcame emotional and physical struggles in both golf and life. A great story of perseverance, not giving up, changing your life, not doubting yourself and so much more.

Full Wagon Theory

Imagine a bandwagon that is rolling forward at a quickened pace. Music that is very pleasing to the ear is being played from speakers on each side of this bandwagon, and a few people currently on the back of the wagon are partying, having the time of their lives. The music, loud and clear, starts to attract other onlookers that happen to be idly standing on the sidelines. These onlookers, unable to resist the sweet sounds being played, run to join the party that seems to be going on.

Progressively, more and more onlookers jump on the back of this bandwagon, and those few who were initially enjoying the first phase of the party begin to leave. As the crowd of new party guys on this bandwagon grows larger, the bandwagon finds it harder and harder to move forward at the same pace. It slows, enabling more and more late onlookers, witnessing the great fun, the chance to jump on.

The crowd grows even larger. Larger and larger this crowd grows, until the wagon completes almost 90%, already heavily loaded with the bodies of the drunkards, can no longer move forward. It finally comes to a complete stop. Now that the bandwagon is at a complete standstill, more people jump on. And why not? At this point, joining the fun is easy. Absolutely no work is required, for individuals wanting to join the crowd no longer have to run to jump on board.

The nature of the bandwagon is to move forward. Its motionless state is unnatural, and therefore cannot last. It tries to move forward again, but can’t. The crowd, piled on back, is much too large. It must free itself of the heavy burden. And it does. It quickly shifts into reverse, and jolts backward, knocking a few of the party guys off the back. The music stops. Puzzled faces from the crowd begin to emerge. Before anyone figures out what’s going on, another backward jerk takes place, only this one is more violent. Another large group of people gets thrown off the back. Now, reality sets in. The fun has turned into a nightmare of epic proportions, and panic begins to run rampant. Some decide to jump to their deaths. Another thrust backwards sends an even larger group of drunken, off balance people, hurling to the muddy ground. It doesn’t stop. The jolts backward continue, each successive one more violent than the last. At this point, only a few die-hard wagon dwellers are holding on, their very lives hanging in the balance by a very thin thread. Failing to be completely free, the bandwagon angrily puts the pedal to the metal, and this final thrust backward is so vicious that its front wheels lift high off the ground, momentarily suspending the wagon in a perpendicular position. The last of the hangers-on crash to the ground, broken and maimed to no end.

At this point, a new group of onlookers emerge from the nearby woods. They are clean and serene. Each movement they make is deliberate and powerfully energetic, for they did not take part in the tragedy that just transpired. Or did they? A few of the dejected souls lying on the ground take a closer look, a look that reveals something very interesting. This seemingly new group is not new at all. It is the same group that was seen quietly exiting the party before it came to its violent end. An even closer examination by a few more beaten-down onlookers reveals something even more stunning. This group not only exited the party early, they were the originators of it! “My God,” someone exclaims.

Paralyzed, and unable to move freely, all these dejected souls can do is watch, as the masters of the game go to work, again. No sooner does the bandwagon’s wheels hit the ground than this professional platoon bolts for the wagon. In a flash they are on board. Easy. The bandwagon, now free of the larger crowd, can move forward freely and gracefully, comfortably carrying the more astute group with it.

Its pace quickens, and before long a smooth elegant stride is in place. After a few miles of uninterrupted movement, someone from this masterful group flips on a switch, and suddenly the loud sounds of entertaining music start again. Someone yells, “OK everyone. Here they come. Let’s do it again.” Within moments, those who were the former victims of the backward crash become interested again. The music almost calling them from the grave. And once more, the never-ending cycle repeats.

Mind Over Market

Awesome video interview with Mark Douglas. It is about 60 minutes long and it is not suited for those with short attention spans. Then again this video covers the essence of what it takes to be a great trader and what you need to do in order to acquire the set of mental skills to take your trading to the next level.

As Mark Douglas says: You need to ‘change your thinking’.

The goal is to reach a ‘care-free state of mind’. When a pattern presents itself, don’t think. There’s nothing to think about. Take the trade because you have an edge. Then odds, probability and your risk control mechanisms will take care of everything.

In the end, the key is to learn more about yourself. The most important lesson though is the importance of viewing every single trade as being part of a series of trades. No magic there, just plain and simple math and a bit of psychology to fight irrational fears.

You only have to realize it is a game of probability. Something that he talks about extensively in his book ‘Trading in the Zone’:

-Anything can happen.
-You can make money without knowing what is going to happen.
-There's random distribution of wins and losses that define an edge.
-An edge is just the probability of one thing happening over another.
-Every moment is unique.

In other words, based on the past performance of your edge, you may know that out of the next 20 trades, 12 will be winners and 8 will be losers. What you don’t know is the sequence of wins and losses or how much money the market is going to make available on the winning trades. This truth makes trading a probability game.

When you really believe that trading is simply a probability game, concepts like ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ or ‘win’ and ‘lose’ no longer have the same significance. As a result, your expectations will be in harmony with the possibilities.

There is an inverse relationship between analysis and trading results. More analysis or being able to make distinctions in the market’s behavior will not produce better trading results.

There are many traders who find themselves caught in this loop, thinking that more or better analysis is going to give them the confidence they need to do what needs to be done to achieve success.

It’s a trading paradox that most traders find difficult, if not impossible to reconcile, until they realize you can’t use analysis to overcome fear of being wrong or losing money. It just doesn’t work!

Battling the Ego

There is something about yourself that you don't know. Something that you will deny even exists until it's too late to do anything about it. It's the only reason you get up in the morning, the only reason you suffer the shitty boss, the blood, the sweat and the tears. This is because you want people to know how good, attractive, generous, funny, wild and clever you really are. "Fear or revere me, but please think I'm special". We share an addiction. We're approval junkies. We're all in it for the slap on the back and the gold watch. The "hip, hip, hoo-fucking-rah." Look at the clever boy with the badge, polishing his trophy. Shine on, you crazy diamond. Cos we're just monkeys wrapped in suits, begging for the approval of others.

We’re all human, we don’t want to admit that we are wrong about anything, including trades. The ego wants to uphold an ideal version of ourselves that allows for only successes and not failures. Many traders collectively lose millions of dollars trying to protect the ego’s version of reality. Our goal should be to trade without ego.

“The greatest enemy will hide in the last place you would ever look.” Julius Caesar 75 BC

You must recognize what is keeping you from taking your trading to the next level. The majority of the time, it’s your ego. How many times have you made a great trade and walked away with your your chest puffed out thinking 'I am the greatest trader in the world?'

“The only way to get smarter is by playing a smarter opponent.” Fundamentals of Chess 1883

The market always remind you who is in charge. Try to approach each trade the same, forget about each previous trade when entering a new one. Reset your mind and expect to lose money on each trade, and this should help you get over the super-trader ego after a nice winning trade! Ego must be left out of your trading. Check your ego at the door, have a stop loss, and stick to your plan.

Bamboo Lesson

A great lesson of patience, persistence and hard work can be learned from the story of planting Chinese bamboo. Unlike most other plants, Chinese bamboo is quite unique on its own.

When this bamboo is planted and nurtured for the whole growing season, it does not outwardly develop even just for an inch. Then, on the next growing season, the farmer must continue to irrigate, fertilize and care for the bamboo tree and yet nothing happens.

The next seasons, the farmer has to continue caring for the bamboo for four consecutive years without nothing substantial to demonstrate for all of his labor in caring and growing the tree. Four lonely years of hard work and caring and nothing!

And then on the fifth year, the bamboo tree shoots up to more than 80 feet all in just one growing season! Now, that is a very astonishing demonstration of the power of nature!

The little tree was actually developing itself underground by expanding its root system to make it tough enough to sustain its impending external growth in the fifth year and even beyond.

This story is similar to our trading career. As traders, we have to patiently exert efforts in learning and disciplining to develop right skills and to adopt strong character while at the same time defeat many difficulties and different challenges.

We can work for many years with no visible signs of progress and then, all of the sudden, things take off. Our business becomes profitable. All of this requires faith and perseverance.

The Chinese bamboo tree farmers have faith that if they keep watering and fertilizing the ground, the tree will break through.

Well, we must have the same kind of faith, whether it is to run our trading business. We must have faith that if you keep making the right work, we too will see growth in the future.

This is the hard part for most of us. We can't wait. It may take years, but finally, the roots will take hold and our tree will grow and when it does, it will grow in remarkable ways. We all have a bamboo tree inside of us just waiting to break through. Don't give up!

Missing Trades

One tick happens and world is divided between winners and losers.

Sometimes the difference between a winner and a loser is only a millimeter, according to Tony Robbins, who tells about his learning curve with golf. Everyone approaches winning in a different way. Some run toward it, some inch toward it and some run from it hoping to meet it in another time and place.

"Actually, if you approach the ball and change the angle you are attacking just one or two millimeters in the beginning, it changes the arc. One millimeter off and you are in the green or in the water."

"You're only one millimeter away. If nothing's working, there's only one little thing you can change and it will change everything".

Tony recalls that as a teenager he made enormous demands on himself, doing whatever it took to achieve. He elaborates in this short video that this is the difference between successful people and what they do and what failures won’t do.



Al Pacino, "Any Given Sunday"

You find out life is a game of inches. And so is TRADING. Because in either game, life or trading, the margin for error is so small, I mean one half a step too late or too early, and you don't quite make it.

One half second too slow, too fast, you don't quite catch it. The ticks we need are EVERYWHERE around us. They're in every break of the market, every minute, every second.

I'll tell ya this ... in any trade, it's the guy willing to lose who's gonna win that tick. And I know if I'm going to have any chance any more, it's because I'm still willing to FIGHT and willing to LOSE for that tick.

Because that's what TRADING is. The next tick in front of your face.

Poker & Trading

Well there’s an old saying, the only thing you need to play this game is a chart and a mouse, but to sit down and win against the best, you need a lot more. Like Poker, Trading isn’t about winning or losing.

Trading is about making the right decision, when bet, fold or be more aggressive. Do not follow others, learn to make your own decisions. When luck shut the door, you got to come in through the window. And that’s where the skill comes in.

You got to have the courage to make decisions against your emotions. Courage doesn’t necessarily mean the absence of fear; but you got to swallow that pride. You got to close your trade when you know you’re beat. It doesn’t matter how good you are, everything can change when your money is in the market.

We don’t stop trading because we get old, we get old because we stop trading. That’s Trading, folks.


The poker and market comparison is inevitable. Even in a small group, the players reflect all segments of humanity, with strong parallels to market participants. Examples include the gamblers, the self-proclaimed know-it-alls, the bluffers, the sore losers, the sore winners ... you get the point. Just like the market.

Do not expect to win at poker [or the market] if you limit your time exposure, as probability requires time to play out in both cards and in the market. Bet strong and add to your position when you have a strong hand. This notion has had the greatest positive influence on trading. Size at the right time matters in both poker and trading, as one can make a month's worth of income on a single trade/hand.

Poker is more than just a card game, it can also help you become a winner away from the gaming tables. In The Tao of Poker, the poker player Larry Phillips offers some rules for success:

-Take the long view
-Once you commit to a hand, play it strong
-Don't throw in good money after bad
-If you think you're beat, get out

Try out these rules and watch your game, and your life, improve. Now you can be a winner at home, at work, and at the casino wherever the stakes for success are high!

Trading Career

The biggest challenge you face day to day isn't the market. It's yourself. Traders have a way of saddling themselves with unneeded extra emotional baggage that can weigh on their decision-making. The end result is emotional fatigue, frustration, and, possibly, under performance, but it doesn't have to be that difficult. The key is self-awareness. What stage of your trading career have you reached?

Stage 1: Welcome to the Game, Newbie. These traders can, and in a friendly market will often outperform even the best of traders in the short-term for the simple reason that they've never been burned. They can throw caution to the wind, oversize positions, be aggressive, and take stupid risks. These are folks that often love cult stocks with no hesitation to buy, hold, double-down, triple-down, then tell all their friends. Honestly, it's a whimsical carelessness I sometimes miss because it does open the door to a potentially huge gain.

Stage 2: I Didn't Know What I Didn't Know. The market eventually comes to collect her tuition. Thanks for playing Stage 1, but now it's time to pay the bill for your lack of experience and mispricing of risk. After some lumps, this player will step back, study, learn, adjust their approach. Maybe they will read a few books or trading articles.

Stage 3: Take the New Brain Out for a Test Drive. This's the experimental stage. After pulling back on the guns-a-blazing strategy, this stage trader will implement some of their newfound knowledge little pieces at a time. Often, new strategies are put to the test as the trader searches for self-identity. It is here, they grow up and mature. They can empathize with traders who have blown up, admire, rather than mock, successful traders, and hopefully, they find a niche.

Stage 4: I Need to Prove I'm Smarter Than the Market. This stage is dominated by those who, while often solid traders, seldom admit failures. They will defend their position in the face of overwhelming facts against it. They'll be right...eventually. From this stage 4, a trader heads to one of two places: back to stage 2 or move forward to stage 5. However, stage 4 can last for a very, very long time.

Stage 5: Congrats! You Made It. These traders go about their business like a silent assassin. They do their job. Hit their market. And don't crow about it. They accept that you trade what works. Period. It can be simple. It can be complex. But they do it without concern of proving anything to anyone or stroking an ego. Your mental health and bottom line are the only things that matter. Success is to be enjoyed, not flaunted. And despite reaching the hill, they will continue learning...