The Traders Podcast with Rob Booker

In Episode 81, Rob interviews a hedge-fund trader who is a Wall Street veteran of 20 years. She goes by the moniker “Hedge Fund Girl.” She is a valuable guest, because her perspective is one that most retail traders would never get to hear otherwise. Rob asks Hedge Fund Girl whether trading is an art or a science. He also asks her if trading ever becomes more intuitive over time, the longer one spends in the business. Rob and Hedge Fund Girl talk about the difference between trading on a prop desk inside a bank versus investing as a manager of a fund at a bank. This leads to a conversation about the inner-workings of a proprietary trading desk on Wall Street. Rob asks what traders and investors on Wall Street are most afraid of now, and he asks Hedge Fund Girl what she loves most about working on Wall Street. You don’t want to miss this episode, because it is actually Part 1 of 2... That’s right — we tease a future, follow-up episode where Hedge Fund Girl will enumerate all the “Things That Retail Investors Should and Shouldn’t Do.” Links for this episode: Follow Hedge Fund Girl on Twitter: @Hedge_FundGirl

In Episode 80, your intrepid host, Rob Booker, reclines back on a leather chaise lounge chair and explores his deepest, inner child’s feelings with the great Adrienne Toghraie, author of 13 books about discipline and the psychology of trading. Adrienne is a literal expert at coaching traders, brokers and investors on their mental game when it comes to trading. You’ll hear for yourself that Adrienne is chock full of information about the psychology of trading. She talks to Rob about overcoming the real phenomenon of self-sabotage and the myriad fears that fuel it, such as the fear of success, fear of failure, fear of being wrong and the fear of losing. Rob and Adrienne discuss how beliefs lie beneath the psychology of trading and that trading is a trip of discovery about yourself. Adrienne also describes those who should be “intuitive discretionary traders” (and those who shouldn’t). Rob asks Adrienne whether trading is for everyone, and she gives a wise answer and backs it up with equally insightful explanations. In this episode you’ll get to hear Adrienne describe the passion that is required to be a great trader which goes beyond just wanting to make money. But speaking of money, Adrienne describes something that we all do internally which determines how much money we’ll make, and Rob and Adrienne also discuss “the energy of money.” Oh, and during this episode, Adrienne reveals a golden list of the habits of the very best traders that she’s ever worked with. So once again, we have another must-listen episode here. You can hear all of the above — and more — in Episode 80 of The Traders Podcast. Links for this episode: Adrienne’s Web site: Trading on Target.com P.S. We are pleased to report that this interview is one of at least two interviews on the Psychology of Trading. (Part 2 should be coming a week from today.) P.P.S. Thanks again, Ron, for recommending that we talk to Adrienne.

This episode features Rob Booker speaking with a trader named Brian Bice from South Georgia. Brian looks at the currency market, but not in the same way many traders are accustomed to looking at it. (See the chart and explanation below, and tune in to find out more.) Also in Episode 79, Brian shares a harrowing and cautionary tale about what happened when he let a trade go for too long, which prompts a question that we address, which is: If you just hold out in your losing trade for long enough, the market will eventually come back, right? Rob also talks about how letting a losing trade go too long affects a trader’s character, how trading can get “really bad, really fast,” and Rob discusses the somewhat unholy practice of “cost-averaging.” Despite some Internet connectivity blips here and there, this is a must-listen episode: Brian was very gracious to share his valuable story with us, so you don’t want to miss this one! Follow Brian on Twitter: @BiceRFC A note from Brian about the chart below: The boxes on the charts represent the opening ranges of the three trading sessions (Asian, European and U.S.). The lines on the bottom show each currency for a quick reference of which currencies are moving up or down — a linear “heat map,” so to speak. This aids in choosing which pairs to choose and deciding in which direction to enter a trade based upon a single currencies price movement.

In today’s episode, Rob Booker talks with Chris Davison, his partner in building automated trading systems. You’ll hear Rob and Chris discuss the role that automated systems might play in a trader’s discovery of ways to make money. Rob and Chris discuss how to get experience in the markets without spending a great deal of money to get that experience. Their answer: discretionary trading and simultaneously running some automated strategies in the background as a method for learning the process of making the decisions for yourself. And they consider whether this is a prudent approach ... or not. Rob addresses his most common post-seminar question: What do you do now that you’ve attended this live seminar? Rob asks Chris if he makes distinctions among high-frequency trading and long-term trading and medium-term trading when talking about automated systems. They explain how the exchanges and the brokers love scalpers. Rob asks Chris how much draw-down he can withstand. Chris offers his theories about why 95% of traders lose, and his “Wibbley-Wobbly Line Theory.” And, of course, Chris answers the classic question: Is it possible for a retail trader to make money? Join us — you'll love it! Links for this episode: MetroTrader.net Chris’s blog: ChasingPips.blogspot.com - where he documents the ups and downs of trading automated systems Follow Rob on Twitter: @RobBooker and see Rob retweet anything that Chris ever says.

In this show Rob Booker talks with Scott Welsh, a professional trader and tennis pro who coaches peak-performance athletes. You’ll hear Rob and Scott address the question, “Who are the so-called ‘Big Boys’ on Wall Street, and how can the common trader compete with them?” Rob explains why there isn’t really a winner for every loser, and he discusses why a zero-sum game in trading is a ridiculous notion. Scott warns against letting anything external psych you out of your trading. Rob and Scott also discuss questions relating to the magnitude of a trader’s wins, such as how does one know when one has a big enough win? Rob talks about those poor souls who don’t close-out their winning trades, and Scott describes his process for determining his winners. All of this and more is free and valuable audio content brought to you by The Traders Podcast. Listen and subscribe! Links from this episode: Follow Scott on Twitter: @SWelsh66 Join Rob and Scott's Sunday night Webinars: Rob Booker.com — Simply add your e-mail address, and you'll get an invitation to attend the Sunday night Webinars with Rob and Scott.

In this harbinger of an episode, Rob Booker talks with David Rodriguez, a currency strategist at Daily FX.com, about a broad-based, macroeconomic picture and the potential perils that lie ahead in the next month. Rob and David begin by discussing the state of trading for the summer of 2012, August in particular, while commenting on the market’s recent lack of volatility and how that condition has been rather kind to traders. This leads into a sober chat about some warning signs on the horizon that could cause volatility in the market. David mentions that in September, there are three huge macroeconomic risks fast approaching, namely: U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls, the European Central Bank announcing monetary policy, and a German Constitutional Court ruling, which David describes as a ruling on the legality of the European stability mechanism (the EU Bailout). And Rob mentions that there’s also the upcoming Jackson Hole meetings and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s announcements. Also in this action-packed episode, Rob and David talk about the VIX (aka “The Fear Index”); whether low volatility leads to high volatility; the risk-on, risk-off trade; and you’ll hear David’s surprising advice for how to proceed when times are tough. Believe us — you don’t want to miss this one! Links for this episode: Daily FX.com David on Twitter: @DRodriguezFX The Third Annual FXCM Expo November 2, 3, and 4, 2012 in Las Vegas Register for free: FXCMexpo.com

Rob Booker and special guest Jennifer Thornburg answer some “world-famous questions” — that are not necessarily the right questions — to ask on your pursuit to become a successful trader. This episode is designed to help you ask the right questions. Here are some examples of the less important questions that Rob and Jennifer commonly hear, and discuss during this episode: Does it matter to know how often a trading system wins? How often am I going to win? How long until I have another win? How many trades does a particular system produce? Or, in other words, the two F’s: the frequency with which we win, and the frequency with which we trade... Does the system produce the results, or does the trader produce the results? Etc. Jennifer also talks about the importance of knowing yourself as a trader and suggests that maintaining a detailed trading notebook can be an insightful tool when reflecting back on your previous trading activities and motivations. All of this valuable information and more can be heard in Episode 75, so please listen and subscribe! Links from this episode: Jennifer's Web site: jennifer.bz Jennifer on Twitter: @JenTho3 Book: The Money Game by Adam Smith

We’ve got a technical, sort of, how-to episode for you today. Rob Booker explores the concept of divergence with Bradley Fried, the CEO of Rob Booker Japan. Rob and Brad discuss Wallaby Trading and how it works. They discuss risk-to-reward ratios of 8:1 and 10:1, and they talk about how this is a possibility for anyone! Brad and Rob discuss other oscillators or indicators that a trader can use to track divergence, such as The Wallaby Oscillator, Relative Strength Index (RSI), CCI, Stochastic Oscillator, MACD, et al. They briefly discuss settings for oscillators and Rob even asks Brad to share his win-percentage from his last month of trading. Very fun, right? So, tune in, and be sure to check out the valuable links and charts below! Thanks for listening. Links for this episode: Download: Free Indicator Book: The Wallaby Trade Book: Adventures of a Currency Trader Rob's eBook: Trading Naked The Million Dollar Wallabot The Edge Trading Video Series And here are two examples of Wallaby Trades in action, courtesy of Bradley Fried:

During this silly, soul-searching, self-assessing show, your intrepid host, Rob Booker, talks to Dan Polinsky, a trader and humorist who lives in Southern California, about the pervasive phenomenon of money loss in the headlines and all around, except for a few successful companies. Rob asks Dan if it’s even realistic for a trader to expect to make money in this economic climate. And revisiting a popular question that has been discussed on this podcast before (and surely will again), Rob asks Dan how long a trader should expect it to take before he or she can start making money. Please join us, and leave us your thoughts in the comments below.

Your host, Rob Booker, is joined by Traders Podcast producer, Jason Pyles, to discuss how HBO’s exceptional television series “The Wire” relates to trading for a living. Rob draws parallels between how Avon Barksdale and his nephew, D’Angelo Barksdale — two characters from “The Wire” TV series — approach the drug trade in Baltimore, Maryland. So, if you've ever wondered how your approach to trading compares to the way a druglord runs his empire, then please join us for another colorful episode of The Traders Podcast. We think you’ll have a good time. Links for this episode: The Wire Cast for The Wire The Edge Trading Video Series Jason's movie reviews on Twitter: @MovieCastWeekly

For this continuation from our previous episode, when Rob Booker critiqued Matthew Carstens’s article, 3 Reasons Why Demo Trading Is Killing You, The Traders Podcast invited Matthew (the founder of Rogue Red and the creator of TradingWheels) to appear as our guest, and he courageously agreed. Rob discusses the war between demo trading and live trading, suggesting that this controversy continues at every expo, conference, webinar and online forum, where demo traders are criticized because of the lack of emotion in demo trading, while live traders are criticized for trading with real money before they’re ready! So, in Episode 71, Matthew talks about a bridge that can bring those two sides together. Is there a way to do both? Is there an answer to this dilemma? Matthew Carstens thinks so... Tune in and found out why! Links for this episode: Article: 3 Reasons Why Demo Trading Is Killing You Matthew Carstens's links: About.Me TradingWheels TradingWheels on Facebook @TradingWheels The Edge Trading Video Series

In this episode Rob Booker addresses a blog post on Forex Crunch.com written by Matthew Carstens, the founder of Rogue Red and the creator of TradingWheels. The article is titled 3 Reasons Why Demo Trading Is Killing You. Read it over if you get a chance, Traders, in preparation for this episode. Rob disagrees with the premise of Matthew’s article. He responds to each of Matthew’s 3 reasons with rebuttals, while including a few Olympian metaphors along the way. So, don’t miss this episode, and in the meantime, we’ll try to line up a follow-up interview with Matthew Carstens himself for our next episode to give Matthew a chance to respond to Rob’s critiques of the article. Links for this episode: Article: 3 Reasons Why Demo Trading Is Killing You Matthew Carstens's links: About.Me TradingWheels TradingWheels on Facebook @TradingWheels Forex Crunch.com The Edge Trading Video Series

Here we have a very special episode with your host, Rob Booker, where he talks very candidly about trading for a living. During this show, Rob provides some factoids from the London Olympic Games 2012 (which relate back to trading, naturally). And most importantly, Rob delivers three points on how to treat your live trading account like a demo account. Rob talks about the percentage of people who want to trade for a living but never do it. He also encourages traders to stop thinking about what other people have done — or have not been able to do. And Rob warns against constantly comparing ourselves to other people. In Episode 69, Rob answer the question: How smart do you need to be to trade for a living? His answer will surprise you... So join us, and please leave a comment and let us know how you found The Traders Podcast. Thanks for listening.

In what we hope will be an answer to many prayers, your intrepid host, Rob Booker, gives some experienced counsel on how to share what you do with the people that you love, and how to get them to come onboard and buy in to what you’re doing. So, if you’ve ever had trouble talking to your spouse about your trading career — or if you fear such an upcoming conversation — then this episode is definitely for you! Rob talks about the reality of what it’s like to learn to trade for a living, and when to tell your significant other that he or she can expect a pay-off, to answer the most commonly asked question, “When are you going to start making money at trading?” Rob will also explain the importance of managing expectations and how you can know if you’re a good fit for “the job of trading” for a life-long career — and much more! Please listen and subscribe. Note: A special thanks goes out to David, from Melbourne, Australia, for suggesting the topic for this episode. Thank you, David. Traders, if you have a burning question or some topic in mind that you’d like to hear Rob discuss on the show, e-mail it to us at producer@traderspodcast.com, and we’ll see what we can do to cover your suggestion.

This very special episode is a Traders Podcast Retrospective, which means we'll be revisiting some of the highlights (according to producer Jason Pyles) from among the first 66 episodes of the show. The objective of this episode is to lure newer listeners back into our archives to catch up on all 22+ hours of The Traders Podcast. Faithful listeners will recognize excerpts from previous shows where Rob and his guests discussed The Unique Ability, the film "Wall Street" and the idea that greed is good, peak-performance training and trading, and why we trade for a living. Jason will guide your tour on this walk down memory lane, and he'll even share a Rob Booker story from Wheeling, West Virginia — back when we ran our previous podcast, Trader Radio.