What attracted you to trading?

My dad was a full-time options trader, so I was exposed to the financial markets relatively young. I quickly realized that trading is one of the few careers that allows you to have complete control of your time while also not having any absolute income cap. I fell in love with the concept that your input both in time and effort has a direct result in your income. What you put in is what you get out.

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How long have you been trading?

I began trading in 2013. I got my start in equities and equity options trading but was never really a fan of forex. In 2015 I began learning about crypto, and in 2016 I shifted the majority of my focus from equities to crypto.

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How long did it take you to become profitable?

My first few years of trading had endless boom and bust cycles of being profitable and then losing most of it. Becoming profitable was never difficult; keeping the profits was.

I did really well in 17/18, but obviously lost the majority of it, along with everyone else, when the market crashed. I spent the bear market putting in countless hours to refine my craft. With the newfound lessons I learned from the market crash, I became a long-term profitable trader. The bear market had the greatest influence on me in terms of the progression of skill and emotional control as a trader.

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“BECOMING PROFITABLE WAS NEVER DIFFICULT; KEEPING THE PROFITS WAS.”

— ALTCOINPSYCHO

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Do you have a daily routine?

To be honest, I don't like routine and I don't have a daily one. For whatever reason, I operate best when I'm just going off what I intuitively feel like doing for the day rather than a set routine. The only exception to this is exercising daily, and as of late, trying to avoid screen time before bed.

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What's the worst thing about trading?

For crypto, I would say it's the speed of the 24-hour market. It can burn you out quickly, and if you don't learn to control it, it will control you. I have many friends who got into trading for the freedom, yet ironically became slaves to the charts.

It can be hard stepping away from the screens when you feel like there's always money to be made in a trade.

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WHAT’S YOUR MOST MEMORABLE TRADE?

My first crypto trade: ETH at ~$15.  It was more of an investment rather than a trade, but it was one of those things that I knew would either be worth $0 or worth a lot of money in a few years.

WHAT’S THE BEST TRADING ADVICE YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN?

• If you've made life-changing money, use it to change your life.
• Money is made in the middle, don't obsess over tops and bottoms.
• Almost no one has ever made and kept meaningful wealth by being a bear.

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TRADING:

What's the most important quality in a trader?

I believe it's the consistent ability to delay gratification. Most people that play the markets are short term thinkers. It makes sense - they were likely attracted to this game by the allure of making a lot of money. Short term thinkers tend to be more emotional. They are the people who get bearish at support and bullish at resistance. People who can play the long game are the ones who tend to perform best. After all, if an investment doesn't make you a little uncomfortable, then you likely aren't early to the trade.

Why do you think you have success trading?

I've learned to get good at sitting on my hands and doing nothing when I don't have a clear read on the market.

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

You can synthetically create downside insurance on your positions if you invest in tokens with strong single side staking rewards.

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

Listening to your gut. Trading can be just as intuitive as logical, but as traders, we tend to overcompensate with our minds and neglect our intuition.

You either have that level of intuition, or you don't. It sounds harsh, but most people aren't cut out for this life and will eventually be net-negative on their lifetime PNL. Some people have the ability to be in sync with markets, while most do not.

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

Find a close group of friends you can learn with, share alpha with, and learn the painful lessons with. Having a close support group in this space is invaluable. Trading can bring tears of happiness, but it can also bring tears of panic. Both ends of that spectrum are better as a group experience.

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“TRADING CAN BRING TEARS OF HAPPINESS, BUT IT CAN ALSO BRING TEARS OF PANIC. BOTH ENDS OF THAT SPECTRUM ARE BETTER AS A GROUP EXPERIENCE.”

— ALTCOINPSYCHO

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FILL IN THE BLANKS

• Most traders would be better off doing nothing.
• What separates the pros from the rest is tenacity and grit.
• A good trader should never care what other traders are doing.
• The biggest misconception about trading is how it is glamorized on social media.
  

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FINAL THOUGHT

Anyone who claims to know the "secrets" of trading has something to sell you. Assume everything you see on Twitter is a LARP.

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