AN AFTERNOON WITH TROPICAL TRADER Contents: *Trading Journey/Timeline *Mistakes Made &Lessons Learned *Mental Framework *Trader State *Managing Trader State *Some Technology “Hacks”AYE Thapical Trader futuresTRADING JOURNEY/TIMELINE 2009-2011 | discover forex trading via an article on an internet marketing forum, | start spending my spare time learning alll can. 1 spend a lot of time on forex trading forums. Exploration of chart patterns, trading systems, indicators, more indicators, forex educators, etc. I'm determined to investigate as many ways to trade as possible so | can choose the best long term approach - and |’m also trying to make money which results in blowing up lots of small forex accounts. | experience a lot of the scammy side, shady brokers, fake gurus, overhyped courses, etc.TRADING JOURNEY/TIMELINE 2012 After 3 years and no signs of consistent profits, | decided that I needed professional help. Research led me to “prop firms” and in 2012 | was fortunate to get a work-trade style apprenticeship at a local Canadian branch of a US equities firm. | made a big change and moved to the suburbs. Being ina professional environment for 6 months was a big eye opener in many ways, although | didn’t receive the trading education that | was seeking. Their main educational materials were on spread trading aka pair trading. After experimenting with that approach, | realized that | was most passionate about directional trading. | was also scraping by financially & didn’t have the funds needed to join the firm.TRADING JOURNEY/TIMELINE 2013-2015 Automation, Backtesting, System Design. | realized that | was the problem and decided the solution was automation. Many months spent backtesting systems. Hiring coders, learning some programming, still looking at/trying out trading systems from forums, but not experiencing any consistent success. Most of the automated strategies looked promising in the backtests | was doing but didn’t survive the forward tests. | was experimenting with forex correlations and working a lot with Renko bricks & automating Renko strategiesTRADING JOURNEY/TIMELINE 2016 - 2017 In early 2016 | was starting to get really burnt out. | felt extremely frustrated, feeling like | had wasted so much of my precious time and that | might be hopeless as a trader. | felt totally stuck as each of my attempts to trade the systems | had spent months designing & backtesting resulted in blown up accounts. By summer of 2016 | decided to pause trading and pursue music production and DJing. This was a passion | had been putting off for years & | started putting all my free time went into that. Many of my friends were involved & | started DJing at local parties & festivals. | took a long break from trading.TRADING JOURNEY/TIMELINE 2018 In the spring of 2018 one day | discovered the Chat with Traders podcast by Aaron Fifield. | was curious and started listening to various episodes and other people's stories. After hearing of other traders struggles & successes, some important seeds were planted about trading psychology. My ecommerce business wasn’t doing so well anymore and | really wanted to have my dream career. | started spending all my free time listening to Youtube videos on psychology with: Dr. Brett Steenbarger, Dr. Andrew Menaker & Mark Douglas. | would listen to the same audio tracks dozens of times, taking notes, realizing | needed to change how | thought about trading on much deeper levels then | was aware of.TRADING JOURNEY/TIMELINE 2019 In January 2019, thanks to a Chat with Traders episode, I discovered FuturesTrader71 and resonated very deeply with his interviews. | realized that it was time to let go of alll thought | knew about trading and start my education process again as a humble student. | joined FT71’s membership community at ConvergentTrading. | become a more dilligent student then ever before & doubled down my focus. High quality trading info plus getting into the mindset of a professional trader was just what | needed. | worked on identifying and fixing my weaknesses. Things start to click. | was able to integrate some of my previous work with Renko, combining it with Volume Profile & recreated my trading style as a discretionary trader.TRADING JOURNEY/TIMELINE Finally | begin experiencing consistency and self-control. A new level of self confidence arises. I'm committed to getting better everyday and taking the daily steps to achieve this. | keep reading/listening to books relevant to trading psychology. | start a thread on Futures.io to share my journey.SOME OF THE MANY MISTAKES | MADE Not respecting the Development Process Trading live way too early, causing emotional trauma Not correcting weaknesses, (a recipe for staying stuck) Eating like a bird, crapping like an elephant (fear) “Big Deals” aka Locked In Scenarios Impatience, wanting to “make things happen” Confusion, inability to process the data effectively Not finding the right mentors that were true professionalsLESSONS LEARNED PART1 Know the Role: Online Trading Athlete. Emotional/Revenge Trading Kills Choose Your Trading Style Wisely Know Your Edges Very Well a Undercontrolled vs Overcontrolled Behaviors. i Amydala Hijackings and Chimp ModeTHIS 1S YOUR BRAIN ON FEAR futuresSome LESSONS LEARNED PART2 Focus on Constant Improvement - XS The Importance of Pre-Routine, Post-Rot Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset It’s Not a Sprint, it’s a Marathon! Identify and Correct Weaknesses Professionals Use Better Information Consistency Comes from Being in a Consistent akMENTAL FRAMEWORK /\\ /\\ >, /|\. ANeRy oR scaReD /\\ Pissing Pieces CONFIDENCE EXPERTISE /\ Z\\ > /\ AWARE /\ ruELLeD CONCENTRATION CONTROLTRADER STATE Emotional Stability & Self Control Ability to Concentrate & Focus on the Market Being truly confident in your edge/s The discipline to take breaks or not trade when you’re feeling mentally/emotionally/energetically off your game Being free of distractions while trading Having enough energy, vitality & enthusiasm Balancing your trading & your relationships Ability to forgive yourself for mistakes & imperfections Not measuring your success or self worth by p-n-IMANAGING TRADER STATE emWave2 by HearthMath © Heart Rate Variability = Breath Guider '’ < 7 Very helpful for making sure I’m in the right state to be trading. > TRooical Trader © futuresMANAGING TRADER STATE Breath Practice & Live Feedback with the emWave2 30 Minute Pre-Routine Every Time | Trade Body is Relaxed, Stretched, Comfortable, Good Posture J Listen to Relaxing Music & Trade Affirmations 2 full-page Trading Reminder Pages + Statistics List Regular Cardio, Stretching, Weight Lifting Healthy Diet, minimal processed foods and sugar Visualization of Desired State Outside of Market Hours Journaling if | need to process something emotionally Constantly Asserting Narratives | Prefer To Believe Zero Distractions except alerts for major news releases | video record every session and skim-watch it later | utilize a Caregiver Archetype to Talk Myself Into State CONFIDENCE ~ EXPERTISE ~ CONCENTRATION ~ CONTROL7 MAsvoR CHALLENGES BY DR. ANDREW MENAKER 1. Fear - 4 major fears: being wrong, losing money missing out, leaving money on the table 2. Self Responsibility - being responsible for your emotions and behavior 3. Uncertainty - being able to handle it 4. Imperfection - you’re not perfect, can you handle it? 5. Lack of Prec ion - rarely do things work out precisely 6. Handling Loss - loss aversion and fight/flight =p - =“ “ne is clearSome TECHNOLOGY “HACKS Record Your Trading & Watch it Later! | use a free software called OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) Record the market when you're not trading and watch it later. (without any emotions involved) Journal while trading, after trades, etc. | use a free Slack account for this External Numpad - programmed for order entry Alerts Software - for news alerts and state checks Enforced Daily Loss Limit (Rithmic offers this feature)EXTERNAL NUMPAD FOR ORDERS Faster Order Entry Topical Trader Buy Market Sell Market Lot Size Flatten & Cancel Brackets On/Off © futuresTagicalHow | TRADE OVERVIEW 3 “Timeframe” Approach Higher “Timeframe” Daily and Weekly TPO Charts (Market Profile) Trading “Timeframe” Renko bars - size is adjusted with the volatility Lower “Timeframe” Footprint charts (point & figure) plus Bookmap I have some renko setups that | use when it aligns with the context (higher “timeframe”) and order flow (lower “timeframe”) also utilize statistics that | learned at ConvergentTrading plus volume profile day types and other patterns that | recognize.