We’re at it again! Our 2nd ever in person video podcast. The special little twist this time is I’m checking in with our esteemed co-host “Chezz”. He was the guest on episode #1, so yeah, it’s been awhile since we’ve gotten an update on his trading journey in the markets. We talk about an abundance of issues including how important it is to factor in “life events” with trading goals. Chezz and I talk about what I believe to be very practical tips and considerations that need to be made in order to assist yourself in improving as a trader most efficiently. If you normally listen to the podcast, be sure to check out our YouTube channel or show notes page to watch the video.
Notes:
Today we interview Chezz, the cohost of the podcast while we were in Columbus for a community meetup. We pick up the story from 2 years ago when he did his first podcast.
To summarize, Chezz quit his job and decided to trade full time after going through the courses and paper traded for many months. He directionally traded long options but struggled with the fact that he may loser 7 out of 10 trades. While he didn’t blow up his account, he mentally struggled with the success rate.
Chezz would go through 6+ hours of content at a day at a minimum and it was definitely overload. You need to pace yourself as you venture into something new. You can’t learn a brand new trade overnight and everyone will take a different amount of time to digest what is taught.
After giving forex a try, Chezz started trading advanced options. While he was finding success, he wasn’t pleased with the returns. Waiting 21 days for a trade to play out to make a few hundred dollars didn’t seem like a feasible way to make a living. This led him to trade futures for faster returns.
That futures account he funded was strictly to pay for bills related to his wedding. While he almost doubled that account, he took a big string of losers when the market was in consolidation and he says the best thing he ever did was stop trading a few weeks prior to the wedding. Big life events will affect your trading especially if you tie those funds to a tangible purchase you’re trying to make. Your trading capital should be looked at as working capital and that’s it.
Chezz is back to trading advanced options since he’s always found the most success with that vehicle and his confidence comes from understanding how to spot trades and how to manage trades that go wrong.
Quotes:
“I realized I needed something with structure and closed my SureTrader account to pour the remainder of it into my education.”
“I had trouble accepting I was wrong 70% of the time. Mentally I couldn’t handle it.”
“I promise you that big events in your life will affect trading. It sits in the back of your mind and makes you do foolish things.”
“Foolish me, I’m either going to blow this account up or I’m going to recover. Stupidest trading I’ve ever done.”
“Recognizing that it’s a numbers game helped me overcome the recency effect. It still sucks to lose money but it’s the long game.”
