ZF Capital

You will need a sound approach – one that allows you to win at trading. It’s best to try to win on the grind: Plan on taking a small profit from a small number of trades. Don’t think of yourself as a take-off artist; rather, think of yourself as marketing an idea whenever you enter a trade.

– Peter Steidlmayer, Steidlmayer on Markets

In the early stages of your trading career, don’t worry too much about whether you should buy or sell, but rather about how you’ve executed whatever trade you’ve made. You’ll learn more from your trades that way.

– Peter Steidlmayer, Steidlmayer on Markets

Never forget that markets are made up of people. Think constantly about what others are doing, what they might do in the current circumstances, or what they might do when those circumstances change. Remember that whenever you buy and hope to sell higher, the person you sell to will have to see some opportunity at that higher price in order to be induced to buy.

– Peter Steidlmayer, Steidlmayer on Markets

Never assume that the unreasonable or the unexpected cannot happen. It can and it will.

– Peter Steidlmayer, Steidlmayer on Markets

Traders who lose follow one of several typical patterns. Some repeatedly suffer individual large losses that wipe out earlier gains or greatly increase a small loss. Others experience brief periods during which their trading wheels fall off; they lose discipline and control and make a series of bad trades as a result.

The wise trader makes many small trades, remains involved and constantly maintains and sharpens his feel for the market. For all of his work, he hopes to receive some profit, even if it is small in dollar terms. In addition, continual participation allows him to sense and recognize the few real opportunities when they arise. These generate the large rewards that make the effort of trading truly worthwhile.

– Peter Steidlmayer, Steidlmayer on Markets