P e t r i R e d e l i n g h u y s / / @ Tr a d e r P e t r i
A Day in the Life
T A K I N G B A B Y S T E P S
• It all started with pips
- Sitting at my dads dining
room table trading a demo account
• I knew then that this was my
path in life
• Started taking steps to learn
about what I needed to learn
- Tracking down and talking
to brokers
- Going to events and
networking
- Asking a lot of questions - Taking opportunities to sit in
trading rooms for a day
• By hook and by crook I got
into a bank
- The first step to getting into
the finance game
- Started buying shares with
my savings
• My first trades were
• I worked for knowledge,
not for money
- This is an attitude I will
always have
- Work for what you can
learn, not what you can earn
• Spent some time working
as a sales guy for companies teaching
people technical analysis
• Took the plunge and went
all in
• Feeling armed and ready I
joined Cratos Capital
- My false impression of
how easy day trading was was quickly
shattered
• I fell into every pitfall
you can think of:
- Overtrading
- Trading too big - Revenge trading
- Trading without a plan - Not predefining risk
- Trading out of fear and
greed
• I burned all my capital in a
few months
• I learned some of the
hardest and most
important lessons of my life in that room
- Don’t predict just follow - The market is bigger
than you
- Don’t forget the
big picture
- Don’t lose discipline
- Emotions can take over - Learn when to sit on
your hands
- Humility
T A K I N G T H E P L U N G E
- H A R D T R U T H S
• After Cratos I was poor
and penniless
• I took an opportunity to sit in
the Durban office of SA
Stockbrokers to work for no money, but gain experience
• After about 5 months I had
to come back to JHB
• I spent 2 months writing
RPE’s and applying for jobs
• I got an opportunity to work
for a Hedge Fund firm in Cape Town
T H E D R E A M S T A R T E D C O M I N G T R U E
• I spent 2 years in Cape
Town learning and gaining experience
• Started managing money
• Learned that I was capable
of accumulating over time
• Built confidence in my own
abilities
• Eventually I left Cape Town
to come back to
Johannesburg and joined Inkunzi
• There is no real degree
that you can do at varsity that will prepare you for what trading entails
• If you want to trade for
clients you will need a recognised qualification
- RPE’s - SAIFM
- RE’s - Moonstone or any
FAIS examination centre
- An economics or finance
degree would be helpful, but is not required
• I am currently doing a
CMT qualification in order further my own personal development as a trader
• You need passion
- I’ve been told this a
thousand times over and never really
understood it until
reaching a trading desk became my only option
• You need to come with
a track record of your own trades
• Money must not be your
motivator
• Wake up and check the
overnight session (offshore markets) while still in bed
• Either have breakfast or
make a smoothie
- 2 eggs, fruit (banana or
berries or mixed fruit), plain greek yogurt (4 - 6 table spoons), handful of low GI oats, table spoon of honey…. blend that tasty mofo
- Good breakfast helps you
focus the whole day
• Take a shower, get dressed
and head in to the office
- Usually on my phone and
talk to other traders while in traffic
- It helps to talk to people to
share information
• Arrive at the office, boot
PC and have a coffee on the balcony
• Have a more detailed
look at what happened overnight
- Look at charts and levels - Look for big stories that
broke that I might have missed
• Upcoming news events
for the day
- www.forexfactory.com
- www.tradingeconomics.com
• Go through the SENS feed
to see if there is anything of interest in there
- Looking for stocks in play - Developments on stocks
that I am following
• Check twitter to get a
sense of the mood for
the market
• Looking for general
feeling of tweeters who are, to me, the best
around >> • @HammeringStuff • @RANsquawk • @Storm_Trading • @JediEconomist • @CalConfidence
P R E - M A R K E T O P E N
• Go through charts on
local stocks and indices
- Check for levels - Developing setups
- Track progress of open
overnight trades
• Futures open
• Get on the phone with
clients and form a game plan for the day
• Place orders in the
auction call period
•
Equity market opens
-
Are there any
opportunities from
stocks opening too
high or too low (usually
duel listed’s or
holding companies or
sectoral plays)
•
Look for opportunities
and setups in stocks
that are in play
•
Continuous trading till
about 11:00
•
Break for coffee and
start thinking about food
Looking for: •Algos •Big buyers or sellers •Icebergs
R E A D I N G T H E P R I C E A C T I O N
• Time to eat again
- Can’t eat things that will
give you the slump
• Stand on the balcony a
little bit and let my mind go
- Not too much as it might
not come back…
• Cycle through all the charts
again to check for progress on open trades and see
developments on stocks in play
• Talk to other traders to see
where they are and if
anyone else is in the same trades I am
• Scour the SENS feed for
something I may have missed during the
morning session
• Back to continuous trading
and monitoring of current open trades
• 14:30 is usually U.S. data
time so I need to be sharp and ready to react if
anything drastic happens or changes
• 15:30 is U.S. open
- Usually some volume that
comes in as offshore
participants start to trade
- Can usually spot some
trends that happen when the U.S. comes online
- Watch for reversals
• The day has been long
and energy is getting low
- Coffee time
• Mindful to stay in the zone
for the last hour
- Highest volumes are
traded in the first and last hour of the trading day, so a lot can happen
• Closing auction
- Place orders to catch
unusually moves or get out of intraday trades that aren’t already closed
• Ensure all trades
are logged
• Take screenshots of
trades matched
• Run through trades and
see where I went right and wrong and to spot trends in my own trading
- Also to evaluate the
success of various setups
• Usually some radio stuff • Continue going through
trades until done
- 1 min line charts or tick
charts help here
• All the time keeping an
eye on the U.S. session
•Really helpful in spotting intraday trends as well as support and resistance
•Also easy to see where you traded
• Get home
• Make (or find) and eat
dinner
• Relax and unwind
- Occupy mind with
something else other than the market
- Have dinner
- Shower and get ready
for bed • Check international markets • Sleepy time Zzz…
H O M E T I M E
• Avoid distractions
- Trading time is not social - Headphones in, music on
• Take the signals without
hesitation
• Managing risk
- Know what you can lose - Don’t forget about
exposure
• Don’t juggle too
many balls
• You must have downtime
• This is not easy
- Emotional stress and
pressure
• Being hard on yourself • The feeling of
helplessness
- Not following your
own rules
- The market is so much
bigger than what you are
• The risk is not always
known
• Whirlwind of increasingly
bad trades
• This too shall pass
• Positive self-talk - Self belief
• Your system can save your
sanity
• Taking time off
• Remembering that you are
a person
• Being wrong is ok
• The outcome that you
received from any given decision that you have made (or action you have taken) is nothing more
than a perfect reflection of where you are in your development and what you need to do in order to be better
• It’s in your bones • The perfect trade
• This time it’s different
• If you can master
this art you can attain
true freedom
• The last frontier
This is the only thing in the
world in which
your effort
in
your own self development and
personal growth, on almost
every level of your life,
t r a d e r p e t r i . b l o g s p o t . c o . z a / / @ Tr a d e r P e t r i
