Boris Schlossberg
BKTraders and Prop Traders Edge
My wife is never on time. It's a true testament to the strength of our relationship that I’ve been able to tolerate this trait given my own ADD-addled nature that refuses to wait even five minutes for a restaurant table. (She in turn is a saint for having to put up with many of my personality flaws)
It's a running joke in our family that when Mommy says that she will be ready at 5:30 the actual start time will be 6:00. So last night my daughter and I were waiting for my wife in the lobby of our building and as usual the clock was long past 5:30 as we sat there flicking through TikTok. “Hey,” I said to my daughter,”do you think Mommy will be down by 5:55 or later?”
“Later,” she said without hesitation.
What happened next was really interesting. Instead of being bored and annoyed we became completely obsessed with the clock monomaniacally watching every second tick away. We basically turned the typical family waiting game into an all consuming over/under bet.
In real life I never bet. I don’t play card games. I have no idea what a sports line is and at the racetrack I mainly admire the beauty of the thoroughbreds. But I do trade. And last night I realized that I actually bet far more than I should.
If you’ve ever placed a trade out boredom.
If you’ve ever placed a trade out of greed.
If you’ve ever placed a trade out of anger.
You are not trading. You are betting.
Betting is unbelievably seductive. You can take any mundane event in life and instantly turn it into the most important thing there is by wagering money on its outcome. I don’t know the evolutionary trait that is responsible - perhaps it triggers the hunt instinct in all of us - but whatever it is betting is a universal impulse that we all fall prey to.
And just to be clear I am using the word “bet” in its purest colloquial form - that is to make a wager on an event without possessing any special knowledge about its outcome. If you are betting on a sports team because you have some analytical edge - you are not betting, you are trading.
Alas, many of us - no one more so than yours truly -make far too many bets rather than trades. I have an unbelievably great day trading system that has an edge nearly every single market day - yet I regularly forsake its rules for the thrill of “trying something new” that inevitably leads to some very difficult drawdowns. Bets may be a great antidote to boredom but they are a very expensive drug.
I wish I had a full proof way to only trade rather than bet - but there is no nicorette gum for day traders. Perhaps, the first and most important step is to simply acknowledge the difference between a bet and a trade. That alone could help snap you out of the vicious cycle of losses that you are about to see.
Markets are an unbelievably fun game to play, but in order to play them well you need to play them right.
Oh - and my wife was downstairs at 5:54 and 43 seconds beating the under. Proving that even when you have the edge in the markets - the trade does not always not work out.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. Trading forex carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to trade any such leveraged products, you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with trading on margin, and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD holds firm near 1.1850 amid USD weakness
EUR/USD remains strongly bid around 1.1850 in European trading on Monday. The USD/JPY slide-led broad US Dollar weakness helps the pair build on Friday's recovery ahead of the Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence data for February.
GBP/USD hovers near 1.3600 as UK government crisis weighs on Pound Sterling
GBP/USD moves sideways after registering modest gains in the previous session, trading around 1.3610 during the European hours on Monday. The pair could come under pressure as the Pound Sterling may weaken amid a fresh government crisis in the United Kingdom.
USD/JPY keeps the red below 157.00 on intervention risks
The Japanese Yen sticks to its modest intraday recovery gains against a broadly weaker US Dollar on the back of speculations that authorities will step in to stem weakness in the domestic currency. In fact, Japanese officials stepped up intervention warnings and confirmed close coordination with the US against disorderly FX moves. This, in turn, triggered an intraday USD/JPY turnaround from the 157.65 region, or a two-week top, touched in reaction to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's landslide win in Sunday's election.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD holds firm near 1.1850 amid USD weakness
EUR/USD remains strongly bid around 1.1850 in European trading on Monday. The USD/JPY slide-led broad US Dollar weakness helps the pair build on Friday's recovery ahead of the Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence data for February.
USD/JPY keeps the red below 157.00 on intervention risks
The Japanese Yen sticks to its modest intraday recovery gains against a broadly weaker US Dollar on the back of speculations that authorities will step in to stem weakness in the domestic currency. In fact, Japanese officials stepped up intervention warnings and confirmed close coordination with the US against disorderly FX moves. This, in turn, triggered an intraday USD/JPY turnaround from the 157.65 region, or a two-week top, touched in reaction to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's landslide win in Sunday's election.
Gold remains supported by China's buying and USD weakness as traders eye US data
Gold struggles to capitalize on its intraday move up and remains below the $5,100 mark heading into the European session amid mixed cues. Data released over the weekend showed that the People's Bank of China extended its buying spree for a 15th month in January. Moreover, dovish US Fed expectations and concerns about the central bank's independence drag the US Dollar lower for the second straight day, providing an additional boost to the non-yielding yellow metal.
Cardano steadies as whale selling caps recovery
Cardano (ADA) steadies at $0.27 at the time of writing on Monday after slipping more than 5% in the previous week. On-chain data indicate a bearish trend, with certain whales offloading ADA. However, the technical outlook suggests bearish momentum is weakening, raising the possibility of a short-term relief rebound if buying interest picks up.
Japanese PM Takaichi nabs unprecedented victory – US data eyed this week
I do not think I would be exaggerating to say that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s snap general election gamble paid off over the weekend – and then some. This secured the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) an unprecedented mandate just three months into her tenure.
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