Through trader hell and back, to market wizard

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Learning to trade and be a trader is a lifelong journey with many ups and downs, challenges, hurdles, and hopefully some decent compensation for the strength, trials, and tribulations suffered. Along this journey, it can be helpful, useful, and reassuring to hear the experiences of others who have suffered for their pains and gone on to achieve great success. The guest on this week’s edition of the AlphaMind Podcast is someone who that applies to in many ways.

30 years of trading success brought Jason Shapiro to the attention of Jack Schwager, who was looking for new interview subjects for the latest installment of his brilliant series of Market Wizards books ‘Unknown Market Wizard’. Shapiro’s chapter in the book is called ‘The Contrarian’, which tells you pretty much all you need to know about his approach and style. 

In this episode, Jason opens up with about his trading approach, his contrarian philosophy, and a whole host of topics around the trading process which listeners will find fascinating. 

Jason talks passionately about trading and his work. Some of the themes Jason talks about include: Why he is a contrarian. How being a contrarian is not the same as being a countertrend. Finding your edge. The importance of getting the process right. Being objective in your views. How markets discount the news. Using the Commitment of Trader’s report. And a host of themes that will inspire and fascinate the listener.

Jason really opens up with great honesty about the realities of trading, of how he has been to hell and back more than once, the pain of losing, the learning experiences of becoming successful than losing it all, the journey and path to better process and practice, of how trading success is ‘the long game’.

This is one of those interviews which is full of nuggets and lessons from beginning to end. Do not switch this episode off early, because it just gets hotter is it goes along. 

Jason also talks about the Crowded Market Report, a Futures trading education website that focuses on and supports traders in developing a unique contrarian approach. Also full kudos to the Crowded Market Report, who donate a portion of their proceeds to the Charlestown Early Learning Center, a non-profit organization, to provide a high quality, affordable educational program for 3, 4, and 5-year-old children in the local community.