I am new to this forum. I am a full time trader and former teacher. I want to discuss something which is rarely ever discussed in the context of trading.
Data from various sources show that 90% of traders are in loss or have failed. The various reasons given are lack of discipline, poor risk management, not having an edge etc.
But let's look a problem deeper than that - most people are not very good learners. If you teach mathematics to some students, will everyone become a math wizard? No of course not. Many will have difficulty understand the syllabus. For some it will take a long time to grasp the concepts. Other will fail the class or semester.
Yet in trading we just assume that people should just take courses and if they practice enough they will succeed. Well what if they have a learning disability? What if their logical reasoning abilities are not top notch?
I am consistently profitable. I can tell you trading requires strong logical reasoning abilities. Are you the type of person who has difficulty answering test questions like -
1. Which shape is not similar to other shapes?
2. What pattern logically comes next in this sequence?
3. Which number is missing in this sequence?
You see, trading requires interpreting things on a very dynamic and rapidly changing chart. Pattern recognition is not easy.
So what I am getting is, before you dive into trading real money, risk management or psychology, make sure you are learning like a top student. Try to take some free online non-verbal reasoning tests. See how you fare. And never let trading affect your mental health, it can be very hard on your psychology.
