Are you considering taking up trading either as a source of extra income or as a career? For the right kind of person, I think it’s a very good decision. If you’re smart, disciplined, mathematically & technically inclined, and willing to put in the time and effort required then trading (really, speculating) has the potential to pay better than any other career on earth. Better than being a lawyer or doctor. Better than being a professional athlete or rock star. For the very top traders, better even than being a CEO of a major corporation. It’s perfectly rational to want a slice of that action – I do.  Even if you don’t have that kind of ambition, there are good reasons to become a trader – extra income, a better return on savings than investing can provide, freedom from a 9-5 job, and a realistic path to move your family into the upper class come to mind.  Having enough money to help others through charity can be very motivating.  There’s also the appeal of a true meritocracy – while lucky fools can profit as speculators in the short run, in the long run the capable and skilled prevail and the fools find themselves out of the market.

The very fact that you’re on this site means some part of that sales pitch probably resonates with you, and that’s good. Continue reading →

Last post I talked about speculation, market making, and the similarities between them and running a retail store like a grocery.  Now I want to get away from that metaphor and talk about the details of how orders are entered and executed in a market – the ways in which a financial market is nothing at all like your grocery store.  This is a bit technical, so put on your nerd glasses and let’s get down to it. Continue reading →