A Day in the

Life of a Trader
Taking the long road
 Taking the baby steps

• It all started with pips • With a huge amount of luck I got a job
in a bank
⎼ Sitting at my dads dining room
table trading a demo account ⎼ First step into the world of finance

• Started taking steps to learn about ⎼ Started buying shares and Unit
what I needed to learn Trusts with my savings

⎼ Tracking down and talking to • The first trades were disastrous

brokers
⎼ Going to events and meeting • Work for knowledge, not for money
people
⎼ Asking a ton of questions
⎼ Taking opportunities to sit in
trading rooms for the day
 Taking the plunge
• Had spent some time working as
a sales guy, selling technical
analysis courses
⎼ Was my way of doing rather
expensive courses for free
• Joined a day trading firm
⎼ False impression of how easy
day trading was, was quickly
shattered
⎼ Trading without a plan
⎼ Not predefining risk
⎼ Trading out of fear and greed
• Lost all my money in a few short
months
• I learned some of the hardest and
most important lessons of my life
in that trading room

• I fell into every pitfall you can

think of:

⎼ Overtrading
⎼ Trading too big
⎼ Revenge trading
The hard truths

• Don’t predict just follow

• Anything can happen

• 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
 Pressing on

• Left the day trading firm poor and • It’s been a seven year journey
penniless
• At some point without even realising it
• Wrote regulatory examinations in my dream started coming true
order to get a job as a broker
• Recently started my own brokerage
• Took a number of opportunities to firm
work a brokerage firms and asset
managers throughout South Africa

⎼ Worked in Durban for no pay

⎼ Worked in Cape Town for a niche
asset manager
⎼ Worked in Johannesburg
Things people ask me
 What should I study?

• There is no real degree that you

• If you want to become a stockbroker or
can do in varsity that will prepare
trader at a FSP you will need to get a
you for what trading entails
recognised qualification

• You should probably do a few

courses and do some self study ⎼ RPE’s – SAIFM

⎼ Just One Lap ⎼ RE’s – Moonstone of any other

⎼ Traders Corner FAIS examination body

⎼ IG Bootcamp and Master Class ⎼ An economics or finance degree

would be helpful, but is not

• A trader trades, so if you want to required

be a trader, trade
 How do I get into a firm?

• You need passion • You need to come with a track record

of your own trades
I’ve been told this a thousand times
over and never really understood it • Money must be your motivator
until reaching a trading desk became
my only option
Now that I’m here
The daily routine
 Mornings
• Wake up and check the overnight
session – offshore markets – while still
in bed
• Boot PC and get the coffee going
• Have some breakfast
⎼ Been eating a lot of muesli and yogurt
lately, with some fruit and nuts and
honey
⎼ Good breakfast helps you focus the
whole day
⎼ I’ve been eating breakfast at my desk a
lot these days
• Take a shower and realise that I am
already in my office
⎼ Hit the phone and Skype and
Twitter and Whatsapp
• Have a detailed look at what happened
overnight
⎼ Look at charts and levels
⎼ Look for big stories that broke that
I might have missed
⎼ Check SENS for stocks I am
following or stocks in play
• Upcoming news events for the day
⎼ www.investing.com
 Pre-market open

• @RANsquawk

• Check Twitter to get a sense of • @Storm_Trading

the mood of the market
• @JediEconomist
• Looking for general feeling of
tweeters who are, to me, the best • @CalConfidence
around 
• @Trader1137

• @Richards_Karin

• #ALSI

• #OOTT
 Pre-market open and market open
• 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 them for the
day
• Place order in the auction call
period
• Equity market opens
⎼ Are there any opportunities
from stocks opening too high or
too low
⎼ Usually dual 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 lunch
 The mid-day woosa
• Time to eat again
⎼ Can’t eat things that will give
you the slump
• Get outside for a little while and
let my mind go
⎼ Just need to think about other
things for a while to keep my
brain from turning into mashed
potatoes
• 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 that I may have
missed during the morning
session
 The afternoon session
• Back to continuous trading and
monitoring of current open trades
• 14:30 is usually U.S. data time
⎼ 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
• Energy is starting to run low
⎼ Coffee time
• Mindful to stay in the zone for the last
stretch
⎼ Highest volumes are traded in the
first and last hour of the trading
day, so a lot can happen
• Closing auction is the last chance to get
out of intraday trades
 Post-close wrap up

• Ensure all trades are logged • Have been trading the U.S. market
more and more now that I am trading
• Take screenshots of matched trades from home

• Run through trades and see where I ⎼ Continuous trading mode for the
went right or wrong and to spot trends U.S. futures market
in my own trading
• Trading is less intense and usually in
⎼ Also to evaluate the success of slightly slower timeframes
various setups
⎼ This allows me to do admin and
• Usually some radio stuff check emails and get through the
‘work stuff’ I need to do

• When ’work stuff’ is done make sure

that stops and targets are in place and
turn off
 Time to relax

• Make – or find – and eat dinner • In all honesty, the trading platform is
• Relax and unwind open pretty much all of the time, so I
am keeping an eye on the market
⎼ Occupy mind with something
else other than the market
⎼ Ideally it would be playing • Shower and then sleepy time
games or watching a movie
⎼ Cooking is pretty relaxing also
so that helps a lot ⎼ Zzz…
Favourite set-ups
Simple trend line breaks
Head and shoulders
Head and shoulders
Head and shoulders
Inverse head and shoulders
Ice-berg breaks
Ice-berg breaks
Reality check
 Staying focused

• Avoid distractions • Don’t juggle too many balls

⎼ Trading time is not social time • You must have downtime

⎼ Headphones in, music on

• Take signals without hesitation

• Manage risk

⎼ Know what you can lose

⎼ Don’t forget about exposure
 The scary stuff

• This is not easy • The risk is not always known

⎼ Emotional stress and pressure • Whirlwind of increasingly bad trades

• Being hard on yourself

• The feeling of helplessness

⎼ Not following your own rules

⎼ The market is so much bigger than
you are
 Managing the bad times

• This too shall pass • Being wrong is ok

• Positive self-talk • The outcome that you received from

any given decision that you have
⎼ Self belief made, or action that you have taken, is
nothing more that a perfect reflection
• Your system can save your sanity of where you are in your development
and what you need to do in order to
• Taking time off improve

• Remembering that you are a ⎼ Keep learning

person
 Why do it all?

• It’s in you bones • If you can master this art you can
attain true freedom
• The perfect trade
• The last frontier
• This time it’s different
 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,
is rewarded financially.
 Thank You
TraderPetri@gmail.com // @TraderPetri
 Disclaimer

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