Poker Night

In my several years of mentoring and observing traders, let me tell you two "secret recipes" to becoming successful in this field...

The first one is your immediate peer group - it is not enough that you trust and are good friends with your peers in this field. Without proper goals and direction, wala ring aabutin yung support group mo. You'll all just be there pag nag iyakan na kayo sa group stock nyo.

So find peers who have the same mission as you to become better traders. Wag ka humanap ng taong mag eencourage sayo to HODL your losing positions. Instead, humanap ka ng mga taong papagalitan ka pag hindi ka nagcut. True friends will tell you the truth even if it hurts.

Now, this still isn't enough. You need to build deep relationships. The kind where you can share your deepest secrets and be vulnerable to. Because let's be honest here, nobody wants to be in a company kung saan nagagamitan lang kayo for your own selfish reasons - trust me, this isn't sustainable. Been there, done that. Nobody wants to be a springboard. So choose your peers carefully and be in it for the long haul.

I've seen too many batches and support groups fade slowly because they didn't build deep relationships. So make an effort to meet up every now and then even in your busy schedule. Don't limit yourselves in FB messenger, Skype and Discord. Invite mo din sa Vikings or Kpub minsan.

Friendly Tip: Wag na wag mo yayain sa Starbucks yan, highly likely iiwas yan. "PAWER!"

The second is the hours you put into mastering your craft.

A week ago we had our coffee session after our RAK. There were at least 12 ZFT traders in the room, 4 different batches were present. I asked for a show of hands - who in room was able to catch the recent bounce plays? (MRC, NOW, PXP)

Only three raised their hands. Out of everyone, just 3. Not even half. How can this be? Everyone had the same training drilled into them. So I asked another question - how long have you been trading using the system? Some answered a year, and some answered a few months. And the 3 who were able to catch the bounce? 3 years. 2 were from the Zodiac batch Henry Tan and Palzer Co Gozon. 1 was from the Pilot Program of Project Seed, Park Kim Chee.

Let me shed to you a dose of reality in the ZFT universe.

Once a ZFT student finishes our program, they don't automatically become trading machines that make tons of money. In fact, the majority will most likely end up negative in their overall performance. And this is because they go through a tedious process of finding their niche, their edge, their unique identities in the market.

Trading is just like any other craft. Even if I put all my effort into studying all the principles and theories of body-building in a week, that won't automatically give me a sculpted body. And even if I apply all the things I've learned within that week, that STILL won't give me that ideal sculpted body.

So here's one thing I'd like you all to understand. You want to be great in this field?

PUT.

IN.

THE.

HOURS.

If there's such a thing as a shortcut, this is the shortcut.

So please, #TrustTheProcess

----------------------

Side-note : I guess we should make this a regular thing. Poker and Board Game night. Good game gentlemen.

Stock Market Support Groups

This post is dedicated to all the traders who believe in technical analysis. If you're a fundamentalist, don't waste your time reading this post because this doesn't apply to you.

-------------------------------

I was browsing my feeds this week and I saw this

(Click Images to Enlarge)

Side Question : Why wasn't it given the same attention when it first broke out (1)?

Here are a few other notable groups I noticed.

And this one is my personal favorite because of the Description. I admire the honesty.

I would understand true fundamentalists who are in these groups because that's just how it is with fundamentalists - you consolidate all the news and information you have in one "drawer" and that's fine. But for anyone else who isn't a fundamentalist?

Strength in numbers. This is the most common mistake people think works in the markets. "If we group buy the shiz out of this stock, this will definitely go higher." 

But you know what? The market doesn't work that way. 

And I've seen groups where popular gurus, company owners and CEOs are present and give buy recos with outrageous target prices on their stocks - AND then dump shares to your face. 

You think these people care about you? 

The market is like the government. You can lock arms, hold hands, protest and rally all you want with your buddies. But by the end of the day, the market does what it wants, regardless of anyone's opinion or feelings.

Photo Taken From Google Images (Rappler)

If you want to survive in the markets as a trader, follow these two principles : Never trust anyone with a buy reco. And take everything you hear with a grain of salt.