Chat With Traders · Conversations With Talented Tradersin Stocks, Futures, Options, Forex And Crypto Markets.

There’s a very special guest on the podcast this week, who I’m excited to introduce… His name is Haim Bodek, although some refer to him as ‘The Algo Arms Dealer’ (and I totally understand why). Haim began his trading career at Hull Trading, a prestigious firm well known for driving forward innovation in the domain of automated trading. Following Hull, Haim then went into significant roles at Goldman Sachs, and UBS – which are all discussed during the interview. But to further set the scene, in 2007 Haim founded Trading Machines, a high frequency trading operation. At the peak, Trading Machines accounted for 0.5% of all options trading volume, with a team of 25 (one of who, was Bryan Wiener of EP 040). All was well for a couple years until the beginning of 2009, when Trading Machines ran into issues and began to bleed money, for unknown reasons. Until Haim later discovered, at the root of the problem were secretive order types being used by a select few firms, giving them an unfair advantage to front-run the o

This week on the show I interviewed Linda Raschke – an active trader since 1981, when she started out on the floor of the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange as an options market maker. In 1992, Jack Schwager interviewed Linda for his second installment of the Market Wizard series; The New Market Wizards. Since then, Linda has traded for several hedge funds, and in 2002 she began one of her own – which has been ranked 17th out of 4,500 hedge funds for ‘Best 5 Year Performance’ by BarclaysHedge. During this interview we covered some great topics, for example; adapting to environment changes, using models to study price behavior, and the part I really enjoyed was Linda’s advice to young traders towards the end. So please, make sure you pay close attention to this part. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I interviewed Timothy Sykes (of Profit.ly). If you’re not already familiar with Tim (for some strange reason), he’s made quite a name for himself as the penny stock guru, who trades, teaches and flaunts big piles of cash on Instagram. And before you can get a word in sideways, he’ll also gladly remind you that he does have ‘millionaire students’! I really enjoyed this conversation with Tim, because we covered many substantial topics that do play an important role in a traders’ success. To rattle off just some of those topics, we discussed: What’s all fuss the about making a million dollars? How to stay motivated and get the most out of your dedicated study time? How to combat the urge of over-trading? How to avoid liquidity issues in OTC markets? And so much more… Hope you enjoy this episode, with the man who has become wealthy from penny stocks (the most hated niche in all of finance) –Timothy Sykes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I interviewed Hans Dederle, the founder and president of Honza Financial – an options trading asset management firm (located in Florida). Hans originally started out as an accountant, before becoming a stock broker, following that he began to trade independently and now, trades other peoples money as well. He’s been doing this for just over 8 years now, and one of the things I really liked that come about during our discussion, was how Hans has a laser focus on quality over quantity. As a day trader he averages between 1-3 trades per day, which he’s usually in and out of within the first couple hours of each session. Which then lead into the topic of making money as a secondary objective, and having a primary objective to consistently make good trades, inline with your strategy. There’s a bunch of great takeaways over the next 45 minutes… enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest on the podcast this week is Jack Litle of MercenaryTrader.com. Jack is a global macro trader who originally started out as an international commodity broker – today, he now has more than 17 years of market experience and is a very competitive trader. He’s also a keen poker player, and believes there are many crossovers between poker and trading (which of course, makes for some interesting conversation during this episode). Also during this episode, we speak about how Jack thinks of trading in terms of probabilistic outcomes, instead of attempting to ‘predict’ the future – we spend quite some time on this subject, and I myself found his views on this particularly interesting. Another highlight, would be mastering the art of the big bet – where Jack shares insight to the times when you should press hard on a trade to make profits that have real impact. – For your chance to WIN a free 90 minute, one-on-one mentoring session with a genuine, pro trader – enter here: http://chatwithtraders.com/win Learn mo

Let me introduce you to my guest for episode 44 – Michele Koenig of Trade on the Fly, from Montana (at the very top of the United States). Michele is primarily a swing trader of technical chart patterns, but also takes an occasional intraday position when she spots an opportunity. During our discussion we spoke about a whole range of really interesting topics. To start with we covered Michele’s first few years when starting out, where she had some early success, then shortly after, lost almost everything – we spoke about how this happened, how she was affected, and how she bounced back. Plus some of the other highlights would include; insight to Michele’s scanning process and how she tracks a watchlist, a reminder not to ‘trip over dollars while trying to save dimes’, and some words of wisdom to traders who are yet to breakthrough. – For your chance to WIN a free 90 minute, one-on-one mentoring session with a genuine, pro trader – click here to enter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/

This week we’re at episode 43 and my guest is Jon Boorman (of Alpha Capture). Jon has been immersed in the world of trading for over 30 years now, and has spent the majority of this time in the institutional space – he’s been on the buy-side, sell-side, run a trading desk, assistant to a portfolio manager, and has also been a prop trader. But now days Jon trades independently and does also manages assets for others. His approach to trading is best described as a long-only trend following strategy, which we discuss extensively during this episode. Some of the topics we hit on include; why the simplicity of trend following can be both, a gift and a curse, why Jon trades the long-side only and how this affects him in a full fledged bear market. Plus, Jon shares a few pointers on position sizing, and his best tips for long term survival. Jon was an interesting guest, and shared a lot of wisdom – I feel like you’re really going to enjoy our discussion. For your chance to WIN a free 90 minute, one-on-one mentor

What you’re about to hear is an interview with Bert Mouler – he’s a trader of futures and equities, and has been involved with markets since ’07. But he does things a little different to most… He’s an algorithmic trader who harnesses the power of machine learning to discover and develop profitable trading strategies. This is an area that hasn’t been covered in previous episodes, (except for the odd mention here and there) so it was really great to have Bert on the show to share some insight on machine learning and how it works in the field of trading. Beyond this, you’ll also hear Bert’s views on diversification and how he thinks about risk management. Plus, one of the things I really respect about Bert – his drive for continual progression, attitude towards further education, and the way he approaches goal setting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week my guest is a discretionary futures trader from London (UK), his name is Kam Dhadwar. Kam originally started out in 2001, from 2005 onward he spent a few years trading within a prop firm, and now days has reverted to trading independently. During this interview we discuss the great emphasis Kam places on auction market theory, market profiling and volume profiling techniques, to capitalize on intraday moves. Additionally, we also discuss the importance of believing in your trading plan, the two types of risk; financial and psychological. And how Kam uses NLP, mindfulness and meditation practices to continually improve trading performance. Plus plenty more – but, developing the right mindset seems to be the underlying theme throughout this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I’m joined by Bryan Wiener, to put it simply, he’s a man crazy about options. So options guys, this should be right up your alley. I have to admit there were a few moments where my lack of knowledge of options is probably quite obvious – but Bryan delivered well and truly. So a little background on Bryan… He’s been actively trading for just over 15 years – and what’s particularly interesting about Bryan is how he’s been involved with markets from a number of various angles. And what I mean by that is… He originally started out as a market maker on the floor of the CME (and by the way, has some great stories which he shares during the interview). From there he later joined Haim Bodek for the rise and fall of Trade Machines, which was essentially a black-box startup which was ruined due to HFT manipulative orders. And now days he’s the quantitative options specialist on the Sang Lucci team, as well as an independent trader. During the interview we of course go right into Bryan’s journey of how he got

This week, for episode 39 I had the great pleasure of speaking with Tom Dante (who you may already know from Twitter as @Trader_Dante). But if you don’t, that’s cool – I’ll give you a real quick snapshot now… Tom’s a day trader from London, who tells it exactly how it is, he makes no attempt to soften the blow from the harsh realities of trading. He’s got a really interesting and unique story about how he got started trading, which was around 1999. And from that point on there was a period of about 7 years, where Tom struggled to gain consistency with his trading results (we speak at lengths about this during the first part of the interview). After developing a track record of profitability, Tom joined a prop trading firm, where he learnt many of the solid trading principals that have shaped him into the trader he is today – many of which are discussed during this episode. Now days, Tom is an independent trader who focuses mostly on the Bund market intraday, as well as other futures. Besides the few points I’

This week on the podcast I have algorithmic trader, Kevin Davey. Who like many guests in the past, he comes from a background in engineering – there’s something about these engineers, they seem to make really great traders… After getting off to a bumpy start 25 years ago, Kevin has come a very long way. Between 2005 and 2007 Kevin competed in the World Cup of Futures Trading Championship, where he finished in first place once, and second place twice. Each time with returns in excess of 100%! Kevin is also the author of Building Winning Algorithmic Trading Systems, a book which has been well-received by the trading community and has plenty of 5-star ratings and reviews on Amazon. During this interview we cover the great focus Kevin places on trading multiple strategies in multiple markets to achieve a smoother equity curve. And he also walks us through his development process for taking an algorithmic strategy from objectives and initial idea, through to total automation. Plus plenty more, and even if you’re n

This week I had the pleasure of speaking to another brilliant trader, who has been heavily requested – his name is Morad, but many know him best as Futures Trader 71 (or FT for short). To give you the 30 second rundown, FT has been an active trader since 2000, when he started out scalping NASDAQ stocks among the original SOES Bandits. A few years in he made the transition to trading futures, and later started his own proprietary trading firm, where he funded and mentored a team of traders. These days FT runs a brokerage, where he provides continuous education and risk control to a structured community. And of course, he remains an active futures trader, with a great focus on reading market profile and volume profile – which we get into during this interview. While you’re listening, I’d love it if you could please leave a brief review on the podcast in iTunes. This helps in a huge way to increase rankings and reach more listeners! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I can promise you right now, this one will not disappoint… My guest today is the legendary trader, Peter Brandt. Peter first started trading around 1975 (which I’m sure is before many of you listening were even born – that’s certainly the case for me). So that’s 5 decades involved with markets, i.e. ’70’s, ’80’s, ’90’s… – a very long time! To give you an idea of Peter’s performance during this time, he has achieved a compounding annual growth rate of approximately 42%, with his best year returning well over 600%. Of course we want to know about his worst years also, well there has only been three of them, which were all drawdowns of less than 8%. During this interview we discuss Peter’s early years working at the Chicago Board of Trade, and classical charting patterns (which form the roots of his trading methodology). We also get into Peter’s views on high frequency trading operations, why he has the default assumption that every trade will be a losing bet and some of the common misconceptions about super-tra

This week I have a very special guest on the show who almost needs no introduction, Howard Lindzon. Who’s best known as the co-founder of StockTwits, but he’s a man who wears many hats, he’s also a trader, investor, hedge fund manager, entrepreneur and a rock-star angel investor. So as you could imagine, I was thrilled to have Howard on the show this week. We spoke for around 50 minutes, and discussed the early years of his career (from the days of when he used to work in the back office of a brokerage firm). We also covered Howard’s methodology around trading high growth stocks and the idea of ‘buy high, sell higher’, how innovative technology may revolutionize the landscape of trading over the next 5-10 years. And on top of this, we also talk about some of the angel investments that Howard has been involved with. Now if you enjoy this interview, please go to chatwithtraders.com/itunes and leave a review. It doesn’t have to be anything major, even a single sentence would be a huge help (as it improves the CW

When the market went down in ’08 this weeks guest, Michael Melissinos was right there, in the thick of it. He was an analyst on the trading desk at Bear Sterns, and then later at JP Morgan after they were bought out. Since then, Michael’s left his Wall Street days behind him, and now trades a fund of his own, using a systematic trend following approach, that operates on 40 global markets. Although I missed a large chunk of the story there, you’ll hear how Michael got to this stage of his career during the interview. And a few of the lessons that shaped him into the trader he is today, including the advice he received from Market Wizard, Ed Seykota. I also like Michael’s thoughts around why you should consider playing a game that’s larger than money, and the emphasis he places on preparation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris is an equities trader from Southampton, UK. His journey to becoming a trader kicked off roughly 7 years ago, after his interest in markets was peaked from reading through a book about stocks. While these days Chris has found his edge, he did spin his wheels for several years to begin with, and also managed to run several accounts into the ground. During this time, one of the greater turning points came when Chris found another trader who was willing to pass down his experience, and offer him some much needed guidance. And as we all understand, to have a mentor on your side is extremely valuable, so I asked Chris a number of questions around this subject which you may find helpful. We also discuss the importance of repetition in your learning, how to build discipline and also touch on some mindset challenges that can be early roadblocks for developing traders. I feel like many of you listening will find Chris’s story to be relatable, and hopefully you’ll takeaway a few important lessons from this intervi

I’ve received many requests for this weeks guest, in recent months. Maybe it’s because he’s a straight shooter who doesn’t mix his words, or maybe it’s because he’s bounced back from harsh failures, to become an exceptional trader. Whatever the reason may be, I know for certain, you’re going to appreciate the raw honesty and insight of this weeks guest – Dan Shapiro. Coming up from humble beginnings, Dan called on the neighborhood loan shark to fund his first trading account, which got him through the door to one of the largest prop firms at the time. This is where he rubbed shoulders with many phenomenal traders, who helped shape him into the trader he is today. This interview is ultimately focused on the mental and psychological aspects of trading. We discuss some of the darkest moments from Dan’s trading career, how to handle losses and grind through slumps, trading the setup and not your PnL, and why you should care more about trading right, rather than being right. Dan was great to talk to, and I trust y

This week I spoke with Luke Cummings, an Australian equities trader with 14 plus years of experience on his side. After making a last minute decision that journalism wasn’t a good fit, Luke went into a finance degree which lead him to become a stockbroker, which then lead him to become a trader. Now days Luke remains an active trader, and operates a hedge fund based in Sydney, as well as running The Long And Short Of It – a model portfolio service and trading blog. We keep things fresh in this interview, by discussing trading methods and strategies that haven’t been spoken about in previous episodes. And additionally, Luke shares some of the common traps that often catch entry-level traders, and how you may be able to avoid the avoidable with insight. Enjoy team! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re taking it up a level… I had the honor of interviewing the legendary Market Wizard, Tom Basso, president of former money management firm, TrendStat. Tom started his working life as a chemical engineer, often discussing stocks and investing with colleagues. As he started to experiment with trading from a $2000 account, there was no beginners luck in sight. Tom consecutively lost money for the first few years before things started to turnaround. With a series of events that followed, Tom went from trading his own money, to forming TrendStat and managing other peoples money. At the peak of his career, TrendStat managed $600million dollars of capital. And while Tom’s now retired, he still actively studies the market and continues to trade. This interview covers many topics that range from trend following and systematic trading, to psychology and why you must never forget to ‘enjoy the ride’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices