Tony Saliba -- Tony Saliba came to the floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange in 1978. After a half-year of clerking, Saliba was ready to try it on his own. The impressive aspect of Saliba's trading achievements is not the few spectacular gains he has registered in his career. Rather, it is that these gains have been achieved by using a trading approach exemplified by incredible risk control. In fact, at one point, Saliba managed to string together seventy consecutive months of profits exceeding $100,000. Quite a few traders have become multimillionaires by scoring several big hits. A much smaller number have managed to hold on to their gains. Only the rare trader can boast both occasional dramatic gains and consistent trading profits. Market Wizard.
On Wednesday of the week before the crash, the market fell apart. Thursday, it didn't bounce back, but kind of churned. Now, if it had rallied on Friday, then I would have been confused. But instead, the market cracked on Friday. At that point, I was sure we were going down.
Do you know what I really thought was going to happen Monday? I thought the market would open lower, go down sharply, and then bounce back to about unchanged. I actually bought out-of-the-money calls that Friday for protection.
I just wanted to have some insurance. A trader once told me, "Saliba, in stealing second, you never take your hand off first until your other hand is on second." That's the way I am; I always have insurance.
I always define my risk, and I don't have to worry about it. I walk into the pit every day with a clean slate, so that I can take advantage of what is going on. I mean that I'm always hedged, and I'm always prepared.
Now, what could happen? The market sits, it explodes, or something in between. But no matter what happens, I know my worst case. My loss is always limited.
I think the biggest problem with some traders that come on the floor is that they think they are bigger than the market. They don't fear the marketplace, and they lose sight of their discipline and the hard work ethic. Those are the traders who get blown out.
How do you lose money? It is either bad day trading or a losing position. If it's a bad position that is the problem, then you should just get out of it.
I either liquidate it or neutralize it, because then you are back afloat. When you are in a boat that springs a leak, you don't drill another hole to let the water out.
Take a day off. If I get myself all wound up, I like to lay out in the sun and bake for a while and let all the strenuous stuff go out of my head.
Clear thinking, ability to stay focused, and extreme discipline. Discipline is number one: Take a theory and stick with it. But you also have to be open-minded enough to switch tracks if you feel that your theory has been proven wrong. You have to be able to say, "My method worked for this type of market, but we are not in that type of market anymore."
Do you know what I really thought was going to happen Monday? I thought the market would open lower, go down sharply, and then bounce back to about unchanged. I actually bought out-of-the-money calls that Friday for protection.
I just wanted to have some insurance. A trader once told me, "Saliba, in stealing second, you never take your hand off first until your other hand is on second." That's the way I am; I always have insurance.
I always define my risk, and I don't have to worry about it. I walk into the pit every day with a clean slate, so that I can take advantage of what is going on. I mean that I'm always hedged, and I'm always prepared.
Now, what could happen? The market sits, it explodes, or something in between. But no matter what happens, I know my worst case. My loss is always limited.
I think the biggest problem with some traders that come on the floor is that they think they are bigger than the market. They don't fear the marketplace, and they lose sight of their discipline and the hard work ethic. Those are the traders who get blown out.
How do you lose money? It is either bad day trading or a losing position. If it's a bad position that is the problem, then you should just get out of it.
I either liquidate it or neutralize it, because then you are back afloat. When you are in a boat that springs a leak, you don't drill another hole to let the water out.
Take a day off. If I get myself all wound up, I like to lay out in the sun and bake for a while and let all the strenuous stuff go out of my head.
Clear thinking, ability to stay focused, and extreme discipline. Discipline is number one: Take a theory and stick with it. But you also have to be open-minded enough to switch tracks if you feel that your theory has been proven wrong. You have to be able to say, "My method worked for this type of market, but we are not in that type of market anymore."