I was going though some old bits and pieces and came across some quotes I had collected from the Market Wizards books.
“[Michael Marcus – another top trader] taught me one other thing that is absolutely critical: You have to be willing to make mistakes regularly; there is nothing wrong with it. Michael taught me about making your best judgement, being wrong, making your next best judgement, being wrong, making your third best judgement, and then doubling your money.” – Bruce Kovner
“You should always have a worst case point. The only choice should be to get out quicker.” – Richard Dennis
“95 percent of my profits have come from 5 percent of my trades.” – Richard Dennis
“That cotton trade was almost the deal breaker for me. It was at that point that I said, ‘Mr. Stupid, why risk everything on one trade? Why not make your life a pursuit of happiness rather than pain?'” – Paul Tudor Jones
“If I have positions going against me, I get right out; if they are going for me, I keep them… Risk control is the most important thing in trading. If you have a losing position that is making you uncomfortable, the solution is very simple: Get out, because you can always get back in.” – Paul Tudor Jones
“Don’t focus on making money; focus on protecting what you have.” – Paul Tudor Jones
“The elements of good trading are: (1) cutting losses, (2) cutting losses, and (3) cutting losses. If you can follow these three rules, you may have a chance.” – Ed Seykota
“Throughout my financial career, I have continually witnessed examples of other people that I have known being ruined by a failure to respect risk. If you don’t take a hard look at risk, it will take you.” – Larry Hite
“Frankly, I don’t see markets; I see risks, rewards, and money.” – Larry Hite
“My philosophy is that all stocks are bad. There are no good stocks unless they go up in price. If they go down instead, you have to cut your losses fast… Letting losses run is the most serious mistake made by most investors.” – William O’Neil
“When I became a winner, I said, ‘I figured it out, but if I’m wrong, I’m getting the hell out, because I want to save my money and go on to the next trade.'” – Marty Schwartz
“Learn to take losses. The most important thing in making money is not letting your losses get out of hand.” – Marty Schwartz
“I realized that this chipping away approach was what I should be doing, not putting myself at a big risk, trying to collect a ton of dough.” – Tony Saliba
“I always define my risk, and I don’t have to worry about it.” – Tony Saliba
“When I get hurt in the market, I get the hell out. It doesn’t matter at all where the market is trading. I just get out, because I believe that once you’re hurt in the market, your decisions are going to be far less objective than they are when you’re doing well… If you stick around when the market is severely against you, sooner or later they are going to carry you out.” – Randy McKay
“I’ll keep reducing my trading size as long as I’m losing… My money management techniques are extremely conservative. I never risk anything approaching the total amount of money in my account, let alone my total funds.” – Randy McKay
Great collection CT.
I note that it’s all about RISK and RISK CONTROL.
Excellent.
Thanks Chris
Nice – tks
on cutting losses….
No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious.
~George Bernard Shaw