Pro traders v Pro athlete analogies

[jamesg46]

I've been thinking about the comparisons between individual professions & day trading. More to the point, how individuals carry out their role within their profession, & how that can compare with trading styles.

Using football as a starting point, could we compare as a striker who tracks back, a defender who scores the occasional corner etc etc.

It'll be interesting to see what you guys come up with.

[Andriy]

For me, best to be a water carrier Makelele, Deschamps etc. Do the simple things, keep things turning over, be consistent every game, be good at game management, cutting out silly errors.

[arbitrage16]

Yeah I think it's about the character of the player, rather than the position. Think about Anderson at United, incredible player, could have had it all, but lazy as they come - his shooting was as terrible on the day he left as the day he joined, which showed me he didn't put it in the work.

So no matter if you're a striker who is quiet for 89 minutes and then pops up with one - which to me would be an in-running trader who can be in and out in 30 seconds and pull in 4 figures - or a grizzled centre back, shuvving your CTE-riddled noggin into every 50/50 - that's you scalpers - what it's really about is, are you willing to do what it takes to improve and sharpen your edge?

Know what you're good at, know what you're not good at, and work on both.

[Mr.Teeny]

I’ve always though the life/career of a trader or gambler is similar to that of a jockey.

Both work long hours, 7 days a week. Both are in some way hostage to fortune, and whilst the harder you work, the luckier you get, luck still plays a part in the career of both. Though in both cases it requires hard work, and even then success is not always guaranteed. Both can go through the ups and downs of being on the hot list one month, then frozen out on the cold the next. Nothing can be taken for granted in either case.

In the betting markets you get newbies/ small players who are competing against multi millionaires and big syndicates. Where as in horse racing every day you get journeymen jockeys who are just about scraping a living coming up against multi millionaire world renowned riders like Dettori and Moore.


The main glaringly obvious difference is that gamblers and traders aren’t risking life and limb every day sat in their homes watching racing on the telly .

And if a gambler makes a bad bet, they don’t get a load of angry jockeys trolling them on social media saying horrible nasty things and questioning their integrity !

[darchas]

Probably not completely relevant to the question but I think the focus on Pro vs Pro illuminates an important point in that many people are happy to play tennis, golf, running, whatever, with no expectation ever that they'd become a pro athlete. It's a fun hobby, they enjoy it, trying to get better is important but there's no thought to making their living from the sport. I think that relates quite well when it comes to trading, as often I see new traders getting frustrated, expecting that they can achieve the same results that a pro can. That's not the sort of expectation that would be realistic in the athletics world and it's not something that's realistic in a trading world. I know the parallels don't completely align, but I think there's a lot to be said for the hobbiest in trading that's often missed. I trade football - I think I do quite well at it, I enjoy trading football, I enjoy watching football, thinking about football, watching the ladder, looking out for those little niches that I feel comfortable in - trading football is a hobby to me, the money is my way of taking score - this is a weird thing to say I think but often I think if your focus is on making money then you're likely to be in for a great deal of frustration as would be the weekend golfer who's expectation is competing in the open. I can honestly say that if we kept score in football trading in just points or in any non-monetary sort of way then I would still do it.

Also to say that I have been there - 100%. I've been trading football for years now, and my results and my enjoyment really took a big leap when I stopped particularly trying to make money and just enjoyed the journey. Just like I enjoy playing tennis - I like to try my best, I like to see some sort of improvement over time, but I'm not going to get down on myself or frustrated that I'm never going to be much good at it relative to others.

Sorry for the waffle, not sure how relevant this is, but something that's been on my mind as of late, and something that I definitely recognise in myself - I do feel that the enjoyment of it, of the process, of the practice, the learning, has to come far before the thought of making money, as in general we'd all expect from a sporting point of view.

[alexmr2]

I've only been trading 2.5 years but can see how there is somewhat an analogy between different sports and activities like tennis, golf or driving. It mainly comes down to practice and a muscle memory sort of thing that can only come through experience.

There is also the 2 steps forward 1 steps back nature of trading, obviously a pro athlete or team in general won't have 0 losses the same way a trader won't. After conceding a goal a football team shouldn't go on the tilt and forget their defences to try and score a goal only to let 3 more goals in.

Sometimes there is an ideal body type or natural talent involved in sports which gives a head start and higher performance ceiling, for trading I would say the most difficult trait could be emotional control. Although I doubt anyone is naturally discliplined enough to become profitable off the bat, it is obvious some people will find it harder or may never get past the psychological barriers which lead to massive drawdowns.

Personally I find the best analogy for trading is that it is a game of getting bigger green movements and small red ones. Those that study and practice the game the most effectively with the most time will have the best results

[arbitrage16]

Both work long hours, 7 days a week.

This is incorrect.