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     resillent1
Member
Username: resillent1
Post Number: 461
Registered: 10-2006Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Thursday, May 15, 2008 - 12:56 pm: |  
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The link below is to the Van Tharp Trader Test.
From your answers it gives you a profile. Takes about 5 Minutes.
http://www.tharptradertest.com/instructions.aspx
My profile comes out as:
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You are a Strategic Trader!
You probably live in a world of ideas and strategic planning. This is because you value intelligence, knowledge, and being competent. These are great qualities for a trader/investor. In fact, you have the three core qualities that are essential to being a great trader (i.e. you have the ability to see the big picture, new possibilities and connections between things. You make decisions based on logic and analysis and you are decisive, orderly and do things sequentially). You have an original mind and a great drive to implement your ideas and achieve your goals. Thus, if trading success is important to you, you'll probably find a way to achieve it...
One of your Trading Strengths
Originality and drive; willingness to follow your ideas through to completion.
One of your Trading Challenges
Probably so logical that you don't recognize when emotions are causing you to self-destruct.
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See what you think. I generally don't like to be categorized, but found this interesting all the same.
Cheers
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chriso
Member
Username: chriso
Post Number: 88
Registered: 04-2004Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Thursday, May 15, 2008 - 06:55 pm: |
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Hi resillent1
I'm a strategic trader aswell.
The important bit which I relate to the most is the trading challenge at the end about emotions and self destructing.
After spending a lot of time day trading the index using CFDs as my vehicle, being aware of your emotions, concentration and discipline needed to act can be draining.
Chris
A problem is only a solution waiting to be found.
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resillent1
Member
Username: resillent1
Post Number: 462
Registered: 10-2006Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Friday, May 16, 2008 - 10:31 am: |
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G’day Chriso
For me, emotions and my own psychology is key. Maybe its because, as the profile suggests, it’s a weakness.
Interesting that this profile test hasn’t created much reaction on this site. Maybe the site is just dead or maybe TA leads towards spending more time trying to figure the markets out rather than figuring ourselves out. Experience has taught me that, that is a misallocation of time.
If others do the test and get a result other than strategic, It would be good to see description for different profiles.
http://www.tharptradertest.com/instructions.aspx
Cheers
"In the short run, the market is a voting machine. In the long run, it's a weighing machine."
Warren Buffett
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rockon
Member
Username: rockon
Post Number: 271
Registered: 08-2003Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Friday, May 16, 2008 - 10:53 am: |
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Spontaneous Trader
You are probably enthusiastic, warm and quite imaginative. You see life as being full of possibilities. In addition, you are able to quickly make connections between events and the information to which you are exposed and then make quick decisions. This quality can be good as a trader, but you also need to be very careful because you only have one of the three qualities that we find in the best traders.
You have the initiative to start ideas and projects and can usually succeed in any endeavor that you find interest in; but sometimes you have a problem with follow through or completion. Your enthusiasm encourages others to get involved in your projects; however this has no real bearing on trading. You should make it a practice to regularly check in with your values, center yourself on what you believe, and then make sure you are living on purpose. Doing so will help you tremendously with the discipline required for trading success.
You tend to want a lot of affirmation from others that you are not likely to find in the trading arena. You also like to give others appreciation and support and you are not likely to find people who want that in the trading arena. You are spontaneous and flexible, using your ability to improvise when needed. However, this is seldom called upon in the trading world in which your actions need to be preplanned and quite deliberate.
Details may seem trivial to you, because you tend to focus on possibilities. Thus, it would be easy for you to see the possibilities in trading success, but difficult to develop the plan that it takes to follow through with your vision. As a result, you may tend to struggle with certain aspects of trading/investing. In addition, you may also tend to take on too much risk before you are prepared to do so. As a result, you need to thoroughly understand the concept of position sizing and its ramifications before you enter into the world of trading.
Trading Strengths
Enthusiasm and a willingness to take action; you probably don't have a problem with pulling the trigger or trying new trading systems.
You can easily trade a new system comfortably using real money and small position sizing.
If you understand low risk trading ideas then you should be able to trade quickly and easily. Although this is a great strength, if you don't understand the importance of position sizing, then it could be fatal.
Trading Challenges
Discipline, follow through and attention to detail will always be challenges, and you need to find ways to achieve these that are automatic, scheduled and regular.
You are easily influenced by external sources which means you need approval from others to feel good about yourself rather than being able to trust objective data (this is probably why you want a mentor).
Because you get excited about new things, and like to share often, you can easily get distracted from something that works.
Good trading is boring, therefore you will need other external ways of fulfilling your need for excitement.
Example Trader
Jesse Livermore
Jesse Livermore is considered by many to be one of the greatest traders who every lived. Livermore made and lost a million-dollar fortune three times, and died tragically of suicide in 1940. He lived through the Panic of 1907, the First World War, the Roaring Twenties, the 1929 Crash and the Great Depression. He made much of his profits by selling short and cooking up various means of stock market manipulation, all of which are now illegal.
He had a series of mansions around the world each fully staffed with servants, a fleet of limousines, and a steel-hulled yacht for trips to Europe because, "Jesse never took public transportation." Livermore was curious mixture because he could recite the Bible to support any point and yet liked to cruise through Manhattan at night in one of his bright yellow Rolls Royces, picking up women.
One of his greatest insights was that you need to learn your own strengths and weaknesses as a trader. And this is the key to success for the spontaneous trader.
.........................................................
P.S.... What better way to spend a Saturday night than driving round in your Rolls picking up women.
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davkell
Member
Username: davkell
Post Number: 560
Registered: 07-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Thursday, May 22, 2008 - 11:55 am: |
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You are a Detailed Trader!
Detailed Trader
Click here for a brief overview of all trader types
The Detailed Trader type suggests that you are very quiet and serious. You tend to earn your success by being thorough, methodical, systematic, organized, and dependable. You are also realistic and responsible as long as things make sense for you. You have two of the three qualities that are necessary for trading success (i.e. You make decisions based on logic and analysis and you are decisive, orderly and do things sequentially). Thus, if you are willing to commit yourself, you'll probably be quite successful as a trader. However, you may need some help seeing the big picture that is necessary for trading success.
You have a tremendous internal store of facts that you like to analyze. But you also tend to have trouble seeing anything that is different from your internal picture of the world. As a result, one of your biggest challenges is that you have a distinct idea of what is right and you feel it is your duty to defend that. This can be a real problem in the trading arena where being independent and a non-conformist are important.
Because you like to analyze, you will tend to identify the facts, label them and then categorize the information so that it makes sense to you. You work best with clearly stated objectives and procedures although you should be vigilant about who's directives you are following in the trading arena, or you may find yourself working on the wrong things.
Trading can be a solitary and lonely business; however this is something that might actually suit you because you do not mind working on your own. You enjoy thinking things through before sharing with others.
You will probably decide logically what needs to be done and work toward it little by little until you are finished. You tend to take pleasure in making everything orderly and organized. This is a great quality for trading success as long as you are organized in the right manner.
Trading Strengths
You should have no problems staying with and executing a simple trading system that someone gives you and you feel confident about.
You should be really good at data analysis/developing business plans especially when someone provides you with the exact steps to take.
You could easily treat trading as a business provided your life is in order and you have no major distractions. However, be aware that if you have a lot of stress then this strength could turn into a weakness and cause you problems.
Trading Challenges
You love the details of trading system analysis and development so much but you can often be working on the wrong things. Your efforts can be misguided if you are following the wrong guidelines or advice.
Under stress, you tend to redouble your efforts and try harder and better in the belief that you can dig your way out of a hole, but you could be digging in the wrong place.
You can tend to be overly critical and only notice the negatives in your trading. If you do not learn how to recognize your mistakes then you could become stuck.
Example Trader
Warren Buffett
Our model of the detailed trader is Warren Buffet who once said, "If you want to be a successful investor, then you have to know every detail of every listed stock. And when someone said, "but there are over 7000 listed stocks," Buffett responded, "Start with the A's."
Buffett has been listed as one of the five richest men in the world. Buffet achieved his status of being called the world's greatest investor when he paired up with Strategic Trader, Charlie Munger.
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Very interesting too. Trading strength # 1 and Trading Challenge #1 actually conflict for me and is probably what holds my trading back (as well as lack of capital, but that's another story!)
Not sure about Warren Buffett though, type might be the same, but I don't find his style of any interest to me.
"Trade Your Way To Financial Freedom" - Van K Tharp
"Manage the downside; the upside will take care of itself" - Donald Trump
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chriso
Member
Username: chriso
Post Number: 89
Registered: 04-2004Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Friday, May 23, 2008 - 07:05 pm: |
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Hey Resillent1
The reason why I think the profile test hasn't created much attention is because these sort of tests are more of a novelty.
They are good to have a bit of a look at but don't take them to seriously because like you said in your original post you don't like to be catergorized.
Being catergorized can take you away from originality which can hinder progress in share trading because of changing markets.
Chriso
A problem is only a solution waiting to be found.
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resillent1
Member
Username: resillent1
Post Number: 477
Registered: 10-2006Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Saturday, May 24, 2008 - 01:03 am: |
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Chriso
If the test isn't creating much attention because of the reasons you put than that would be healthy.
If people are however busy looking for technical tools to improve their performance in the market instead of adapting their psychology to meet what is needed to perform in those changing markets with simple proven tools that would not be so good.
How many posters/silent readers do you reckon are looking externally as opposed to internally for the holly grail?
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chriso
Member
Username: chriso
Post Number: 90
Registered: 04-2004Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - 07:37 pm: |
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Hi Resillent1
I believe more time would be dedicated externally as opposed to internally.
On a personal note looking internally has helped me in more areas other than trading. I suppose that's why I was attracted to the bit on being aware of your emotions.
Chriso
A problem is only a solution waiting to be found.
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spider
Member
Username: spider
Post Number: 2595
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - 12:22 pm: |
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Planning Trader
You tend to be decisive and to the point. You'll quickly assume leadership when it is called for by the circumstances around you. You have the ability to quickly develop and implement trading systems to meet your needs. You can easily spot logical inefficiencies in the market and take advantage of them, especially if you are pointed in the right direction.
You enjoy long-term planning and goal setting and seem to enjoy learning, expanding your knowledge and staying well-informed. Consequently, you should have no problem developing a sound business plan for trading successfully.
You are excellent at planning in advance especially when you have specific trading goals in mind. You are good at keeping both your short term and long term objectives in mind during the planning process. You like to be effective and efficient and will quickly abandon procedures that do not help you to accomplish your goals. Your dislike for repetition in error will probably help you with trading, because uncovering and fixing any mistakes that you make is an important task of trading.
You are probably quite career focused. Thus, if your current focus is on trading, it's probably because you've had a major disappointment or frustration with your initial career of choice. However, you need to be careful with trading/investing because it tends to be a solitary activity and you love to organize others and pass on your knowledge.
Nevertheless, you tend to have the three important qualities that we look for in top traders. Thus, if you apply yourself, develop a business plan for trading/investing, and really work to understand what trading success is all about, you have the potential to be hugely successful.
Trading Strengths
Originality and drive; willingness to follow your ideas through to completion.
Quickly see patterns and possibilities, with the ability to rapidly hypothesize and generate low risk trading ideas.
You could probably generate a trading business plan and trading systems quite easily and naturally.
Trading Challenges
Probably so logical that you don't recognize when emotions are causing you to self-destruct.
Your willingness to take action based on rapid insights may result in premature actions, which may create tension with your risk management system especially if you really believe in your rapid insights.
You may be susceptible to the loss trap. Therefore you may not honor your stops because you want to be right about your trades.
May become bored with routine systems, even if they are performing to standard, and seek excitement to "stay in the game."
Example Trader
Ed Seykota
Ed Seykota is an MIT graduate who became one of the first computerized trend followers in the 1960s. Ed also really understood position sizing and used it to accomplish his objectives in trading. I cannot imagine a bigger edge - it's like going back in time with today's technology. But when I met Ed in 1990 all of his software was written in assembly language.
Ed might easily be called the Bill Gates of trading. And Bill Gates, if he were a trader, would be a fine example of a planning trader.
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spider
Member
Username: spider
Post Number: 2596
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - 12:23 pm: |
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rockon................... I wanted to be Jesse Livermore!!!!!!!!!
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tryhay
Member
Username: tryhay
Post Number: 1060
Registered: 09-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - 01:37 pm: |
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Spider ~ I'm also listed as a planning trader (did not sound swank enough to post before)....
Happy trading DYOR
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rockon
Member
Username: rockon
Post Number: 272
Registered: 08-2003Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - 02:38 pm: |
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Spider......Fair enough..but I'll keep the Rolls... You can use the Jag.
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dug
Member
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