A professional trader since 1981, and heading up her own hedge fund since 1992, Linda Bradford Raschke became well-known through her inclusion in the classic book The New Market Wizards by Jack Schwager. She co-wrote (with Laurence A. Connors) Street Smarts – High Probability Short Term Trading Strategies in 1995. In 2018, she has published Trading Sardines: Lessons in the Market From a Lifelong Trader.
Linda Bradford Raschke is a well-respected and well-liked trader and writer, with over 40 years’ experience in the markets, so I had plenty of quotes to choose from. Here are my 12 favourites:
What is successful trading?
“Successful trading is a game of probabilities, not certainties.”For when we get caught up in trying to predict what will happen next:
“Focus on trading the markets, not predicting them.”When things aren’t working out, when a trade is going bad, and we want to cling on, waiting for it to turn around:
“Perhaps my number one rule is: Don’t try to make a profit on a bad trade, just try to find the best place to get out.”Here she highlights the need for traders to own their own trading decisions:
“If you ever have to ask someone else’s opinion on a trade, you shouldn’t be in it.”This quote is a great reminder that trading really isn’t glamorous, and the majority of the time, we are just trying not to lose money, or lose as little as possible, so that we still be in the game when the big winners come along:
“The good traders are the ones who can hold their ground the majority of the month and participate in that small handful of trades that are windfalls. The real skill is in not LOSING money!”And, a reminder that attitude is so important, especially when things are tough:
“The third important ingredient for achieving peak performance is attitude. Attitude is how you deal with the inevitable adverse situations that occur in the markets. Attitude is also how you handle the daily grind, the constant 2 steps forward and 2 steps back.”Ever the modest trader, Linda Bradford Raschke knows that the really good traders keep their heads down and their egos in check:
“Speech may be silver but silence is golden. Traders with the golden touch do not talk about their success.”For those of us who sometimes worry that we might not be clever enough to succeed at trading, or who think we need a PhD in mathematics to make money in the markets, this quote puts our minds at rest:
“The truth is that once you get down on the trading floor, you find that the traders come from all walks of life. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to be a trader. In fact, some of the best traders whom I knew down on the floor were surf bums. Formal education didn’t really seem to have much to do with a person’s skill as a trader.”As well a being a trader, Linda Bradford Raschke is also a pianist, and she links her success in the markets with her musical ability:
“I believe my most important skill is an ability to perceive patterns in the market. I think this aptitude for pattern recognition is probably related to my heavy involvement with music.”Here she compares trading with playing the piano:
“I really value the fact that I’ve learned to trade as a craft. Like any craft, such as piano playing, perfection may be elusive – I’ll never play a piece perfectly, and I’ll never buy the low and sell the high – but consistency is achievable if you practice day in and day out.”As we all know, a lot of trading involves waiting, so it’s great to have a legend like Linda Bradford Raschke remind us of the importance of patience:
“I try to wait until things set up just right before I take a trade. Then, when I’m ready to take the trade, I slowly count to ten before I pick up the phone. It’s better to have the wrong idea and good timing than the right idea and bad timing.”And lastly, a reminder that as traders, we are all essentially risk managers:
“The most important part of trading is being able to manage risk.”
