If our new feature sounds like a shameless rip off of a long-running Radio 4 feature, well thats probably because it sort of is. Still, we're sure Kirsty Young won't mind too much, because it's all for a bit of fun, right Kirsty?
First up to take part is Moritz Czubatinski. Moritz (twitter: @stocktcm) is a former videogamer turned poker player turned Forex and Futures day trader turned Stocks swing trader. Got all that? He says he hasn’t had a proper home in the last 10 years as he is always on the road, and all his belongings fit into one suitcase. Which probably makes him the ideal Desert Island Trader.
Moritz is the Co-Founder & Managing Director of the company that runs tradeciety.com, an educational site for traders of all experience levels, and edgewonk.com, a professional trading journal software.
Desert Island Trades
Desert Island Trades: Your Challenge
You've been dumped on a desert and desolate island, and the only way to get off is to make enough money trading to buy a ride from a ruthless local fisherman. You’ve got $500 in your account and you must trade your way to the fisherman’s going rate of $10,000 to get aboard his trawler. You will have only a laptop and a working link to your broker. Should you fail, the fisherman will cut your connection and you'll never trade again, marooned and doomed... To help you, you can choose the following:
- 1 trading book
- 1 trading movie/documentary
- 1 source of news
- 1 twitter account to follow
- 1 quote to inspire you
- 1 trading platform
- 1 instrument/market to trade
- 1 luxury item
- 1 phone call for advice
Book
Click to buy Moritz's recommended book
Technical Analysis Of Stock Trends by Robert D. Edwards and John Magee. Based on Richard W. Schabacker’s work which is now dating almost 100 years back, this book will teach you all you need to know to successfully trade classic chart patterns (up to the 5th edition, later editions have unfortunately desecrated this holy book).
It lays the foundation for both my day trading and my swing trading, which is all I need to turn 500 into 10.000 currency units, although that could take a while. I hope the island is somewhere in the Caribbean...
Movie/Documentary
Rounders. It’s not a trading movie, rather a poker movie, or THE poker movie, but it’s a lot of fun for everyone that bets money on probabilities, like traders do, as well. Fun fact: Matt Damon and Edward Norton (starring) were actually spotted at the World Series of Poker before and following the release of the movie. There are, in my opinion, no good trading movies because they are all like the poker scene in Casino Royale; Royal Flush over Straight Flush?! That happened like zero times to me over 5 million played hands. Crap. And I don’t watch documentaries.
News Source
The James Altucher Podcast. I avoid the news like the plague because all they give me is depression. I would really love to live on an island and for some time actually have - remind me, why do I want to leave and pay 10 grand in order to do so? I do listen to podcasts though, and I love James Altucher’s.
Twitter Account
Assad Tannous (@AsennaWealth). Educational and entertaining. A great trader. Follow Assad at @AsennaWealth
Quote
Success is usually the culmination of controlling failure.
This is a quote by Socrates, of course. Just kidding, it’s Sylvester Stallone. A highly underrated actor, writer, director, and apparently philosopher. This quote is very applicable to professional risk-taking.
Platform
TradingView. I use TradingView for all my charting which is amazing. The platform I use for execution is a nightmare, but I only open it when I manage my trades or enter new orders, then I close it down again. Helps avoid itchy finger syndrome. uk.tradingview.com
Instrument/Market
Hong Kong stocks. I love Hong Kong, it’s the best place in the world to be for me, and purely out of interest I looked at HK stocks and immediately fell in love with them. A ton of my volume each month is done in the HK exchange. I’ve wanted to visit HK since I was a six-year-old kid and a huge Jackie Chan fan and when I finally did, it became the love of my life. Call it fate.
Luxury Item
Silk Pillow. All everyday items become luxury on a deserted island, even a toothbrush, while vanity items obviously become totally useless. Assuming I already salvaged a toothbrush from a dead sailor, hmm…a silk pillow filled with downs. Might as well sleep like a king, given the choice!
Phone Call
My dad. No matter how deep the hole is which I dug for myself, he always stays calm and gives reasonable advice. The smartest man I know!
- Make sure to check out Moritz's great interview with Two Blokes Trading on How a Trading Journal Can Increase Your Profitability
016 – How a Trading Journal Can Increase Your Profitability with Edgewonk
