on the minimization of cope and not being one of those old guys that blames their shitty pnl on the fed
i've been trading long enough to see previously hungry, nimble, curious peers start to atrophy into the kind of guy that goes onto realvision and blames "the algos".
change in is only the constant in markets.
all the best opportunities happen at inflection points - snap changes in policy, market structure, introduction of new technology or markets.
it is your job, as a trader, to stay hungry, flexible, adaptive to these things.
if you find yourself blaming your bad pnl on the current environment, then whose fault is it really?
it's your fault for either not seeing the current environment clearly or, worse, seeing it but not adapting to it because you didn't like it or got lazy.
admittedly it is hard to stay hungry and nimble as you get older.
this is why i like to work with, and chat to, traders younger than me.
i need the energy, and the inspiration, to stay competitive and change and adapt quick.
one of the emotionally hardest things in poker is folding a pot you've invested a lot in.
it's similarly hard for traders to pivot. to realize that there are better opportunities elsewhere than what they've worked on, and fold and switch.
but, you gotta.
no sacred cows.
if you told me two years ago i would mostly be trading defi now i would have been concerned.
"oh no. what happened?!"
do i wish i were still trading rates futures or equity options?
maybe a little. i'd have enjoyed more spare time. some relationships would be better.
but i like the challenge of new things. and i love my pnl.
but, more than that, i know that i need to keep changing and adapting,
i know that i need to "do the reps". it's a necessity to keep adapting, or even to "slash and burn" and play a totally new game.
gotta see and play the environment as it is.
if you're playing the wrong game, you gotta move towards the right one - however much you invested in the old one.
don't be that guy who "knows" the fed is manipulating prices higher but hasn't made any money out of it.
beep...boop