Mark Cook

Cook est un trader indépendant de l'Ohio, qui a commencé en 77, et est passé des options sur actions aux options sur indice et finalement aux futures sur le S&P, le Nasdaq et les taux. Il pratique les trois, sur trois échelles de temps, de l'intraday au long terme. Son style est technique. En 1989 il a terminé second du championnat américain d'investissement.

• I do my timing based on charting of a market that I think is oversold or overbought, and then I determine when to purchase or sell securities or something that's a longer-term investment.
• I trade options, with each of he striking prices and the expirations for just the immediate month.
• My futures trading is all daytrading, and it' my bread and butter.
• The intermediate term is mainly predicated on option strategies based on premium evaluatios for the current expiring month.
• For the short term or daytrading horizon, I mostly use what I learned from friends and acquaintances as well as what I read by people like floor traders, who are down there scalping on the floor.
• A daytrader darts into a trade for a very short period of time and after repeated, calculated, strategic trades the bottom line is profitable.
• The day-trader is a cross between an extrovert and an introvert with both characteristics in balance.
• I don't know how many times I've seen people lose money in the morning and quit. My most profitable days are when I lose money in the morning and stay in because I want to get it back.
• You must have a complete commitment to trading and do it full-time. If it is a hobby or a secondary pass-time, I know how the bottom line will be - a big minus.
• You must fit your trading habits to your individual personality. The personality factor, more than any other factor I know of, will determine success or failure.
• The work ethic can never be overstated. I watch the market all day long from opening to close. I have kept diaries on every day in the market for the last seven years, sometimes having over 40 entries in my diary per day. If I do not do my work my profit suffers. There is no short cut in trading, the market will quickly find if you are lazy.
• Planning is the objective part of trading. Start with the worst case scenario and work from there. Determine a plan that tell you when you are wrong and admit it. get out, retreat, live to fight another day.
• I have seven different setups that I currently use, and the basis for them differs according to what the setup is. They have a different time horizon. I'm in 3 to 11 times a day with the S&P's. The time frame is dictated by what the price movements are, what my price objective profit objective, and loss control for the positions are. That's all predicated on what the volatility is at that particular time. The more volatile, the shorter the time frame.
• Intuition is important but it is acquired. There is no substitute for experience.
• Finding a methodology that fits his personality is absolutely valuable.
• Traders need to help other traders, be infectious and contagious for them. I'm a cheerleader, supporting them and giving them encouragement. But I'm also giving them knowledge. I want to encourage those people because I know how rough it was when I started.
• Trading is the best profession in the world. If you can have any degree of success, it will be more rewarding than any other vocation you'll enter into.
• I started my own proprietary indicator called the Cook Cumulative Tick and it's based on the tick count on the NYSE. One of it's components is time horizon, which we keep as a cumulative reading. It is an oversold and overbought indicator.
• I review several circumstances, and I have times of the day that I utilize when the market environment changes. There are setups where it'll go into a narrow trading range.
• Pain is my game. I don't believe in paper trading and I don't believe in back testing. Neither one of them can make you feel the emotional impact you have when money is on the line.
• My whole methodology of trading is that I have to have a 75% probability. I'm looking at 3 out of 4 times of being correct, and of course the fourth time is where the money management comes in. I pass over a lot of situations that don't meet my expectations. I don't like randomness. On seven out of eight days, I am profitable.
• I always say I am not a trader; I am trading. Trading has really engulfed my whole personality. If I didn't trade, a part of me would die. And the market is changing.
• The bonds are the father and the S&P's are the son. Bonds precede the it by as much as a few minutes to down to a few seconds. That's why I trade both of them.
• Most of my daytrades are under an hour. So when I'm going in the S&P's, I use 'time stops'. If it's not working to hit my loss control or my profit objective over an hour, I will exit the trade.
• I do scale buying and scale selling. For example, on the S&P's, I might go in and buy 10, buy anoher 10, and buy another 10.
• You can put a quantity and define the loss control and the profit objective. The place where it becomes discretionary is when you don't hit either one.
• Taking profits too early doesn't bother me. I love to ring the cash register.
• The greatest cardinal sin of trading is to have a profit turn into a loss. That is horrible. You are not going to be long for the trading world if you do that.
• You have to be so goal oriented and numerical - that that's what really motivates you to excel. It's not the dollars anymore. The dollars keep score, but for me the motivation now is winning trades, winning percentages, consecutive winning days, and things like that.
• Over the years, I've accumulated a lot of knowledge, but I'm still stupid. I still make those mistakes. I have a little niche that I trade and that goes with my trading personality.
• Every trader that I know that's been around for quite a while has skeletons in their closet. All of your experiences and even the scars you have are part of what shapes your overall personality.
• My greatest difficulty is a trending market, because I'm basically a fade trader. I have to adjust quickly. What I love is a lot of volatility ; it's my best friend... I have no problem changing gears from when it's low volatility and then high volatility... You just have to understand that that's part of the deal with trading. And you have to be flexible and quick on your feet... In our society these days, everybody's a victim. They don't want to take any responsibility. Well, a successful trader takes responsibility for being a moron.
• Generally I don't go into a slump from having a peak or a streak. What happens is I start gradually diminishing. On days that I should be making more money, I don't make as much. I trade smaller and with a higher frequency until I get my footing underneath me again.
• I believe in keeping a trading diary and evaluating my trades.
• Old traders really know themselves well. It's very interesting to talk to these old traders who are multi-millionaires, very successful, very confident, and have the mental acuity that makes a genius look like a dumbbell. Still, these guys acknowledge and live with their flaws and adjust to them.
• Perseverance is what separates successful traders from unsuccessful traders.
• Most people are either bullish or bearish. And if they try to trade a methodology or whatever that's bullish and they're basically a bearish person, it isn't going to work. The other problem they have is they pick the wrong trading vehicle...a person very analytic...can't trade the S&P's - they are not quick enough. Of all the investment vehicles I've found over the years, the most predictable and the most consistently consecutive on the winning side are the bonds.
• It is very important for a trader to be immersed in his own market research and devise his own trade setups. That's part of the moving from the amateur to the professional status.
• Trading makes you feel good and that's what life is all about. Successful traders set themselves apart and feel good about themselves.

1. Each day I am a creature of habit, going through a daily ritual before the markets open. I outline in detail all three possible scenarios for that day: up, down or sideways. I assign a probability to that scenario and make a written strategy plan.
2. All day long I record a diary of the trading patterns for that day. This is a ritual I've done for 12 years, and the diaries have been priceless. Recurrent patterns are much more frequent than people realize.
3. Do not trade the last hour of the day in the S&P futures market.
4. After two hours of trading, ask yourself, "Do I feel good about my trading today ?"
5. All cylinders of the engine must be running efficiently. If your phone, quote machine, or any other mechanical function of your daily routine is out of whack, stop trading.
6. Have complete faith in your indicators. Not taking a trade that is set up using indicators you have developed is calling yourself a liar. The indicator is a product of you telling yourself to do a trade.
7. Day-trading is a long-term commitment. It takes several years to become a true professional.

1. You must make up for those minus $1000 days by making more then $500 some days.
2. To anyone who aspires to become a day-trader, observe those who are successful. Any information you can procure on the trading philosophies, mechanics and techniques of the professionals is well worth your while...Do not try to clone another individual, because your personality is never exactly the same as his. Observe, learn and test the waters to arrive at the confidence level you will need to achieve consistent success.
3. My final daily rule means taking every trade and dissecting it. This will provide a roadmap for success by showing you where you have been, which mistakes you can learn from and which situations to avoid.