Back when I started trading, things were very different
Our online Trading Tools?
We had telephones, and hi-tech was speed dial.
You had to learn the 'language'
You had to develop a broker relationship
You had to master the speed dial
I had not learned at that point that brokers didn't care what you felt, thought or said unless it was a trading order that was given using the correct terminology and fast!
The BEST thing I ever said to a broker was "Sorry, I am new, and I don't know how to give orders"
"I'll call you back" He said
A few hours later, at the end of the trading session, the phone rang. It was Frank Freeman.
He taught me the words to use to give correct verbal orders for all order types. Frank was the best open outcry broker I ever used. Later on, I got to meet Frank in London. I only discovered then that Frank was blind since birth.
Yes, you read that right - a blind broker. What does that tell you about charts and trading? Food for thought? I remember Frank couldn't believe I had never ridden in a black cab or been on the London Underground. "Give me your arm" He said.
He then 'took me' in a black cab and then on the London Underground. After lunch, he said… "Now tell me how the f*#ck you know the levels the FTSE will trade to?"
Frank became a great source of inspiration to me. Eventually, he retired, and I moved on to the new way of placing trades. Online dealing was a revelation.
When you start doing well as a trader, word quickly gets around. It was not long before the press came knocking.
As a result of this and other publicity, I was approached by traders for training. This was in 1995
In my naivete I assumed that to teach someone how to trade, it had always been live.
I set up a live trading room, little did I know this would light a fire under demand. Nobody was teaching under live market conditions, taking actual trades, with real money.
I loved trading live with an audience. (Ego probably)
Eighteen months later, I was burned out. I stopped training traders. Years later I started training again on a small scale and now as it's all on my terms I thoroughly enjoy it again.
© 2023 MJC Training Trust All Rights Reserved.