1. “A losing trader can do little to transform himself into a winning trader. A losing trader is not going to want to transform himself. That’s the kind of thing winning traders do.” – Ed Seykota
2. “Win or lose, everybody gets what they want out of the market. Some people seem to like to lose, so they win by losing money.” – Ed Seykota
3. “Luck plays an enormous role in trading success. Some people were lucky enough to be born smart, while others were even smarter and got born lucky.” – Ed Seykota
4. “My style is basically trend following, with some special pattern recognition and money management algorithms.” – Ed Seykota
5. “If you want to know everything about the market, go to the beach. Push and pull your hands with the waves. Some are bigger waves, some are smaller. But if you try to push the wave out when it’s coming in, it’ll never happen. The market is always right.” – Ed Seykota
6. “Trying to trade during a losing streak is emotionally devastating. Trying to play ‘catch up’ is lethal.” – Ed Seykota
7. “A lot of people would rather understand the market than make money.” – Ed Seykota
8. “Trends become more apparent as you step further away from the chart.” – Ed Seykota
9. “Pyramiding instructions appear on dollar bills. Add smaller and smaller amounts on the way up. Keep your eye open at the top.” – Ed Seykota
10. “To avoid whipsaw losses, stop trading.” – Ed Seykota
11. “In your recipe for success, don’t forget commitment – and a deep belief in the inevitability of your success.” – Ed Seykota
12. “Fundamentals that you read about are typically useless as the market has already discounted the price, and I call them “funny-mentals”. However, if you catch on early, before others believe, you might have valuable “surprise-a-mentals”.” – Ed Seykota
13. “Psychology motivates the quality of analysis and puts it to use. Psychology is the driver and analysis is the road map.” – Ed Seykota
14. “Risk no more than you can afford to lose, and also risk enough so that a win is meaningful.” – Ed Seykota
15. “Losing a position is aggravating, whereas losing your nerve is devastating.” – Ed Seykota
16. “Dramatic and emotional trading experiences tend to be negative. Pride is a great banana peel, as are hope, fear, and greed. My biggest slip-ups occurred shortly after I got emotionally involved with positions.” – Ed Seykota
17. “The markets are the same now as they were five or ten years ago because they keep changing-just like they did then.” – Ed Seykota
18. “Having a quote machine is like having a slot machine at your desk – you end up feeding it all day long. I get my price data after the close each day.” – Ed Seykota
19. “Trading requires skill at reading the markets and at managing your own anxieties.” – Ed Seykota
20. “Working to anticipate the future can be a distraction from the important task of dealing with the present.” – Ed Seykota
21. “The key to long-term survival and prosperity has a lot to do with the money management techniques incorporated into the technical system.” – Ed Seykota
22. “The biggest secret about success is that there isn’t any big secret about it, or if there is, then it’s a secret from me, too. The idea of searching for some secret for trading success misses the point.” – Ed Seykota
23. “I don’t predict a non existing future.” – Ed Seykota
24. “The elements of good trading are (1) cutting losses, (2) cutting losses, and (3) cutting losses. If you can follow these three rules, you may have a chance.” – Ed Seykota
25. “Traders and Surfers both have to deal with feelings of missing out on the small ones, until the big one comes along. They also have to deal with feelings of staying with the big one.” – Ed Seykota
26. “I usually ignore advice from other traders, especially the ones who believe they are on to a “sure thing”. The old timers, who talk about “maybe there is a chance of so and so,” are often right and early.” – Ed Seykota
27. “A trading system is an agreement you make between yourself and the markets.” – Ed Seykota
28. “There are old traders and there are bold traders, but there are very few old, bold traders.” – Ed Seykota
29. “I turn bullish at the instant my buy stop is hit, and stay bullish until my sell stop is hit.” – Ed Seykota
30. “The trend is your friend except at the end where it bends.” – Ed Seykota
31. “Risk control has to do with your willingness to allow your stop to do its job.” – Ed Seykota
32. “Markets are fundamentally volatile. No way around it. Your problem is not in the math. There is no math to get you out of having to experience uncertainty.” – Ed Seykota
33. “The idea of searching for some secret for trading success misses the point.” – Ed Seykota
34. “Before I enter a trade, I set stops at a point at which the chart sours.” – Ed Seykota
35. “Systems don’t need to be changed. The trick is for a trader to develop a system with which he is compatible.” – Ed Seykota
36. “I would add that I consider myself and how I do things as a kind of system which, by definition, I always follow.” – Ed Seykota
37. “It is a happy circumstance that when nature gives us true burning desires, she also gives us the means to satisfy them. Those who want to win and lack skill can get someone with skill to help them.” – Ed Seykota
38. “In order of importance to me are: 1) the long term trend, 2) the current chart pattern, and 3) picking a good spot to buy or sell.” – Ed Seykota
39. “Purpose of life is to find and fund your vocation, regardless of the outcome.” – Ed Seykota
40. “Everybody gets what they want out of the market.” – Ed Seykota
41. “I think that if people look deeply enough into their trading patterns, they find that, on balance, including all their goals, they are really getting what they want, even though they may not understand it or want to admit it.” – Ed Seykota
42. “If you can’t take a small loss, sooner or later you will take the mother of all losses.” – Ed Seykota
43. “Trend following is an exercise in observing and responding to the ever-present moment of now.” – Ed Seykota
44. “It’s all about sticking to your plan and experiencing feelings as they arise. If you are unwilling to feel your feelings, the temptation is to avoid them by jumping off your system.” – Ed Seykota
45. “The trading rules I live by are: 1. Cut losses. 2. Ride winners. 3. Keep bets small. 4. Follow the rules without question. 5. Know when to break the rules.” – Ed Seykota
46. “It can be very expensive to try to convince the markets you are right.” – Ed Seykota
47. “If you can’t measure it, you cannot control it. Things you measure, tend to improve.” – Ed Seykota
48. “Good traders trade. Good letter writers write letters.” – Ed Seykota
49. “Trends become more apparent as you step further away from the chart.” – Ed Seykota