Our first Trader of the Month for the new year is Ephraim Olschewski, founder of Day Trade Like A Pro and he shares with us his tips to becoming a successful trader in 2021 and beyond.
Interview With Leeloo Trader of the Month: Ephraim Olschewski, founder Day Trade Like A Pro
How long have you been trading?
I started trading the Russell 2000 in 2007
How did you get into trading?
I met a guy at a party who said he was making 1-3% a day on his portfolio. It sounded totally absurd to me. He referred me to the company he learned from and I got started that week.
What’s your favorite thing about trading?
The personal growth that comes from working to get better every day. There is no other industry on the planet that provides the opportunities for self-discovery and improvement like trading does.
How do you manage your trading psychology?
I am a huge believer in meditation. I have a trading coach who works with me on the psychological aspect of trading and I’ve been practicing meditation every day for years. Besides those things, my approach on a day-to-day or trade-to-trade basis is to track the following four things about each trade or potential trade:
- The price
- The direction (long/short)
- Conviction word (I developed something with my coach we call the conviction spectrum which tracks how convicted I am to a trade idea. I want to be confident enough to put the trade on, but not too confident since overconfidence generally leads to poor decision making).
- Did I take the trade: yes or no?
Then I track the results from those questions each day when I do my review and see what patterns I can learn about my emotional state, and my trading decisions. I could write a book on this, but I think these are some of the top points I want to make.
Do you have a specific strategy you’d like to share?
When I first started, I learned from the gentleman who originally created prediction points. I have since purchased the algorithm for prediction points and perfected it over time. Traders can learn more about that by visiting Day Trade Like A Pro.
What makes you a consistent trader?
I’m not sure I really even know what it means to be a ‘consistent trader’; it’s a phrase that somebody made up and a lot of traders talk about like it’s something to achieve. But I think the reality is, anybody that’s been trading for any notable amount of time absolutely knows that there’ll be ups and downs along the way. You never arrive anywhere, and there’s always somebody who is doing it bigger and better than you. I find this encouraging because you can keep growing and improving every day.
What advice for other traders do you have to help them focus on consistency?
One thing that’s helped me along the way is focusing on the process, not the outcome. That’s so much harder to do in practice! It’s really easy to feel like you’re doing good when you’re making money and doing bad if you’re losing money, but focusing on the outcome will almost always result in poor performance over the long run. Fall in love with the process, focus on the process, master the process and the outcomes will happen over time.
How do you manage risk in your account to stay successful?
This is really no secret. You manage risk by managing size. I’ve worked with a lot of traders over the years and no one ever called me and told me they blew their account out because they were trading too small. Over-leveraging your account is the quickest way to blow it up. So whatever size you think you should be trading, cut that way down and then probably cut that down again. Once you’ve earned the right, with consistency over time you can start upping your size.
What’s your top tip for other traders to manage risk?
Trade smaller, WAY smaller than you think you should. You basically want trading a live account to feel similar to trading on demo. If you put a trade on and you’re grabbing your chest hoping your heart doesn’t beat out of it, you’re way too big in the trade.
What’s the best piece of trading advice you’ve ever received?
“Your job is to put the trades on and take the trades off. Do that flawlessly, stop worrying about the rest.”
Would you tell our traders why you recommend trading with a prop firm over trading your own account?
I believe there is practically no point in trading your own money. Leeloo offers an incredible profit sharing percentage and they are taking all the risk. There are huge benefits to trading with a prop firm, including the emotional and mental ones of not having any of your own money at risk.
What advantages do you think prop firms offer you/your clients?
Most traders who blow their accounts are under capitalized and over-leveraged trading their own money. With prop firms today, you can get access to unlimited amounts of capital and you can manage that with a very safe, conservative approach. With Leeloo, there is no reason to be over-leveraged.
Do you have a business that you’d love to tell our community about?
I founded Day Trade Like A Pro. We have a private discord server where we have some of the top traders I’ve ever known. They trade together most days, and are very willing to help new and experienced traders alike. I wish a community like this had existed when I was starting and I believe that any trader can benefit from being a part of this community.
Why do you work with LEELOO?
Leeloo is hands down the best in the business. They are reputable and legitimate, and offer the best opportunity for traders to earn a funded account – and keep that account.
What have you enjoyed the most about Leeloo?
It’s so simple. I don’t have to remember 32 different news announcements or make sure I don’t trade at the wrong second of the day. There’s one rule, just don't break it. Also the team at Leeloo is world class. This is a company that truly does exist to create opportunities for traders.
Is there anything that you’d just love for the trading community to know about you?
Yes. If I can do this, literally anyone can do it!
Is there anything you’d like our community to know about your trading community?
Every trader on the planet should be a part of it. It is the most pay-it-forward group of traders I’ve ever been around and these guys are no joke – making serious money together.
What’s your top trading tip?
Don’t let a bad trade turn into a bad day or worse a bad week, month or year.
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Written by Kate Hammaren, Freelance Writer and Editor