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Brett Steenbarger – Best Practices of Professional Traders

Most people approach trading like a lottery.
Professionals treat it like a sport.

Behind every “Market Wizard” lies a disciplined training program, a process designed around personal strengths, and the ability to act boldly when the odds line up.
Here are four principles you can apply today.

1️⃣ Expertise First: Learn Before You Risk Big

Professional traders don’t throw their life savings into the market on day one.

They treat the journey like an athlete’s:

• Mentors and coaching shorten the learning curve.

• Structured drills (chart reviews, trade journaling, replaying scenarios) build muscle memory.

• Gradual risk increase ensures that by the time real capital is on the line, skills are proven.

This phased approach avoids the painful trap of “tuition fees” paid to the market through big, early losses.

Lesson: Train, test, and master – before you size up.

2️⃣ Strength-Aligned Process: Build a System That Fits YOU

No two traders are identical.
The best traders customize every stage of their process:

• How they find trade ideas

• How they structure entries and exits

• How they manage trades in real-time

• How they review results

This alignment often follows their personal strengths (sometimes called VIA strengths):
A trader with analytical strength may excel at quantitative systems, while one with patience and intuition may thrive in longer-term swing trading.

When your process fits your personality, consistency becomes much easier.

3️⃣ Focus & Flow: Engineer Your Mental State

Trading requires periods of intense focus. But focus is a limited resource.

Elite traders deliberately design their routines:

• Scheduled breaks between sessions

• Rotation of analytical and creative tasks

• Physical fitness to maintain mental stamina

• (Some even experiment with brain-training tools)

Flow — the state where time disappears and execution feels effortless — comes when tasks are challenging enough to engage, but not overwhelming.

Lesson: Protect your focus as much as you protect your capital.

4️⃣ Selective Aggression: Press When the Market Confirms

Professionals are patient most of the time.
Then, when conditions align perfectly, they scale up aggressively.

How do they know when?

• They continuously update probabilities as the trade unfolds.

• They increase risk only when evidence confirms the original thesis.

This selective aggression leads to right-tail returns: a few big winners that make the year.

Key Takeaway

Elite traders are built, not born.
They combine training, a personalized process, engineered focus, and disciplined aggression to navigate the markets.