Just wondering. Thinking about the very few trader friends I have, they mostly seem to be introverted.
How about you? Are you introverted, too? How about the other traders you personally know? 
6 Likes
Good question. 'Cos I thought we were all introverts - we work alone, hunched over screens, and nobody around us has the faintest idea what trading is.
But actually, I suppose I think long-term traders are introverted and day-traders are extroverted. Long-term traders are chess players, day-traders are social network gamers.
2 Likes
Yeah Iām thinking about all the traders I know or even those who just dabbled, theyāre all introvertsā¦ Trading is definitely an introvert interest I think. Just because of the sheer lack of social interaction 
1 Like
This is actually a good question, and in part explains why some make lousy traders
Extroverts work best needing to speak to other traders, soak up other opinions etc which often doesnāt sit well with being all alone, and can lead to self sabotage.
Brett Steenbarger talks about this in some of his books.
As for myself, Iām an introvert who can successfully hide it in social situations. But I most definitely need to retire to solace and reading my book after all that excessive stimulation.
If @tommor is correct that day traders are more extrovert it would also explain my inability to master that style.
However Iām am not so sure he is correct.
Iāve always likened day traders to shoot em gamers, and letās face it most of them were never the āin crowdā at school.
6 Likes
Iām an extroverted introvert, and ambidextrousā¦ I trade to make money, which seems a dirty word for many, but I keep within my intraday comfort zone, trading the Ih - daily charts only.
Look up Tom Hougaard - he has a free download course that would cost $3k elsewhere. Also seminars on YouTube. Heās a philanthropist, and definitely a modest extrovert with a unique style, and (likely) in the top 1% of successful traders.
Let me know if you like his style, certainly it opened my eyes to not being normal as a route to success - 555.
2 Likes
Ooooooh. 
This oneās an interesting question. 
And tbh, itās nice to read the comments cause I sort of get to know more about the others. Iām an extrovert Iām pretty much the same online and offline. I think somehow, it was an advantage for me because I needed so much help from people, especially during my first months.
1 Like
Will do ! - He was āchief Tactical Traderā for City Index when I first started over 20 years ago - and I paid something over Ā£500 to go on one of his 2 day courses. 
- Be interesting to see where heās got to these days 
1 Like
Personally I seem to be able to āflipā between the two - When Im in a āsteady relationshipā - I seem to become more Introverted and when Iām āsingleā - I get more extroverted - or at least maybe as @Johnscott31 defiines himself āan introvert who manages to mask it in social situationsā . There are elements of both which I would like to be able to meld into a better whole - but I donāt seem to be able to do that succesfully.
Is the distinction āIntrovert / extrovertā I wonder ? or is it perhaps a fact that an apparent introvert who has few friends may have a common link between the two rather than a causal link ? Again as @Johnscott31 points out those ādaytrade gamersā would probably not have been the āmost popular at schoolā - yet if we look at the recent Gamestop incident they seem to number in the Millions on āReddittā where they call themselves āProud Autistsā or āHappy Autistsā (donāt remember which)
Iām going to postulate a hypothesis here ;
Maybe those who are attracted to this āoccupationā tend to be intelligent ? - Iād say in the top quartile of intelligence - ie 3/4 of the population are of lesser IQ - so IQ say 108 and above ? ie - If we think in Bollinger Band terms somewhere between the first and third UPPER Bollinger band ?
Some of us tend to be more interested in āhow things workā - including the human mind and perhaps we like to think about and consider questions exactly like the one @ponponwei asked us to ponder when she started this thread ? and perhaps we find those who want to talk about āfootballā and āSoapsā quite tedious and uninspiring company ? Ergo we may Appear to be āIntrovertsā and ānot have many friends at schoolā - simply because we are not really interested in talking at āthe āNormyā levelā ? - Perhaps even we might internalise this as an indication that there is āsomething wrong with usā as opposed to what may be the real truth - that āTheirā conversation level we just find trivial and boring ?
I think too - most of us donāt fancy the concept of a 9-5 job and would like to be financially free to do as we wish in life whilst just āPopping inā to the markets occasionally to pick up some money 
I do know āExtrovertsā who trade - one in particular is Sooo bright that he can pretty much get himself into debt at a level most of us would find
-a) scary
-b) Impossible since we would never get that level of credit !
Then he will come up with a scheme to make a few quid - and next time you see him he has swapped teh porsche for a Ferrari and upgraded his Merc !
Yet he can speak to anyone and buys āroundsā continuously ! - charms everyone - including the Tax-man! - unless they Cross him ! - ex RAF - that seems quite a good start in life from those I have met !
At the moment he recently bought a farm in Poland - where he lives with his new Polish wife.
Another one used to run a Singles Club and went into property at the right time - baled out at the right time and went off to New Zealand - not heard from him for some years now.
5 Likes
Tom Hougaard has a Telegram group - free to join of course - trades all day everyday.
Me ? Introvert/extrovert
Definitely well east of north on the Autie spectrum
1 Like
Would a trader who is truly an introvert actually respond to this question? 
6 Likes
Shhh ! 
- Speak softly - donāt startle us 
4 Likes
I think your reply gave me aids
Iām very much an extrovert in the social situations I find myself in, but Iām not sociable or gregarious in the sense of actively seeking out the company of others. Itās not that I dislike or am afraid of people, I just prefer my own company. Probably has a lot to do with what Falstaff was saying. I just donāt share most other peopleās interests. Not that I donāt enjoy interacting with you lovely folks. Weāre mostly on the same page. Besides, youāre all not really real, anyway, just avatars on my computer screen.
I tend to gravitate toward hobbies that are solitary. In fact, probably the biggest selling point for trading forex with me is that it requires zero interaction with other humans. Itās just my laptop, the market, and me. My success depends on no one else. No excuses, no alibis. I love that.
4 Likes
Hi ponponwei and fellow traders,
It looks like I am the exception to your rule as I am not what you would call introvert. I also have worked with a very successful trader who is well known in the industry for over 20 years and he also is no where near introverted. But it is an interesting theory and judging by the results, does hold some merit. I guess the question is: Does it matter???
1 Like
Nah - the question is in the title mate !
either join in or donāt !
3 Likes
I think of all the traders that are successful, the majority are extroverts. But it will be introverts that create winning strategies, and then share those ideas with an extroverted friend, who will then sell that strategy to other extroverts. Introverts design success, extroverts copy it but actually make up the larger portion of traders (IMO) As a creative introvert Iāve had a lifetime of extroverts gaining off the back of me.
2 Likes
Iām introverted to the point of almost being a hermit.
3 Likes
It is not necessary that mostly introverts are into this trading thing, most of the traders that I know are extroverts. Trading now a days has become a more interactive process, you need to learn from others, share your experiences with each other. However there are also many people who like to work in isolation, so no thumb rule here.
So I guess the next question would be: āDoes it have to?ā I thought we were just having a friendly discussion for the fun of it. If every conversation I had was earth shaking it would tire me out.
Maybe Iām really a repressed extrovert.
I agree that contact with others is normally required to be able to understand thing better, get new insights, and āsee how things are doneā.