I’ve posted RWT-008, which goes over some basic game theory as it applies to a common trading decision: taking profits vs. letting the trade ride. In a canned example, I show how you can mathematically decide which option is best, and also give a way to model the imperfection of the common trader when [...]
If you are trading with a goal of maximizing your long term profits, you should be concerned with maximizing your expectancy. But, if you are like me, and you want to keep your electricity on via trading stocks, expectancy isn’t the right measurement to use. In this article, I’ll explain how to gauge [...]
Ever wonder why a 1:3 Risk:Reward ratio is so prevalent as a rule of thumb? Ever since I’ve been reading about trading, I’ve heard people say that they ideally look for at least a 1:3 ratio, even if they’ll settle for 1:2. In this article, I’ll talk about how you can derive this [...]
I was listening to this excellent audio presentation that ugly posted about, and it got me thinking yet again about expectancy. The audio was about how people have trouble with probability. One example characterizes lotteries as a stupidity tax, because the odds of winning are so remote. But, what is the expectancy [...]
We are all, theoretically, at risk of total financial ruin. Imagine you find a system with a 99.9% success rate, an average per-trade gain of 50% equity, and an average loss of only 0.01% of equity. You would use it, right? So would I! After all, the expectancy would be: [...]