Episode 11 ... Zach Hurwitz (123:31)

10 AM to Noon, no calls, no appointments for Zach
Tufts, class of 2008, transitioned from English major to Econ major
Started trading during a volatile time
2008, 2009, 2010 ... algos began impacting the markets
Retail guys need both screen time and coding time
Lost all his initial trading stake in six weeks in 2008
Had a visceral connection with chart patterns
Two classes that helped him with trading: AP English and Drama
In 2010 introduced to quant trader, "David," randomly met
Lives in Ohio, middle of nowhere, just got lucky meeting "David"
His analyst says "trust the process" [Zach goes to psychotherapy?]
[Zach tends to ramble on at length, but he's likable....]
David tip: some days you have to be the mouse (detail oriented), some days the eagle (visionary), some days the donkey (do grunt work)
No trader wants to admit he's a beginner
Non-traders think day trading is glamorous, but they're wrong
Trading is "quiet, lonely struggle ... and it's hard" [I like it]
Poisonous self-talk during dark hours of trading
A trader is the boss, the employee and the janitor, all in one
Have to learn to identify when you are being ridiculous
You can't learn to trade if you can't spend 40 hours a week on it
Risk management, position sizing ... these can be learned
Trading psychology, controlling yourself, is the thing you can't really learn
Step one is being honest with yourself
A trading coach is not a cheerleader
We are in charge of deceiving ourselves
Spending 20 hours a day six days a week to make $40K (40% on 100K), you feel like a jerk
VWAP is his holy grail, the thing that made sense to him, would have quit in 2011 if he hadn't found it
Zach is 28 years old now
Zerohedge and Brian Shannon of Alphatrends turned him on to VWAP
VWAP was available on the ThinkOrSwim platform so he could explore it
VWAP -- Volume Weighted Average Price ... like the ultimate "moving average"
VWAP originally built to benchmark execution quality
All indicators are arbitrary
["Let me go off on a little tangent here...."]
Chat with Traders podcast is a killer resource
It's easier to learn from watching a developing athlete, not a pro
Good traders like good athletes, they make it look easy
VWAP looks like a moving average and acts like a pivot
VWAP responsive in a morning, dull in middle of the day, then picks up again at end of day (because it's volume weighted :) )
VWAP gives you your bias for the day
["Forgive me for the meandering and tangentials..."]
VWAP will lead you to trade the most liquid names
People who want to trade stocks "in play" should be slapped in the face [who, moi?]
Mentions Mitch Hedberg ... Zach sounds a bit like a non-stoned Mitch, no?
Most people fly around as an eagle, spend a minute as a mouse, and never get around to being the donkey
VWAP best for intraday, mega-cap traders
Zach is now a systematic trade, no longer discretionary
Trading is lonely and difficult, it's invaluable to have a trading comrade
["I'll turn this into a four hour podcast!"]
Not much good, free VWAP information out there ... not many people using it every day
Brian Shannon is excellent, a wonderful educator, and a nice guy
Zach uses ThinkOrSwim, likes it, but is not paid for referrals ... just use the demo account
Your family and friends will think you are just playing video games, but day trading is incredibly hard, needs to be respected
"You're clicking buttons just like every other schmo out there"
Most people don't pay attention -- they don't pay attention to others, themselves or the market
Give up on your unrealistic dreams of the Bugatti ... focus on your realistic dreams
Stop worrying about where you enter a trade, just get in if you think it's going higher
He uses shorter term 14 period RSI in conjunction with VWAP, but only for confirmation
You want a consistent approach
You want to take what you know works, and have it put into code
finviz dot com has a good filter ... start there
ThinkOrSwim has great beginning coding language
If an English major like him can learn to code, so can you
Ten years ago you'd have to know MatLab, not so today, barriers to entry have fallen
If you think everything is going to fall into your lap, you're going to blow up
Failing traders have not mastered even one thing, they bounce around
Trading is a predatory business ... you're a baby duckling and there are hawks out there
Find earnest, honest, real people to talk to about trading [I know of one or two on Twitter]
You don't want to be a jack of all trades, master of none
"If you want to be here for the good days, you have to be here for all the days" -- Ben Lichtenstein
Discretionary traders are all bald ... they drive themselves crazy
Recommends Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, all the Market Wizards books
"I'm not just trying to blow smoke up your skirt" [when singing Aaron's praises]
Make your eagle vision a reality by being the mouse and donkey
Are you life-changing rich by quadrupling your account? No, so stop trying to do that
Lower the stakes for yourself !
Nobody is your overseer as a trader ... you have to control yourself
More traders collapse mentally than financially
"You choose your tuition in the market"
When you don't feel bad about losing trades, you've won
Don't make it harder on yourself than it has to be
["Thank you for indulging my meandering ... babbling for two hours"]
Twitter: @ZachHurwitz