Best Trading Tips & Quotes
from Legendary Top Traders
One of the best way to master a skill is to learn from the very best in the field, by tapping on their words of wisdom and profound insights.
Which is why we have compiled all the best trading quotes and tips from the greatest legendary traders of all-time, all into one handy guide for your easy reference.
Enjoy! ?
Here is a compilation of all the best trading wisdom and lessons from many famous and legendary traders:
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Conclusion
I hope you have enjoyed this compilation of all the best trading advice from various legendary traders.
Now I’ll like to hear from you: what is your key take-away from this trading guide?
What is your favourite trader of all time?
Which is your favourite trading quote, and how can it improve your trading?
Are there any other famous quotes or traders which I have missed out?
Let me know by leaving a quick comment below right now.
Instead of hoping he must fear and instead of fearing he must hope. He must fear that his loss may develop into a much bigger loss, and hope that his profit may become a big profit.
I can relate very closely to this quote 🙂
High five!
Only about 5% of traders & investors have clear, specific, written trading systems & plans that they follow each day. The other 95% have hopes, dreams, wishes, & fantasies, but not quantified trading systems. And the great tragedy is that they don’t know their results are doomed.
So hard to achieve!
Well said!
Will you be having quotes from current rich people like jack ma or elon musk?
Probably not, because they are business experts rather than experts in trading or investing haha
That’s true! Then who are the more upcoming modern experts in trading or investing in this industry now?
You probably see them in the news, such as those fund managers with many years of consistent returns.
Honestly, the names of these fund managers are not commonly seen…
Some of them are pretty old, but you might have come across them in books!
Who is the best trader that you have worked with before?
I have worked with and coached many good traders, but I don’t rank them lol
The positive intention of fear is risk control.
Nicely summarized! The best quotes are usually the shorter ones.
You’re welcome!
“The whole secret to winning big in the stock market is not to be right all the time, but to lose the least amount possible when you’re wrong.”
Does this mean that I should just focus and keep on paper trading? Then I will just lose no dollars if I am wrong?
You adapt, evolve, compete or die.
Applies to everything in life!
Well said!
There is a time to go long. There is a time to go short. There is a time to go fishing.
I love fishing! Its a patience game.
Yup, it is definitely good training for patience!
Most of these quotes will start to make sense once you understand what is trading and investing.
Well said!
End of the day, technical skills are still very important in trading. If you cannot master the techniques, even though your emotion handling is good, you will still lose money and fail.
Yes, all 3 skills (money, method, mindset) are essential for trading success!
Most traders say they want to trade for a living but then trade like they have to retire next week. Thats me 😀
Slow and steady!
Starting out to trade passively. Mostly in US stock market. Market cap and volatility is bigger than Singapore.
Start by following 1 trader online.
Start by reading 1 blog post.
Start by reading 1 trading book.
Start by looking at 1 chart.
Start by doing 1 backtest.
Start by buying 1 stock.
Start by cutting 1 loss.
Start by letting 1 winner run.
Start today. Repeat tomorrow.
So I will start by making 1 post here too! Basically, the quote summary is to just start doing something about it instead of procrastinating!
How is your progress now? I have just started 2 weeks ago.
That’s right! Getting started breaks the habit of procrastination, and creates the momentum to build a new habit!
Not doing anything stupid in your trading can be just as important as doing something brilliant.
It applies to life too! trading = life!!
Bull markets climb the wall of worry, while bear markets descend the slope of hope.
Bull markets climb the wall of worry, while bear markets descend the slope of hope.
I m too much of a pessimistic person.
The four most dangerous words in investing are:
This time it’s different.
My most dangerous four words:
What am I doing?
Most traders say they want to trade for a living but then trade like they have to retire next week.
Yeah thats me!
That’s true!
Be patient.
Once a trade is put on, give it time to work;
Give it time to insulate itself from random noise;
Give it time for others to see the merit of what you saw earlier than they.
Trust your analysis, and be patient.
Trust yourself and your own capability.
You have to believe that you have learn enough to trust yourself.
Why is my name not here? I can control the crypto market with what I said!
haha, make up your mind on Bitcoin!
That’s the point! If I am not sure what I want, then I can depict where the market is heading!
Maybe I will allow Dogecoins to be used for payment instead of bitcoin…
Now you are losing a lot of wealth since Bitcoin has tanked!
They are experienced traders with words of wisdom. Definitely makes sense, but if it doesn’t, maybe I am not at that level to understand yet XD
Some quotes might not make sense at first, but after doing some trades, they will start to make more sense.
Stock market bubbles don’t grow out of thin air. They have a solid basis in reality, but reality as distorted by a misconception.
Now I am confused.
I think it means there is usually a real underlying bullish reason which drives the stock prices up, but due to market sentiment (greed and hope), people end up driving the prices too high, which results in a bubble.
i see! thanks for the enlightenment!
In 99%, gut feel is not a valid trade reason. Gut feel is just a lame excuse to break your rules and act on FOMO.
FOMO is real! That’s what moves the market!
My personal favourite:
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”- John Wilkes Booth
Here’s a funny one I saw: If you can’t amaze them with your brilliance, dazzle them with your stupidity – WallStreetBets
“I get real, real concerned when I see trading strategies with too many rules (you should too).” by Larry Connors
When there are too many rules, the trader can easily get confused and start trading erratically, making a lot of mistakes, such as jumping the guns and missing trading opportunities.
Opportunities at every corner.
“There are no bad days in the market. When the market is down, you’ve got bargains, and it’s lovely to think of what you are buying at low prices. When the market is up, the bargains have gone, but you’re rich.”
Bruce Greenwald
The trader that I admired the most is Dan Zanger. He has the world record for the highest return in a year. $10,000 to $18,000,000 between 1998 and 1999 which translate to 29,000%!
How about Nathan Michaud and Tim Grittani? These two are highly successful day-traders. They make consistent gains and make millions a year!
For me, my hero is Stan Druckenmiller, who averaged 30% a year from 1986 to 2010 and he was managing Duquesne Capital.
“Patterns of price movement are not random. However, they’re close enough to random so that getting some excess, some edge out of it, is not easy and not so obvious — thank God. God probably doesn’t care. Thank whoever.” – Jim Simons
He points out that in the apparent randomness of the price action, there are patterns that can be exploited to gain an edge in the market.
Limit your size in any position so that fear does not become the prevailing instinct guiding your judgment. – Joe Vidich
The best trading strategy in the world won’t do you any good if you allow emotions to trump logic.
“When you understand what’s involved in winning, as do professional gamblers, you’ll tend to bet more during a winning streak and less during a losing streak. However, the average person does exactly the opposite: he or she bets more after a series of losses and less after a series of wins.” – Van K. Tharp
Each trade is different, and wins and losses are randomly distributed. But like any randomly distributed variable, wins and losses can come in streaks. In a winning streak, you may be more likely to win the next trade, while in a losing streak, you may be more likely to lose the next trade.
This guy is not really a trader but he has very meaningful quotes. They are all by Bruce Lee.
Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.
I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.
If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.
“There is no single market secret to discover, no single correct way to trade the markets. Those seeking the one true answer to the markets haven’t even gotten as far as asking the right question, let alone getting the right answer.”
Jack Schwager
You can discover it because it has to fit your personality. Nobody else can do it for you. And it’s one of the reasons why it takes years of hard work and dedication to become a consistently profitable trader.
“There is the plain fool, who does the wrong thing at all times everywhere, but there is the Wall Street fool, who thinks he must trade all the time.” by Jesse Livermore
In my opinion, being a (successful) trader isn’t about putting on trades, it’s about not trading at all. It’s about protecting the capital in your account and waiting days or sometimes weeks for the perfect moment to strike.
When in doubt, get out and get a good night’s sleep. I’ve done that lots of times and the next day everything was clear… While you are in [the position], you can’t think. When you get out, then you can think clearly again.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve been trading for 3 years or 30 years, every person is susceptible to being influenced by emotions to some degree. And the last thing you want to do is attempt to trade while the negativity from a recent loss is still lingering.
“Do the opposite of what your instinct are. It has to opposite of what the crowd says. Buy when no one wants to buy. Sell when no one wants to sell. It is emotionally difficult. Do it in a way that it is uncomfortable.”
Ray Dalio
This struck me the hardest.
These are the ones that left an impression on me.
“Don’t catch the falling knife”
“Buy when the market bleeds”
“Be quick in cutting your loses but not profits”.
“Make good decisions even with incomplete information. You will never have all the information you need. What matters is what you do with the information you have.” – Michael Steinhardt
It just feels to me that as long as trading is concerned, you will always feel like you don’t have enough information to make your trading decision. If care is not taken, you will keep chasing more and more information by applying all sorts of indicators on your chart. At the end of the day, the so-called extra information does not add anything new but you end up with analysis paralysis.
“Please, ma’am. Please help me. You seem like someone who really appreciates knowledge and learning, and I’d be so grateful if you’d share just a little of your wisdom.”
“Why should I help?” she asked. I could tell she was intrigued, though. Flattery really could get you places. “You don’t have any superior knowledge to offer me.”
“Because I’m superior in other things. Help me, and I’ll . . . I’ll fix your car out front. I’ll change the tire.
That threw her off. “You’re in a skirt.”
“I’m offering you what I can. Manual labor in exchange for wisdom.”
“I don’t believe you can do it,” she said after several long moments.
I crossed my arms. “It’s an eyesore.”
“You have fifteen minutes,” she snapped.
“I only need ten.”
And sometimes we don’t appreciate the free knowledge and tips provided by professionals xD
I know where I’m getting out before I get in. Bruce Kovner
Know the exact level at which you intend to close your position should the market move against you, but do so beforehand. Plan your stoploss and target price.
“I am a full time back tester and a part time trader. Traders should put more work into their study and practice and less time battling the markets. Execution is just one small piece of the larger process.”
This is my favorite quote from “Millionaire Traders” book.
Win or lose, everybody gets what they want from the market. Some people seem to like to lose, so they win by losing money.
In trading, you have to be 100% confident that you have what it takes to become consistently profitable, yet stay humble enough to know that success in this business only comes to those who choose to learn from their mistakes.
Don’t focus on making money, focus on protecting what you have by Paul Tudor Jones
It is easier to lose money and twice as hard to make it back. Said differently, a 50% loss of trading capital requires a 100% gain to recoup said losses.
“If a trader is motivated by the money, then it is the wrong reason. A truly successful trader has got to be involved and into the trading, the money is the side issue… The principal motivation is not the trappings of success. It’s usually the by-product – simply stated, “the game’s the thing”.”
I forgot who said this.
Passion is the only thing that will keep you going when the going gets tough!
If most traders would learn to sit on their hands 50 percent of the time, they would make a lot more money.
Bill Lipschutz
You can’t have potential profits without the associated risk. And between the two, you should always concern yourself with the risk before even thinking about the profit potential from any one setup.
My top 3 favourite traders are: Paul Tudor Jones, George Soros and John Paulson. Most importantly they are still alive 😀
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”
In trading, while the market conditions change from time to time, so to be good at trading, you should learn when to break the routine so you can adapt to the new condition.
“Do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.” – Steve Clark
My analysis:
Mastering your trading psychology and risk control is far more important than knowing where to buy and sell. You can buy a trading strategy that tells you where to buy and sell, but it’s you who have to learn and master risk control and how to manage your trading emotions.
My attitude is that I always want to be better prepared than someone I’m competing against. The way I prepare myself is by doing my work each night.
Marty Schwartz
You have to put in more time and effort than those you’re up against if you wish to succeed. Because at the end of the day, every time you buy or sell there is someone out there doing the exact opposite.
Since trading is a zero-sum game, “Sooner or later every war of trade becomes a war of blood.” by Eugene V. Debs
“Know when to buy before a buy is established, know when to sell before a sell is established.”
“Anticipate don’t participate.”
From the all-time classic The intelligent investor, the quote: “You will be much more in control if you realize how much you are not in control.”
Anuj Jasani got some cool quotes.
“Trading is something that is not for everyone but everyone can try it once to be successful”
“If you know how to make money you know something most people don’t know”
You are welcome 🙂
A useful quote that has saved me and my live trading account multiple times.
“Sitting on your hands is taking a position”
My all time trading quote:
‘It is hard enough to know what the market is going to do; if you don’t know what you are going to do, the game is lost.’
I enjoy it because it reminds me to always prepare and plan ahead in all trading sessions.
My stock investment strategy:
1) Buy quality companies
2) Expect to hold for 10+ years
3) Try not to overpay
4) Keep track
5) Sell rarely
Not sure if such a strategy is still relevant now. Every CEO or director has a very short term view on how to MAXIMISE profits.
“I know what I have given you…
I do not know what you have received.”
― Antonio Porchia
So funny and true at the same time.
These are my 3 favourite ones:
1.Cut your losses short, let your profits run
2.The goal of a successful trader is to make the best trades. Money is secondary
3.Trading is all about discipline and risk management
“Stock market is a machine, that transfer money from impatience people to patience ones.”
I just wait until there is money lying in the corner, and all I have to do is go over there and pick it up. I do nothing in the meantime.
Jim Rogers
Patience is the key to trading success. Without it, you will quickly find yourself trading subpar setups and losing money left and right.
Not only that, but there is an opportunity cost that comes with overtrading. It takes a clear mind to be able to identify favorable trade setups, and if you are constantly subjecting yourself to the stress and anxiety of losing trades, you will invariably miss the setups you should be taking.
“Trading doesn’t just reveal your character, it also builds it if you stay in the game long enough.” – Yvan Byeajee
Very interesting philosophical trading quote.
“The trend is your friend.”
Straight forward as it can be.
It’s not whether you’re right or wrong that’s important, it’s how much money you make when you’re right and how much you lose when you’re wrong. George Soros
That’s it. Everything else is irrelevant. Simple right? Lol.
“The most common bad habit I have seen in traders — good and bad ones — is the inability to react correctly to market action.” – Larry Williams
This observation is very true, especially among new traders who are always trying to do what every other person is doing, without seeking to understand how the market works.
“The most important thing in making money is not letting your losses get out of hand. When I became a winner, I said, ‘I figured it out, but if I’m wrong, I’m getting the hell out, because I want to save my money and go on to the next trade.” by Marty Schwartz.
It seems that almost every successful trader talks about managing risks. Protect your trading capital so that you make the next trade.
“The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent,” John Maynard Keynes
Markets are inherently unreasonable. Just when you think a market is “supposed to” drop on negative data, it rallies and vice versa.
If you’ve been trading for any length of time, you know this happens.
“Do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.” Steve Clark
It is an obvious statement, but that doesn’t make it easy. Nor does it make it an everyday occurrence among traders.
Begin tracking your successes and failures alike. You may be surprised by what you learn.
“Learn the trade before you learn the tricks of the trade.”
Obvious but some people overlook it. They just look at the profits of the trade.
Don’t worry about what the markets are going to do, worry about what you are going to do in response to the markets.
Michael Carr
As traders, we are in the business of reacting. It’s one of the few professions where it pays to follow rather than lead.
By allowing the market to make the first move, we can play defense while at the same time exploiting market inefficiencies.
“The goal of a successful trader is to make the best trades. Money is secondary.” – Alexander Elder
It is all about getting the process right by understanding your strategy and executing your trades the best possible way.
Money is only a by-product of getting the process right.
Your focus should be on the process; don’t bother about money.
If you have a strategy with an edge and consistently execute your trades well, you will definitely make money in the long run.
Where you want to be is always in control, never wishing, always trading, and always, first and foremost protecting your butt. After a while size means nothing. It gets back to whether you’re making 100% rate of return on $10,000 or $100 million dollars. It doesn’t make any difference.
Everything in trading is relative. This is especially the case in the Forex market where a currency is only as strong or weak as indicated by its counterpart.
But when it comes to profit and loss, the same rules of relativity apply.
My most favourite quote.
“I believe in analysis and not forecasting. All a company report and balance sheet can tell you is the past and the present; they cannot tell future.” by Nicolas Darvas
Every data you have at any point in time can only tell you about the present and the past; the future remains unknown but shouldn’t matter.
“There are a million ways to make money in the markets. The irony is that they are all very difficult to find.” by Jack Schwager
There are arguably as many different trading strategies as there are many traders in the market. And for strategies with an edge in the market, when executed properly over a large number of trades, they will make money.
The problem, as he pointed out in the second sentence, is taking time to create a trading strategy with an edge and being disciplined enough to implement it correctly.
“What are you trading your life for? Where is your time really going? You have freedom, but are you free? Remove self-imposed chains.”
The first part struck me even though I am a part time trader.
“Don’t worry about what the markets are going to do, worry about what you are going to do in response to the markets.” – Michael Carr
How I understand is as such: You obviously can’t control what the market is going to do, so there’s little sense in worrying about that. What matters to you is how you respond to whatever the market throws at you. You must have a plan for every market situation.
“The markets are the same now as they were five or ten years ago because they keep changing-just as they did then.” – Ed Seykota
If you know that the market is always there and behaving the same way, generating trading setups, you won’t have to chase after a missed trade or make other trading mistakes. Your primary goal would be to protect your capital so you can take the next setup that appears.
“It was never my thinking that made the big money for me; it was my sitting.” by Jesse Livermore
It is that period of waiting that the money is made.
Sitting it out and waiting for a profitable trade to ride its course till the end of the trend can determine how much you make from a trade.
Waiting for the right setup to appear saves you from several potentially losing trades.
“What is most important isn’t knowing the future — it is knowing how to react appropriately to the information available at each point in time.” by Ray Dalio
Many traders think that it’s only when they know what would happen in the future that they can make money. So, they make many assumptions about the future, including the belief that what is happening at the moment would persist forever.