Traders Mastermind

Sponsored by Pepperstone . What a week in the markets! A massive post-midterm rally on Wednesday, followed by a brutal reversal in the Nasdaq on Thursday. Rather than trying to explain the politics or predict what happens next, I wanted to look at what the price action was actually telling us. Three useful trading lessons from the week: Uncertainty: Why simply knowing the outcome of a major event...

Sponsored by Pepperstone Last week, I headed down to central London for a Pepperstone trading event, where I had the chance to chat with dozens of traders. Some were relatively new. Others had decades of experience. But as the evening went on, I started noticing some interesting differences in how they approached the markets. In this episode, I share three observations from those conversations, in...

Sponsored by Pepperstone Some traders are brilliant at reading the market, finding opportunities, and making money. Yet every so often, one bad session undoes weeks of good work. Why does this happen? And why can some traders take a big hit, walk away, and come back tomorrow, while others spiral into revenge trading and damaged confidence? In this episode, we explore the subtle psychological diffe...

Sponsored by Pepperstone What can 60 years of combined trading experience teach us about becoming a better trader? I sit down with veteran trader Peter Daniel for a relaxed, honest conversation about why so many traders struggle, what separates those who make progress, and the lessons we've learned over decades in the markets. We cover trading psychology, confidence, discipline, risk management, s...

Sponsored by Pepperstone What’s the one thing in your trading that, if you improved it, would have an outsized impact on your performance? Revenge trading? Hesitation? Overtrading? Moving stops? Oversizing? Cutting winners too early? In this episode, I explain why Q4 is the perfect time to stop trying to fix everything and instead put all your attention on one behaviour that’s holding you back. We...

Sponsored by Pepperstone A guy at the gym gave me one simple tip for hitting a 100kg bench press: stop trying to make the big jump. It made me think about trading. Demo to live. Funded accounts. Bigger size. Why do we turn every transition into such a big event? Maybe progress works better when the next step barely feels like one.

Sponsored by Pepperstone The trade has worked beautifully. You’re 90% of the way to target… and then it stalls. Do you take the money? Hold to the original plan? Tighten the stop? Peel some off? In this episode, I look at the different ways to handle one of those awkward trade-management moments we’ve all faced and why the right answer depends less on the trade itself and more on what you’re actua...

Sponsored by Pepperstone Sometimes trading feels productive when really it’s just helping you avoid the harder work. In this episode, I look at why stepping away from the screen to tighten up your playbook, trade management, routines and trading rules might be exactly what you need to make real progress.

Sponsored by Pepperstone Most traders move through three phases: learning, earning and scaling. The trouble starts when we confuse which phase we’re actually in… In this episode, I look at why experienced traders sometimes need to go back into learning mode, when it’s time to take the pressure off, and how we know when we’re ready to start scaling again through size, better holds, and cleaner exec...

Sponsored by Pepperstone Prop firm data reveals some interesting patterns in how losing traders behave. In this episode, I look at two common behaviours that show up again and again… and why doing the opposite could make a big difference to your trading.

Sponsored by Pepperstone Why does a trading strategy that once had genuine edge suddenly stop working? In this episode, we look at how markets adapt, participants change their behaviour, and profitable edges can become crowded and decay… using the famous Turtle Trading strategy as an example. More importantly, what does that mean for us as traders, and how do we make sure we can evolve as the mark...

Sponsored by Pepperstone Years ago, I found a strange edge in a head-to-head trading game: while everyone else rushed to trade, I waited. In this episode, I share what that taught me about patience, understanding the real objective, exploiting other traders’ mistakes, and why sometimes the best trade is no trade at all.

Sponsored by Pepperstone We all want results now, something new, and an easier path, but these natural instincts can sabotage our trading. Here’s how to recognise and overcome them.

Sponsored by Pepperstone Trading has too many moving parts. Entry, exit, stops, targets, scaling, hold or fold, how many trades, breakout or mean reversion. When you're in a drawdown, it all turns to noise. So here's one drill to cut through it. Strip out the variables and answer a single question. It won't fix everything. But it gets you off the back foot and gives you something to work with inst...

Sponsored by Pepperstone When you trade for yourself, you wear every hat... CEO, risk manager, senior trader, junior trader. Nobody's holding you accountable, and that's exactly the problem. In this episode, Mark Holstead unpacks why most traders stay stuck in the same cycle: feel bad about a mistake, promise to do better, repeat. The missing piece? Real consequences. Here's how to engineer them,...

Sponsored by Pepperstone No big claim in this one. Just a thought on why staying open-minded might be one of the most underrated attributes a trader can have... and what being open-minded actually means in practice. A clickbait short came through my feed the other day. Guy ranting about how a specific strategy was total nonsense, how "this is how the funds do it." Except a bit of digging turns up...

Sponsored by Pepperstone Early 2000s. I flew from the UK to Las Vegas to sit in on a new trader intake at a prop firm. Three strategies, all working, all making the firm serious money. I went home and couldn't trade a single one of them. Not because they were bad. Because they were never going to fit me… I didn't have the capital, the stomach for size, or the appetite for spreadsheets. Took me a l...

Sponsored by Pepperstone Two traders. Same meetup, same market, same year. One bragged about every win… until the week he vanished, fifty grand down on borrowed money. The other never bragged, and ten years on, he's still trading and thriving. Mark unpacks the one thing that separated them: process over ego, long-term over the quick win.

Most traders are wired to push… bigger size, more strategies, faster progress. But the most successful people in any field share a trait we rarely talk about: they're not afraid to take a step back if it sets up a bigger step forward. If you've been grinding month after month with nothing to show for it, this one's worth a listen. Thanks to Pepperstone for sponsoring this episode.

We all know the high-water mark... fund managers use it for their equity curve highs. Hit a million, lose some, climb back above the old peak before you get paid. But what if you applied that same thinking somewhere else entirely? In this episode, I dig into using high-water marks beyond your account balance. Longest trade held. Most days sticking to your rules. Fewest red days. The longest journa...

Sponsored by Pepperstone Most traders obsess over strategy, mindset, and discipline… but what about creativity? In this episode, Mark explores an idea sparked by a post from " StockBee " (an X trader credited in the new Market Wizards book with helping at least one wizard make hundreds of millions): that progress in trading often comes from thinking creatively, not just logically. Mark unpacks his...

Sponsored by Pepperstone The new Market Wizards book — The Next Generation by Jack Schwager and George Coyle — is out, and before you dive in, there's one thing worth keeping in mind. In this episode, Mark looks back at the series that inspired a generation of traders, from the 1989 original through to today, and shares why these books are gold for any developing trader… as long as you read them t...

Sponsored by Pepperstone If you're a developing trader, should you focus on day trading or swing trading? It's the question everyone asks early on... and my thinking on it has shifted over the years. In this one, I go through the definitions, the usual pros and cons, and then the bit most people skip: the psychological cost. Fast decisions, fast damage. Why beginners fall apart day trading and wha...

Sponsored by Pepperstone Would you get hired by a hedge fund? The traits funds screen for before they let anyone near a book are the same ones that keep a retail account alive. No billions or trading desk required... it's behaviour, discipline and self-awareness. We go through what they look for at hiring, what they demand once you're managing a book, and the honest question underneath it all: wou...

Sponsored by Pepperstone A rapid-fire episode. 10 questions traders have sent in over the past few weeks, answered as honestly as I can in under 10 minutes. In this episode: How much money do you actually need to start trading How long until you're consistently profitable (and why the answer is longer than you want) How to tell if your strategy is broken or just in a drawdown Should you go full-ti...