Mike Lowery

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@rampagepoker $2063

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@TheShortSniper $tdic didnt make your year?

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@AllDayA_ Weren't you like King MAGA?

[L2WTrades @L2WTrades]

sat next to a 20 year old guy on a plane who casually mentioned he made $4.5 million last year

didn't look rich

t-shirt

jeans

beat up backpack

i asked what he did

"i trade futures"

"full time?"

"yeah, about 3 hours a day"

"$4.5 million in 3 hours a day?"

"well, it's not really about hours, it's about decisions. i probably make 10-15 decisions per month that matter. the rest is just waiting"

"what do you mean?"

"most people think trading is constant action. it's not. it's 99% waiting for your setup, 1% executing. that's why most people fail. they can't handle doing nothing"

he pulled out his laptop

showed me his calendar

90% of trading days marked: "NO TRADE"

"this is march, see? 31 days. i traded 7 times. made $380k that month"

"7 trades made $380k?"

"yeah, because they were the RIGHT 7 trades. everyone else took 200 trades that month and lost money because they were WRONG trades. quality over quantity"

"how do you know which 7 to take?"

"i don't trade unless i'd bet my house on it"

"what?"

"every trade, i ask myself: would i bet my house on this setup? if the answer is no, i don't trade. most setups? the answer is no. but 7 times this month, the answer was YES"

he kept talking:

"the biggest mistake retail traders make is thinking they need to trade every day. you don't. you need to trade WHEN YOUR SETUP APPEARS. some months that's 15 times. some months that's 3 times"

"what about consistency?"

"consistency isn't daily trading. consistency is ONLY taking your setup. if your setup appears once a week, you trade once a week. if it appears 5 times in a day, you trade 5 times that day. the market doesn't care about your need for action"

"but i feel like i'm wasting time if i'm not trading"

"that's employee mindset. you think time = money. it doesn't. correct decisions = money. i make more doing nothing 24 days a month than you make forcing trades every single day"

he was right

i was trading out of BOREDOM

not opportunity

i tested this for 90 days:

BEFORE "house bet" filter:
- 156 trades
- 41% win rate
- -$3,800

AFTER "house bet" filter:
- 11 trades
- 73% win rate
- +$14,200

11 trades in 90 days

because i stopped trading

and started WAITING

the plane guy was right:

"most traders are addicted to action. they need to DO something. that's why they lose. the real money is in doing NOTHING until the perfect setup appears. but doing nothing feels like you're not working, so people force trades"

"how do you handle the boredom?"

"i have a life outside trading. i go to the gym. i read. i travel. trading is 3 hours a day MAX. the other 21 hours i'm living. you guys are staring at charts 12 hours a day hoping something happens. that's not trading. that's gambling addiction"

he closed his laptop

"here's the secret: the less you trade, the more you make. i know guys trading 500 times a month making $0. i trade 15 times a month making $400k. the difference? i'm SELECTIVE. they're ACTIVE. market rewards selectivity, punishes activity"

flight landed

he gave me his card

"if you want to make real money trading, stop trying to trade every day. start waiting for YOUR setup only. 90% of trading is waiting. 10% is executing. master the waiting and you'll make more money doing nothing than everyone else makes doing everything"

i never saw him again

but i think about that conversation every single day

the math is simple:

you're not paid by the trade

you're paid by the CORRECT trade

taking 200 trades with 40% accuracy = -$5k

taking 20 trades with 70% accuracy = +$50k

same account

different approach

completely different outcome

most of you are over-trading

thinking activity = profit

it doesn't

selectivity = profit

the traders making $500k+/year

they trade LESS than you

not more

they're better at WAITING

not better at TRADING

master the wait

make the money

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@TheRyanFeldman @DGAFPokerPlayer

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@kunal00 @stevenplace Congrats! When did you get married?!

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@GTO_Diaper @shaundeeb @AllenKessler @WPT This is one of the funniest comments hahahaa.... what a video lol

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@DansDeals Hope to win

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@RealKidPoker @JustinBonomo they probably hired an actor and this is also propoganda. Justin you're a moron!

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@RuneSigvard @RealKidPoker @mcmicmike *More tax is better

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@Charlie_Carrel It didn't hit the actual pentagon but crashed on its property where they had construction. My cousin was a marine at the pentagon on that day.

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@Tommy_maione25 @AlecTorelli Problem with KQss/QTss i think is that you have to start bluffing off Ace highs on the flop. Im more weighted to a Jx type holding and the just call on turn makes it seem like he has specifically AJ. Any other Jx raises for value from an ace

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@RichardFain28 Hey what are your thoughts on $SCHD? Have 50% in VOO 20% in SCHD and 30% in TSLA, WFC, AAPL, GOOG, BAC?

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@AlecTorelli AJdd

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@city_915 @JohnnieVibes @SammyReidFI If they don't act like this then more ppl will do this. @JohnnieVibes i dont think he'll be laughing anytime soon--or itll just hurt a lot

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@TheShortSniper Since when do you long? I'm guessing you and @TheShortBear talk

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@DansDeals Insane deal

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@MrJesseJames4 Ivey bluffing lex with 52o

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@rob_yong_ @PokerStars Ks3c

[Mike Lowery @killamatic12]

@AllDayA_ I quit trading. Can you turn it around? Lol