How to Find Traders Worth Following
First and foremost you must identify your objectives when seeking other traders.
-Is it for education?
-Is it for connection?
-Is it for community?
These are very broad categories and become more niche if you dive in further.
For example. Education, which is what we will focus on here – In education are you seeking beginner friendly material or dense advanced stuff?
The myth of “the one“
Have you ever seen those videos where women list off their ideal man? 6ft tall 6 figures? Obviously, needs to be handsome as well. This is a very small group of men. The probabilities of having such high standards for a specific type of man are low. And well, these men have options.
When it comes to trading education, traders set a high bar.
-Verified broker statements
-Tax audited statements
-Trades real money
-7 figure earner
-Live streams
There’s issues with this.
First and foremost when it comes to a man, height and money are so broad that when you are really in the shit, you forget a bunch of different things. Like loyalty? Does that matter? What about kids? Does he want kids? Does he like to travel? The list goes on. The bigger this list gets for a woman, the harder it gets to find this man.
This is what we call a unicorn. We can laugh all we want about a woman and her unrealistic ambitions here. But you mother fuckers do the same. At least some of you when it comes to finding your unicorn trader you can learn from.
So let’s address some things.
-Verified broker statements
-Tax returns
-Trades real money
-7 figure earner
-Live streams
If this list is important, then Ross Cameron is your guy, yet for some reason so many of you are looking elsewhere, why? Is it because he doesn’t trade futures and you need the Ross of futures?
Let’s talk about this list for a second.
–Verified broker statements: This can be faked.
–Tax returns. This is a line of defense for some of you to make sure the statements aren’t faked. But even this can be faked.
For a lot of traders, you’re willing to accept a level of documentation to trust the trader you’re learning from. But it can all be faked, and then nothing is stopping any trader from going the extra mile to appease those that have a higher standard. Even those with a higher standard can be fooled.
–Trades real money. This one is important for traders because this is a sign of a real trader. I beg to differ. Any trader – even you – who participates in the buying and selling of a contract or share in the markets during live trading hours on the hard right edge, is a legit trader.
Astronauts can spend 5-7 years in training, before they go on their first mission in space.
Let me ask you – Does an astronaut who has not gone to space, actually legit?
Everyone trading on the hard right edge in real time, whether paper trading, prop trading, or live money – is an astronaut in training. They’re all in training to become real money traders. The skill set between paper and live is the same.
Ah yes. What about feeling the psychology of real money on the line? That’s a failure on your behalf. With enough confidence and skills developed and solid repetition, you should be trading on instinct developed in training. This is why an astronaut spends so much time training. When shit goes wrong on a mission that costs billions, the people who sent these astronauts up, want to make sure they can handle their shit when real unexpected pressure arises.
They are put through all sorts of simulations to test potential problems and emergencies, to build and develop their instincts so they are confident in their abilities, and have the muscle memory to handle these problems when they arise.
Most of you however – are in a rush to get to space, and when problems arise, your account dies.
Legit traders, know how important proper preparation is and some traders you meet are still in their training phase.
Brent Steenbarger, a famous trading psychologist, talked about how senior medical students in university, teaches the junior students.
There is a massive myth around the need to learn from what so many of you consider a “legit trader” and we will expand on this later.
–7 figure earner. Lets phase it. These traders get more clicks, why? Well you got into trading to make a million or more per year. We all did. Why the fuck would anyone want to learn from someone that makes 30k per year!?
This type of trader however is the top .00001% or whatever. This is a rare breed. This introduces a lot of other issues. Like, can they even teach? If they can’t teach for shit, then what good did your audited tax returns and broker statements do?
See, no one has “Can they teach” on their list. In fact, I never heard anyone even prioritize let alone mention this aspect.
Trading is sophisticated and if someone can’t teach you, it’s useless for you. And just because they can make 7 figures and teach.. Doesn’t mean you will make 7 figures.
Plenty of traders sign up and trade for tier one prop firms every year, and the wash out rate is still higher than those that make it. Tier one prop firms give you way more resources then retail education and tier one prop also boosts your potential of success by 2000%, but why is the wash out rate still high in that environment?
Trading is fucking hard, that’s why.
–Live streams. Okay so this is a way around broker statements being faked. Seeing a trader operate on the hard right edge, allows you to see if they truly know what they’re doing.
But…. Live streaming, doesn’t mean shit in the sense so many people do it, and can still suck at it. Unless you’re running accounting on all of their trades, you won’t know. And they could be taking trades off stream. There’s no way of knowing. They could be a prop affiliate, and have some agreement with a prop firm that pulls strings for them to sell more accounts, to make it an illusion of good performance.
You just can’t know for sure on anything.
Much like women when it comes to men. They can have:
-Rich
-Handsome
-Loyal
Pick 2, as you can’t have all 3 options.
-Verified broker statements
-Tax returns
-Trades real money
-7 figure earner
-Live streams
-Can actually teach
Pick, not sure? But the odds off all of this… Yeah. Not going to happen. You see how I added: can actually teach? I think that one should be priority, because what’s the point of trying to find a trader to learn from if they can’t fucking teach?
Putting all of your needs on one person.
Often times relationships with a spouse or significant other, can fail or have issues if you put all of your needs on that one person. No one will ever live up to all of you needs and expectations. That’s a unicorn and those aren’t real.
I don’t talk to my girlfriend about trading ever. She’s not interested, and I don’t need her for it. That’s what typing here does for me, or other traders in the community.
Get different needs met through different traders, because that’s the reality.
Typically, traders who specialize in trading psychology, don’t specialize in trading techniques. In fact, some of the best trading psychologists, aren’t traders. They may have been a trader, but there are some even better trading psychologists who never were pro traders.
So when trying to get your needs met from different traders:
-Verified broker statements
-Tax returns
-Trades real money
-7 figure earner
-Live streams
-Can actually teach
Well, finding one guy that has all of this going on is already a problem, now you need to find another guy with all of this shit?
Hopefully, you can start to see the disillusion that runs rampant in the trading community, much like women with unrealistic standards.
Before you make 7 figures, you need to learn how to make 30k. The skill between the two, are fucking huge. Being new and attempting to digest the information a 7 figure trader gives you can be problematic, in order to actually achieve 7 figures.
Don’t ignore the little guys.
Also, 7 figure traders may not be able to teach. For example. Lance Breitstein has pedigree, verification, has made over 8 figures trading. However his videos, while they can be good, they lack the true technicality of trading one would need to learn. Rarely does he break trades down or explain context. Most of the information, is broader. While some of it can be useful and unique, things I never heard – his content still lacks the gritty trench warfare shit traders need in order to learn. Again, consistent trade break downs, and context around setups. No hard right edge stuff, no live streams.
His material is not enough to make you an 8 figure trader, not to mention in tier one prop, he had access to systems, platforms, and resources you don’t have which was crucial for him to hit that big number.
While his information can meet some needs. It be absent in others.
Generally speaking, the more a trader makes, the less of that trader actually exists, and the less likely they will be hitting all your needs. Unicorns folks. They don’t exist.
Also, bigger earners, tend to share less of their trading and lean into more lecture style of teaching or sharing.
That’s just the nature of the beast.
Now lecture style of teaching or sharing is extremely common. X is filled with so many traders who talk and talk, but show nothing, and quite frankly, probably aren’t decent traders.
Typically this type of trader is not really worth following. Text on a post with nothing else going on is all too common, and often filled with very generic advice or just a big ego.
Now when it comes to finding traders to follow. As we now know – you need to get your needs met elsewhere.
These types of X accounts can have value.
It’s important to be optimistic, and believe you can find value anywhere. When you think like this, you tend to find golden nuggets in places others refuse to look. Part of trading edge, is doing just this. Looking at and doing things others aren’t doing. So ask yourself – does this content look like everyone else’s?
The more unique and niche it is, the more likely there is a high chance of value there. Even if they just lecture, and show nothing else.
Another aspect to finding value through lectures – which can come in video format as well – is to look for a deeper level of passion. Do they present with passion? What does that even look like?
The best teachers in anything can talk endlessly about their subject. And they’re willing to keep going. This is a sign of passion. Passion for a skill, like trading, means they have the staying power in trading, and often have the ability to push through this, and discover unique ways, and approaches to trading through their own experience, that is often not shared anywhere else.
This is where value hides.
Now it does take some digging to extract it sure. But also, if you, yourself lack passion for trading, you will not look in the right places. Instead you will be focused on:
-Verified broker statements
-Tax returns
-Trades real money
-7 figure earner
-Live streams
Which is all money-centric. Not skill-centric.
Trading content is split upon these two pillars:
-Money-centric content
-Skill-centric content.
Obviously the money-centric content, is more popular.
Those new traders, and teachers alike who are truly passionate about trading skills, and the art of trading – are much more niche and smaller. So often times, the way a teacher talks about trading is a sign of what category they fall in. Do they often talk about money? Is every other word that comes out of their mouth “money”?
If so, this is a sign they are an influencer. Not a true trading educator.
Influencers know how to work the algorithm. The algorithm was designed for influencers, not educators, so YouTube and X will shove specific content to the top, burying the good stuff.
I often find solid trading educators rarely, if ever actually speak about money – But this circles back to the start of this post. What is your objective? If it’s money, and that’s your priority from trading, then the type of education in trading, skill-centric traders want, will not appeal to you. This post and my content is not for those types and often the long form filters them out.
Now be aware of the influencer as they also stream, and have some of the things on this list:
-Verified broker statements
-Tax returns
-Trades real money
-7 figure earner
-Live streams
However, often times they lack the most crucial thing “can they teach“?
Live streams are often a form of entertainment, and if you watch enough of them, you will want to know if they are mostly talking about random shit, or actually focused on trading through the duration of the steam?
Many influencers will promote live streams as the only way to find legit traders whom you should buy material from. But this is full of holes. Live streaming influencers are often churning prop accounts, and taking trades off stream, while entertaining chat.
This alone can prolong the ability to learn actual useful material in a more timely manner, as you sit through these multi-hour streams, the learning-per-hour can be sub-par compared to an actual trading course that’s designed to induce learning the entire time. But if your goal is connection, then this is a viable method to form connections.
Often times, some of the best trading material I’ve ever consumed, never came from a stream, as far as trading education goes.
Never underestimate books.
Also, never underestimate books or material not on trading specifically. There are plenty of skills you need to learn in trading, especially in the realm of psychology, that are often found outside of trading specifically.
For me, learning hypnosis was huge in making permanent shifts in trading, and it was all learned outside of trading by people who have no idea what trading is.
Sports and material around sports is highly applicable to trading, and what you learn there can be applied to trading.
A book called, “Bounce” by Matthew Syed is a book on how talent isn’t real, and how the world’s top athletes actually got good. This alone really pivoted my trading.
Books are also good, because you pace yourself unlike videos. Same with written online content like blogs.
The next big thing, is traders on X for example, that constantly post technical stuff and screen shots on trading all the time. This is a sign of the gritty in the trench stuff Lance Breitstein’s material is absent of.
These are often mid tier traders. Traders who are usually nobodies, but often times have the richest content when it comes to actual raw trading. Not psychology. But raw technicals.
Raw technicalities are the most valued commodity in the trading community for new traders and even experienced – next to entertainers or influencers.
Entertainment dominates trading content. Which has a high demand for, otherwise it wouldn’t.
ICT is popular because the content is technically dense. Sure, he’s popular for being hated on, but the community that desires technicals are the quietest. They don’t talk or post. The loudest voices in the room are the minority, and do not display what the trading community wants.
Now when it comes to trading content around technicals, you get what you pay for.
If you’re willing to spend money on Rolexes and Lamborghini’s once you make it, but will not invest in yourself, and cut every corner to be as cheap as possible, then you have a poverty mindset.
Never in my life had I got something free that was better than something I paid for. Sure I’ve bought garbage before. But often times quality comes at a price, and Lamborghini’s and Rolexes come at a price. Sure you’re paying for a brand at this point. But the exotic materials used in constructing these cost the manufacturer more.
Free trading content is often, crap. Like most of it. Sure there’s good shit out there with value. However, is it worth your time to dig through all of that?
Reading a bunch of education on the CME website is actually really good. But nearly, no one wants to slog through that.
There is a demographic of people that pay for education. You are paying in one way or another, whether that’s blowing a million prop accounts, losing live money, or spending a shit load of time, trying to figure it out for yourself, or sifting through free content.
You are paying in time. Your most valuable asset.
Not everything is free on the internet. John Locke is the only options trader I see talk about the T+0 line. Something every options trader deals with, yet no one talks about. His free material fits the bill of being unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and a lot of his material is behind a paywall. Which I know you can’t find for free anywhere.
Paying for material is obviously risky. Trading is risky, seeing how nearly none of you will even make it, yet here you are.
The way to find solid material or at least mitigate the risk, is by looking at the free content. How unique is it, and does it resonate with you and bring you actual value? If so, the paid material has a high probability of delivering as well, and there’s a chance the material has stuff the educator never shares publicly.
That’s the nature of the beast.
Creating education, and teaching is a separate job. True trading educators, that value their time, and feel they provide real value, will sell.
Often times traders that have a hard time selling lack the skill to sell as it’s uncomfortable for them. They also subconsciously don’t feel the material they bring really is of great value. So they dismiss it, and give things away for free.
Free often attracts a specific type of person. And it’s often not the best type of person to build community around. Just like rolex and Lamborghini attract a specific type of person. Premium education often attracts specific customers, but often times if the educator is really good, there’s a high chance of break throughs for the customers.
Money is an exchange of energy. We often don’t try as hard if there’s little exchange for it. But between student and teacher, the higher the cost – the more effort the teacher puts in – the more skin in the game the student has. The more you pay for something, the more likely you will take care of that thing. A Lamborghini will most likely get all of it’s oil changes over a Honda Civic.
Now, a premium price can be not worth the end result.
It really comes down to content. How good is the free stuff? How often is the free stuff posted? For me, John Locke’s material is pricey. But for the free content he puts out and how often, I would have no problem spending that. Because I’ve already gained so much value from the free stuff, I know there’s a high probability the paid material will be good and have information I can’t find anywhere else. Most importantly, his material is technical.
Now, one can pirate stuff. But often pirated material is glossed over – if it’s ever even fully consumed. The reason is – there’s no investment, no skin in the game, no exchange of energy.
Now, there is value in places that seem unlikely. For example, I can be really good at calling overall session direction or probabilities of specific scenarios live. But sometimes I struggle hard to execute those scenarios or even get chopped up in the process.
This is one of those under-the-nose valuable information most won’t see.
If a trader can call regimes or teach specific concepts that work well but fails to execute – does that mean it’s worthless?
No. Management, and executions are a separate skill that can be fixed. However if specific things are often coming true that a trader shares, but their performance isn’t there, then there is obviously something they see. If you can learn to see that thing, then you could gain actual edge. You just need to learn the art of management and execution.
Much like different traders or even non-traders, meeting your needs and not putting it on one unicorn – You’ll want to do this as you construct your own trading system and identity.
“Legit traders” all have their own style and trading system. You are merely taking components from others. So if you want to learn profile, find someone that seems to be an expert in that. If you want to learn order flow, find someone that focuses on that. Ideally, find multiple sources, as each source on the same concepts will expand you ability to see multiple perspectives. Edge comes from seeing as many perspectives as possible with your tooling and techniques.
Hope that helps.
