Interesting exchange between Peter Borish and Tom Baldwin, about pit trading, discretionary vs systemetic trading... Here is the link: http://www.learntotradefutures.com/...gi?az=printer_format&om=253&forum=DCForumID19 Moderator: If you take two successful traders, as you both are, how would both distinguish between your skills and risk taking aptitude? Peter Borish: Tom mentioned something earlier about luck. I think its much better to be lucky than good. And your best combination is to be both good and lucky. A lot of our skill sets are really much the same. A discipline to your approach, whether systematic, discretionary, or local approach and sticking with that approach. A discretionary trader gets in trouble when he tries to be a system because he got out of a trade too early, he says, 'I'm just going to hang on and follow this moving average'. And the system trader gets in trouble when he says, 'That's it, I know it is the top I'm going to get out here and override my system'. 'I know I shouldn't do it, but this time is right." And I'm sure the local trader will go through the same type of problem when he says, 'You know what the market is not really going up, its just running these stops that I sold into and I'm going to hold onto my short position,' and then all of a sudden you no longer are following your discipline. Tom Baldwin: Systems trading is saying I can't control myself so I have to have a system. My emotional makeup is going to fall apart when it gets pushed to the x point. Therefore, if I have a system I'll be able to break through that barrier. I'm saying, you have to take responsibility and go through that barrier yourself. It is true that when you get to the wall it is all about yourself and it is an emotional thing, difficult for people to overcome, so they use systems as support. There are people, like me on the floor, who don't necessarily do that.