Chicago City Wire

Veteran traders Scott Pulcini and Joseph Gasperoni discussed the importance of discipline, psychology, and risk management in trading during a session hosted by Jtrader. The conversation focused on the necessity of systematic strategies and strict adherence to rules for long-term success in volatile markets.

Scott Pulcini emphasized the need for a methodical approach: "At which it has to be. You have to be systematic." He reflected on his own evolution as a trader, stating, "Absolutely. And I used to be the biggest trader on the planet. One of them. Right. I was I was just clicking in and out of the order book based on what I was feeling. So my point is not that I'm end all, be all, and I know everything. What I'm saying is, if I can't make money as a trader anymore, it's going to be one of the top in the world. It's going to be real hard for other traders to make money as a field type trader, right? So that's why everything I do has exact rules where I get in, where I get out, how much size I put on, basing, how much I want to risk per trade."

Pulcini pointed out common pitfalls among traders: "So then that's where the traders fail the most because they don't. They overtrade in their account, so they're trading too big for their account size. They have a bad day, which is very, very easy to do lately. As anyone knows, it's been in the markets. They blow out their account. Right. So and then they also don't know where do I get in, where do I get out. This tells you This tells you everything."

Joseph Gasperoni highlighted his reliance on strategy over intuition: "I don't know how to trade. I simply follow what the strategy is telling me. That's it, that's it."

Pulcini further explained his philosophy by comparing trading with running a casino: "Because you don't know what's going to happen next, like trading, is it? This is the is the best book that covers this that I've read about trading, you know, psychology and everything else. You know, you got to consider like, it's like just being like a casino, right? Casinos know they have the edge. They know the games are in. The percentages are in their favor. Do they freak out and shut down the casino? When one guy comes in, one whale comes in and waxes them for a million bucks in one night? No, they keep dealing the cards because they know over a year's time they will make money."

He continued: "It's the same if you have a trading edge. If you know there's an edge. And that's the beauty of this, you don't have to guess if this is an edge. I've been doing it for eight years. I have 25 years of experience. When I'm telling you it's an edge. You can listen to me or you can't. You don't have to listen to me. But I'm telling you this is the best I've ever seen."

He concluded with advice rooted in experience: "So now that you know you have the edge. You know where you get in, where you get out." He added: "And most of my trades, I was telling you, you know your sizing."

The discussion underscores recurring themes within professional trading circles—discipline through systematic strategies and risk management remain critical amid market uncertainty.