Fear(less) log Nr 16 - Robb Reinhold
"Once you understand the battle of hormones inside, it's all that matters."
Greetings Fellow Traders,
This time, we had the golden opportunity to hear from Robb Reinhold, a seasoned trader and educator with over two decades of experience in the financial markets. What struck me most was how deeply Robb, much like myself, is invested in understanding the roots of our fears and how our bodies respond to stress and uncertainty—a trader's daily reality. He referenced The Hour Between Dog and Wolf, a book I've read numerous times and found incredibly insightful. But let’s dive into all of this below... Enjoy!
Please…first things first. If what you read resonates, or you believe someone could benefit from this, I'd appreciate it if you could hit the share button down below. Your support goes a long way. Thank you!
Robb Reinhold
Robb Reinhold, Head Trader at Maverick Trading for an impressive 27! years and co-author of Maverick Trading: Proven Techniques to Create Generational Wealth, has dedicated his career to empowering traders to thrive in the ever-volatile world of finance. His journey from aspiring trader to leading at Maverick Trading is a true testament to fearless risk-taking and relentless perseverance. In this Fear(less) log, Robb reveals his personal insights on facing and managing fear, offering a glimpse into the mindset that has helped him succeed—and how you can apply it to your own trading journey.
Let’s dig in:
When did you first become aware of fear while trading? Was there a particular trade or situation that triggered it?
“I've never had a personality that has felt what most people would describe as fear. As a teen, I was a big risk taker and purposely put myself in situations to feel the adrenaline rush. Anticipation, stress and anxiety came with trading but this was all framed within the concept of taking risk. With this being said, my lack of fear was definitely an issue as a younger trader as I needed to learn when you should be fearful.”
What specific fears did you experience while trading? How did they manifest? The most common fears include fear of losing money, fear of being wrong, fear of losing out on the dream, fear of not being respected, fear of keeping up with expectations, or just fear of losing.
“My biggest fear was probably the fear of failing. I never minded taking a loss or even losing all my capital but my ego was very wrapped up in my success. My self worth in the beginning was directly tied to my P&L which causes its own issues. My own opinion of myself has always been the most important thing to me.”
How did you initially deal with those fears? Did you try any specific techniques or methods?
“As I mentioned earlier, my lack of fear was an issue and I needed to learn when the situation was too dangerous. Either a hyper-volatile market or a position/positions that had the possibility of a large drawdown. I needed to learn to recognize that a 30% drawdown was not acceptable even if my psyche could handle it. Learning when it's too dangerous to not take your losses was my struggle.”
Did you seek out mentoring or support to help you deal with your fears? If so, what kind of support did you receive?
“I never sought out any assistance as I am not the kind of person to ask for advice. I joke with our traders that 50 year old me could get in a time machine and travel back to speak to 25 year old Robb as a trader. I'm pretty sure 25 year old trader would tell future me to #%$@ off and do it his own way even if he were convinced it was future me. It is something I've worked on over the years as I recognized stubbornness is not a strength, but a weakness.”
Were there any resources (books, courses, etc.) that helped you better understand and cope with your fears while trading? If so, which ones?
“Brett Steenbarger has always been the absolute expert in Trading Psychology in my opinion.
However, I took a different route and learned about the brain, how we make decisions and how to change our behaviors via self-awareness and deliberate practice. One book which is an absolutely fantastic read is "The hour between dog and wolf" by John Coates who was a trader on a bank desk and saw traders around him either rise to the occasion to make million dollar correct decisions or panic and make the wrong one. He went back to college to study Neuroscience to understand the chemical reactions that happen in the body and brain during risk taking. Understanding the actual battle going on inside us helps us understand how to actually overcome it.
If you think you can overcome a surge in cortisol by being "more disciplined", you will never beat that. Once you understand the real battle of chemicals in the brain, you can then understand how to avoid those triggers and never feel that fear altogether. If you don't ever feel the fear, there is no battle to fight about fear. Highly recommend this read for any trader.”
Have you ever paid attention to your body signals, such as heart rate, while trading? If so, how did you use this information to manage your fear?
“100%. In the beginning, you think you are fighting "bad decisions" and "hesitation". Once you understand the battle of hormones inside, it's all that matters.
A trader should always be aware of heartrate, sleeplessness, hunger, etc. as studies in risk taking show all of these things can cause someone to make different decisions.
One of my favorite studies in a book called "The Behavioral Investor" by Daniel Crosby is about judges. They took 100's of very experienced judges and studied their parole judgements (whether someone would get out of prison early or not) over a period of 10+ years. The defendant was the least likely to be paroled from 11-12 AM, right before lunch and the rate of parole granted jumped substantially from 1-2, right after lunch.
Being aware of your body and your current state is key to trading successfully.”
Are you now fear-free while trading, or do you still experience fear from time to time? If you still experience fear, how do you manage it? Does it motivate you, or do you try to eliminate it altogether?
“One of the things I am most proud of as a trader is that I no longer have any desire or compulsion to deviate from my system. There's no fear and there's no greed. There's just a desire to be perfect in the execution of my trading systems.”
What advice would you give to someone who is experiencing fear while trading? Is there anything you wish you had known when you first started dealing with fear in trading?
“When we all start trading, we use Profit/Loss as our measure of how we are doing as a trader. This causes SO many issues and frankly, P&L is totally beyond your control on any trade. If you reframe "successful trading" as following your system as closely as possible, then the only fear you have is not following your trading rules.
As long as your trading system has been accurately backtested and demo tested, you should have the confidence in going into the live markets with real capital. Your biggest fear is that you did all this work to develop, backtest and demo test your system only to make a discretionary decision because you felt temporary fear (a hormone spike in your body) from a temporary price movement.
THAT is what people should be scared of. All those months of work backtesting down the drain because you felt a little fear temporarily.”
Final Word
Robb's insights offer a fresh perspective on the role of fear in trading—it's not about eliminating fear but understanding and leveraging it. The books mentioned (and, of course, our Traderistic App) can guide you in this journey. His journey from a fearless risk-taker to a disciplined, system-driven trader highlights the importance of self-awareness and respecting our physiological signals. Robb reminds us that true success lies in following our trading system, not in obsessing over profit and loss. And he reached his current level of success without any coaching or assistance—a reassuring reminder in today's "everyone needs a mentor" world that it's still possible to make it on your own.
Take Robb’s words to heart: understand your fears, and let your system be your guide. This mindset can turn fear into your ally (there is nothing to fear when you understand why you (= your body)) react in a certain way.
If you’d like to share your story, get in touch—and check out the other Fear(less) logs below.
PS: Your wish is my command, so we decided to implement the Apple Watch with the Traderistic App for measuring your HR/HRV. We are not there quite yet, but it will be implemented soon. In the meantime, download the App and use it for free on our site www.traderistic.com.
Thank you!
Chris
crk@traderistic.com
References
The Hour Between Dog and Wolf: How Risk Taking Transforms Us, Body and Mind
Maverick Trading: Proven Techniques to Create Generational Wealth
Most read Fear(less) logs:
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