Alexander Elder is a famous trader and the author of 16 books including The New Trading for a Living, which is an international best-seller.

Elder was born in Leningrad, the second-largest city in Russia. He came to the United States when he was 23 years of age. He worked as a psychiatrist in New York City which gave him insight into trading psychology and ultimately laid the foundation for his career.

Elder’s quotes easily and succinctly capture his brilliance and are very good reminders for all of us.

Whether you are just starting out on your trading journey or have been at it for a while, you will find a lot of value in the following Alexander Elder quotes.

20 Alexander Elder Quotes For Traders

If you let the market make you feel high or low, you will lose money.

Alexander Elder

When the market deviates from your analysis, you have to cut losses without fuss or emotions.

Alexander Elder

Markets are actually set up so that most traders must lose money.

Alexander Elder

An astute trader aims to enter the market during quiet times and take profits during wild times.

Alexander Elder

To help ensure success, practice defensive money management. A good trader watches his capital as carefully as a professional scuba diver watches his air supply.

Alexander Elder

The mental baggage from childhood can prevent you from succeeding in the markets. You have to identify your weaknesses and work to change. Keep a trading diary—write down your reasons for entering and exiting every trade. Look for repetitive patterns of success and failure.

Alexander Elder

A loser’s true problem is not account size but overtrading and sloppy money management. He takes risks that are too big for his account size, however small or big. No matter how good his system may be, a streak of bad trades is sure to put him out of business.

Alexander Elder

It is hard enough to know what the market is going to do; if you don’t know what you are going to do, the game is lost.

Alexander Elder

To win in the markets, we need to master three essential components of trading: sound psychology, a logical trading system, and an effective risk management plan.

Alexander Elder

Beginners focus on analysis, but professionals operate in a three-dimensional space. They are aware of trading psychology, their own feelings, and the mass psychology of the markets.

Alexander Elder

There are good trading systems out there, but they have to be monitored and adjusted using individual judgment. You have to stay on the ball—you cannot abdicate responsibility for your success to a mechanical system.

Alexander Elder

Being simply “better than average” is not good enough. You have to be head and shoulders above the crowd to win a minus-sum game.

Alexander Elder

The market does not know you exist. You can do nothing to influence it. You can only control your behavior.

Alexander Elder

Remember, your goal is to trade well, not to trade often.

Alexander Elder

The goal of a successful trader is to make the best trades. Money is secondary.

Alexander Elder

The markets are unforgiving, and emotional trading always results in losses.

Alexander Elder

Losers bring money into the market which is necessary for the prosperity of the trading industry.

Alexander Elder

When a beginner wins he feels brilliant and invincible. Then he takes wild risk and loses everything.

Alexander Elder

To be a good trader, you need to trade with your eyes open, recognize real trends and turns, and not waste time or energy on regrets and wishful thinking.

Alexander Elder

Amateurs look for challenges; professionals look for easy trades. Losers get high from the action; the pros look for the best odds.

Alexander Elder

Learn more: What is a stock gap?