Was he upset that he had given you bad advice? When I came back to the office, he told me that he had done the exact opposite trade in another account, and
that the trade was mine. So I didn't really lose any money.
That sounds like an awfully odd type of practical joke. It wasn't a practical joke. He was trying to teach me not to place blind trust in anyone—even him. It was his
way of teaching me the importance of self-reliance in being a good trader.
How did you do after that point? I did pretty well. My friend was a phenomenal options trader. He knew everything about the market and I
learned a tremendous amount from him.
Did you trade options based on the methodologies he taught you? Yes, combined with my own technical analysis.
Your friend didn't use technical analysis? No, he didn't believe in it. He was a tape reader.
Has the fact that you have been extraordinarily successful as a 100 percent technical trader changed his mind about technical analysis? Not at all. He thinks technical analysis is just a crutch for me, and the real reason I make money is
experience. There was a point at which we separated for a few years. He came to my office one day and watched me
trade. He embraced me like a father and said, "You finally made it." I told him that not only had I gained a lot of
experience, but I had learned just about everything there was about technical analysis, including certain things I had
created myself. He said, "You never give up, do you? It has nothing to do with technical analysis. You are trading that
way because of experience."
Why did you and your option trading friend eventually separate? There was a conflict in our trading styles. He was a great trader who was willing to take an occasional large
loss, because he knew he would more than make up for it with large gains and come out way ahead in the long ran.
However, I was uncomfortable trading that way. I preferred trading for small profits and trying to eradicate losing
trades. I wasn't willing to take the same type of risk. Also, my approach was purely technical, whereas he was
basically a tape reader. Anyway, in 1980,1 decided to go off on my own. We got together again years later.
