Dr. Van K. Tharp, Ph.D.

About the Author: Trading coach, and author, Dr. Van K. Tharp is widely recognized for his best-selling books and his outstanding Peak Performance Home Study program – a highly regarded classic that is suitable for all levels of traders and investors. You can learn more about Van Tharp www.vantharp.com.

Trader Self-Evaluation

By Van K. Tharp, Ph.D. Posted on October 30, 2018 A note to readers: While Dr. Tharp’s content is timeless, this article is from a past publication and may contain outdated information, missing links or images. I believe the most significant work that anyone can do to increase market returns is self- work. Really understanding yourself and how you think can give you an edge that others in the market don’t have. As part of my training, I give a long questionnaire to each trader to do an evaluation of […]

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The Loss Trap By, Van K. Tharp

The Loss Trap By: Van K. Tharp Ph.D Posted on October 16, 2018 A note to readers: While Dr. Tharp’s content is timeless, this article is from our newsletter archive and may contain outdated information, missing links or images. Do you remember playing with a toy called the Chinese Finger Trap when you were a child? This toy is a woven straw cylinder with an opening at each end just large enough for a finger. Once you insert a finger in each end, you are in the trap. You pull

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How to Evaluate Money Managers

By Van Tharp and Tom Basso October 16, 2018 A note to readers: This article is from a past publication and may contain outdated information, missing links or images. Tom Basso once suggested some rules for investing. When I first saw them, I thought, “These are much too restrictive. They’d rule out some great traders.” But I have since changed my mind and now think that if you are going to have someone else manage your money, these are wise points to follow. Here are ten points that Tom Basso

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A Healthy Psychological Profile is Needed for Successful Trading

By Van K. Tharp, PhD October 23, 2018 Excerpted from Van Tharp’s Peak Performance Home Study Course Many mental health professionals define an “uncertain” condition as being stressful. Uncertainty occurs because of too much information or because of too little capacity. The very fact that we cannot deal with available information is stressful. Available trading information far exceeds one’s capacity for making basic trading decisions, so one can only attend to some of this data. Limited capacity is a major factor in trading success and in understanding stress. Three factors

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Make and Honest Self-Appraisal

Make and Honest Self-Appraisal By Van K. Tharp, Ph.D. October 23, 2018 A note to readers: While Dr. Tharp’s content is timeless, this article is from a past publication and may contain outdated information, missing links or images. Think about the last loss you had in your trading. What caused it? Who was responsible for it? If your response was anything other than yourself (e.g., the market, my broker, bad advice, etc.), then you are not taking responsibility for your results. And the consequences of not taking full responsibility for

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What is Involved in Peak Performance Trading

by Van K. Tharp October 17, 2018 A note to readers: While Dr. Tharp’s content is timeless, this article is from our newsletter archive and may contain outdated information, missing links or images. There is so much involved in developing peak performance, that I recommend that all traders have a business plan. We recommend that the business plan cover all of the following areas. If you have all of those things, then you have a chance of doing well. But this means that your business plan becomes a tool for

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Feeling and Trading

By Professional Trading Coach, Van K. Tharp, PhD November 01, 2018 A note to readers: While Dr. Tharp’s content is timeless, this article is from a past publication and may contain outdated information, missing links or images. Suddenly, there it was—that juicy signal that all traders experience only a few times each year and this one was a gem! My breathing started to quicken and deepen, almost to the point of hyperventilation. I had to wipe my brow with my hand. I then dried my hand on my shirt because

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Poker and Trading Fundamentals

by Van K. Tharp October 18, 2018 A note to readers: While Dr. Tharp’s content is timeless, this article is from our newsletter archive and may contain outdated information, missing links or images. I love playing poker and one reason is that I think it’s very much like trading. When starting out in poker, you have to assess your initial hand and bet it only if it is above average. Interestingly enough, most beginners play every hand and many people who think they are not beginners still play every hand.

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Personality Type and Trading, Eight-Part Series

Personality Type and Trading: (Part 1) By Van K. Tharp, Ph.D. August 19, 2020 A note to readers: While much of this article’s content is timeless, it is from a past publication and may contain outdated information, missing links or images. The path toward becoming a better trader is usually a path toward wholeness, and no two paths are identical. Each of us has to begin where we are in our own life situation. No matter what your path, you must first determine where you are. What are the patterns

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Understanding Your Core Issue

by Van K. Tharp, Ph.D August 19, 2020 A note to readers: While Dr. Tharp’s content is timeless, this article is from our newsletter archive and may contain outdated information, missing links or images. Part One: Van Shares His Story After many years of doing coaching work with people, studying human psychology and behavior, as well as doing much work on my own self-exploration, I long ago concluded that everyone has a core issue inside of them—one issue that rules the subconscious more so than any other.  Because people are so

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