Phantom of the Pits - Preface
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It had to happen I thought to myself as I took a walk to the top of a small hill just behind my home. There isn't a single trader who wouldn't give half his trade equity to know how the big guru did it! Knowing his thoughts could be worth thousands of dollars in a single trade. For decades traders have wondered what is so special about perhaps the best trader ever.
It was six months ago that we had talked about giving some back. And why shouldn't he give some back. We're talking knowledge and you can't put a value on knowledge or experience. He had both. We agreed that to give back it would have to be without expectations of any recognition or rewards. He came up with a plan just as he always did. We would go on the "Futures Magazine Traders forum" and sneak information onto the forum and see how well the reception would be for the new knowledge. First he called me every name he could think of calling me other than my name.
I wasn't happy with any of the names until he asked, "how about POP?" His agreement to give back (knowledge) to other traders was really important to him at this stage of his life. I could hear it in each breath of his voiced words. I could see it in his heart as his face mirrored his concern. I could see he was taller than usual that day in the spring.
It was almost thirty years ago that I had first met him. I didn't see him as a tall man until years later. Over the years he had grown taller than I had imagined possible. Not in height but in his confidence, his manner of thought, his gestures, his speech and all the characteristics you would expect of a hero. I met him in the pits in Chicago on even ground. We were trading the same futures. I got the best of him that day but just one lesson he taught me by week's end. A market is more than a day!
The name POP sounded like a setup for me. He stopped at the top of the hill and looked to the sky as he urged me to agree on always keeping his identity confidential. He said "I will not accept the credit for my good fortune and don't want recognition for my insights on trading." He looked me in the eye and said "from now own you may call me Phantom of the Pits!" Yeah, POP I thought to myself.
As you progress from page to page you'll see the importance of Phantom's insight on trading as I have over the years. Trading is not as we all thought. Few have ever approached his methods in trading. How do you measure the worth of a man or women I still ask myself after that short walk to the top of the hill. Here is a trader who is the best trader I have ever known and perhaps the best trader in the world. We will measure his worth by his deeds and insights into trading! Yes, that's how we will size up Phantom of the Pits.
" We will measure his worth by his deeds and insights into trading! Yes, that's how we will size up Phantom of the Pits." ---ALS
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