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Traders Mastermind

Sharpen your edge with the Traders Mastermind podcast—proudly sponsored by Pepperstone.

We dive deep into the mindset, discipline, and strategy needed to excel in the high-performance world of short-term trading.

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24 episodes
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English

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#249
Friday · 10 min
When Trading Becomes Procrastination
Sponsored by Pepperstone Sometimes trading feels productive when really it’s just helping you avoid the harder work. In this episode, I look at why stepping away from the screen to tighten up your playbook, trade management, routines and trading rules might be exactly what you need to make real progress.
#248
September 11 · 11 min
The 3 Phases of a Trader: Learning, Earning, & Scaling
Sponsored by Pepperstone Most traders move through three phases: learning, earning and scaling. The trouble starts when we confuse which phase we’re actually in… In this episode, I look at why experienced traders sometimes need to go back into learning mode, when it’s time to take the pressure off, and how we know when we’re ready to start scaling again through size, better holds, and cleaner execution.
#247
September 4 · 13 min
The Crowd Does This. Do The Opposite.
Sponsored by Pepperstone Prop firm data reveals some interesting patterns in how losing traders behave. In this episode, I look at two common behaviours that show up again and again… and why doing the opposite could make a big difference to your trading.
#246
August 28 · 15 min
Why Trading Strategies Stop Working
Sponsored by Pepperstone Why does a trading strategy that once had genuine edge suddenly stop working? In this episode, we look at how markets adapt, participants change their behaviour, and profitable edges can become crowded and decay… using the famous Turtle Trading strategy as an example. More importantly, what does that mean for us as traders, and how do we make sure we can evolve as the market does?
#245
August 21 · 14 min
I Won by Doing Almost Nothing
Sponsored by Pepperstone Years ago, I found a strange edge in a head-to-head trading game: while everyone else rushed to trade, I waited. In this episode, I share what that taught me about patience, understanding the real objective, exploiting other traders’ mistakes, and why sometimes the best trade is no trade at all.
#244
August 14 · 16 min
The 3 Human Traits Holding Back Your Trading
Sponsored by Pepperstone We all want results now, something new, and an easier path, but these natural instincts can sabotage our trading. Here’s how to recognise and overcome them.
#243
August 7 · 9 min
The Stripped-Back Drill For A Losing Streak
Sponsored by Pepperstone Trading has too many moving parts. Entry, exit, stops, targets, scaling, hold or fold, how many trades, breakout or mean reversion. When you're in a drawdown, it all turns to noise. So here's one drill to cut through it. Strip out the variables and answer a single question. It won't fix everything. But it gets you off the back foot and gives you something to work with instead of just bleeding. Have a listen and see if it's right for you.
#242
July 31 · 8 min
Be Your Own Boss: The Carrot and Stick Method for Trading Discipline
Sponsored by Pepperstone When you trade for yourself, you wear every hat... CEO, risk manager, senior trader, junior trader. Nobody's holding you accountable, and that's exactly the problem. In this episode, Mark Holstead unpacks why most traders stay stuck in the same cycle: feel bad about a mistake, promise to do better, repeat. The missing piece? Real consequences. Here's how to engineer them, using trade hesitation as the worked example. It won't fix everything, but if you've done all the right groundwork and still can't shift a bad habit, this is probably the piece you're missing.
#241
July 24 · 10 min
Why Closed-Minded Traders Get Left Behind
Sponsored by Pepperstone No big claim in this one. Just a thought on why staying open-minded might be one of the most underrated attributes a trader can have... and what being open-minded actually means in practice. A clickbait short came through my feed the other day. Guy ranting about how a specific strategy was total nonsense, how "this is how the funds do it." Except a bit of digging turns up four or five firms running exactly the strategy he says doesn't work. Twelve-year track records. All public. So this episode is about the alternative. You look at a strategy and you land on one of three things: you like it and you'll test it later, you take something from it, or it's not for you. And then it ends there. No energy spent telling everyone else it's rubbish. I cover: Why open-minded doesn't mean chasing shiny objects Taking the process, not the strategy (a hedge fund's stress-testing approach I nicked) Expressing the same trade idea a different way Moon phase strategies and why I don't care if they work Building your own playbook from borrowed parts Most hedge funds don't beat the market. Most traders don't make money. That's just how it works. The best take the spoils.
#240
July 17 · 16 min
I Flew 20 Hours To Learn 3 Strategies I Couldn't Trade
Sponsored by Pepperstone Early 2000s. I flew from the UK to Las Vegas to sit in on a new trader intake at a prop firm. Three strategies, all working, all making the firm serious money. I went home and couldn't trade a single one of them. Not because they were bad. Because they were never going to fit me… I didn't have the capital, the stomach for size, or the appetite for spreadsheets. Took me a long time to work out the difference between "this doesn't work" and "this doesn't work for me." In this episode, I break down all three strategies (NYSE opening print fair value, ECN liquidity rebates, and pairs trading), why each one failed in my hands, and the filter I now run every new strategy through before I waste any time on it. Relevant timing, given we're currently tearing down 12 popular strategies in the Pepperstone webinar series. Some will be for you. Most won't. That's the whole point.
#239
July 10 · 8 min
Two Traders, Same Start… One Blew Up, One's Still Winning
Sponsored by Pepperstone Two traders. Same meetup, same market, same year. One bragged about every win… until the week he vanished, fifty grand down on borrowed money. The other never bragged, and ten years on, he's still trading and thriving. Mark unpacks the one thing that separated them: process over ego, long-term over the quick win.
#238
July 3 · 9 min
Two Steps Back, Five Steps Forward: The Trader's Guide to Strategic Retreat
Most traders are wired to push… bigger size, more strategies, faster progress. But the most successful people in any field share a trait we rarely talk about: they're not afraid to take a step back if it sets up a bigger step forward. If you've been grinding month after month with nothing to show for it, this one's worth a listen. Thanks to Pepperstone for sponsoring this episode.
#237
June 26 · 8 min
The High-Water Mark Trick
We all know the high-water mark... fund managers use it for their equity curve highs. Hit a million, lose some, climb back above the old peak before you get paid. But what if you applied that same thinking somewhere else entirely? In this episode, I dig into using high-water marks beyond your account balance. Longest trade held. Most days sticking to your rules. Fewest red days. The longest journaling streak. None of these moves your PNL on their own... but together they support it, and more importantly, they reframe what progress actually looks like. Because here's the problem. Especially in those early years, you pour in the effort and the equity curve shows you nothing. It's a recipe for despondency. So you measure something else. You chase a personal best in the things you know matter, and you start to believe bigger things are possible. Could be the unlock you need. Thanks to Pepperstone for sponsoring the episode
#236
June 18 · 8 min
Why Creativity Might Be the Trading Edge You're Missing
Sponsored by Pepperstone Most traders obsess over strategy, mindset, and discipline… but what about creativity? In this episode, Mark explores an idea sparked by a post from "StockBee" (an X trader credited in the new Market Wizards book with helping at least one wizard make hundreds of millions): that progress in trading often comes from thinking creatively, not just logically. Mark unpacks his diagnose-then-prescribe framework for solving trading problems, identifying the biggest domino holding you back, then finding a fix, and shows how adding a "creativity lens" can unlock solutions you'd never reach through pure logic. He shares real examples, from using a cheap desk timer to slow down impulsive decisions to creative ways of improving your risk-to-reward ratio through smarter entries. If you're more creatively wired than rule-driven, this reframe might be the unlock you've been looking for.
#235
June 12 · 12 min
The New Market Wizards Book. One Thing Before You Read It
Sponsored by Pepperstone The new Market Wizards book — The Next Generation by Jack Schwager and George Coyle — is out, and before you dive in, there's one thing worth keeping in mind. In this episode, Mark looks back at the series that inspired a generation of traders, from the 1989 original through to today, and shares why these books are gold for any developing trader… as long as you read them the right way. Capital at risk. This content is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice or a recommendation to trade.
#234
June 5 · 15 min
Day Trading or Swing Trading? New Thoughts
Sponsored by Pepperstone If you're a developing trader, should you focus on day trading or swing trading? It's the question everyone asks early on... and my thinking on it has shifted over the years. In this one, I go through the definitions, the usual pros and cons, and then the bit most people skip: the psychological cost. Fast decisions, fast damage. Why beginners fall apart day trading and what that actually does to your account. I get into the asymmetry problem too. Why it's so hard to find a true asymmetric trade intraday in normal conditions, and how holding for a few days changes the maths. Then my honest take on what I'd do if I was starting again now. It's not clear-cut. But on balance I land somewhere.
#233
May 29 · 12 min
Would You Get Hired By a Hedge Fund?
Sponsored by Pepperstone Would you get hired by a hedge fund? The traits funds screen for before they let anyone near a book are the same ones that keep a retail account alive. No billions or trading desk required... it's behaviour, discipline and self-awareness. We go through what they look for at hiring, what they demand once you're managing a book, and the honest question underneath it all: would you hire yourself?
#232
May 22 · 14 min
10 questions, rapid fire
Sponsored by Pepperstone A rapid-fire episode. 10 questions traders have sent in over the past few weeks, answered as honestly as I can in under 10 minutes. In this episode: How much money do you actually need to start trading How long until you're consistently profitable (and why the answer is longer than you want) How to tell if your strategy is broken or just in a drawdown Should you go full-time Stopping revenge trading after a loss Sizing positions properly Whether prop firm challenges are worth it Dealing with people who call trading gambling RSI vs Stochastics (and why it probably doesn't matter) Got a question for the next one? Reply to the daily email. 🔗 Spread Bet Risk Per Trade Calculator
#231
May 15 · 11 min
Your edge?
Sponsored by Pepperstone Most traders are doing the same thing. Same charts, same lines, same indicators. And if everyone's doing the same thing... where's the edge? In this episode, Mark digs into what actually separates the trader who's stuck spinning their wheels from the one putting up the numbers. It's not discipline. It's not risk management. Those are table stakes. It's something else. Something the traders we admire all seem to have, even if they describe it differently. This isn't a silver bullet episode. You won't walk away with a strategy. But you might walk away with the right question to start asking yourself. What's the thing you see that others don't?
#230
May 8 · 9 min
What Rory Sutherland teaches traders about running winners
Sponsored by Pepperstone Why can't I run my winners? It's one of the most common questions I get from traders. And the obvious answers (be more disciplined, walk away from the screen, trust the trade) usually don't work. So in this episode, I borrow an idea from Rory Sutherland, the Ogilvy behavioural economist: "the question is a lazy formulation of the problem." And I apply it to running winners. Turns out the reason most traders never solve this is because they're asking the wrong question. We work through better ones, and what changes when you do.

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